Page 117 of Elven Throne

For a moment, they all stood wearily on the other side of that door, catching their breath.

Without warning, Maleine whirled on Rowan, fury blazing behind her eyes. “You said you just wanted to see a Peddler!”

“Isn’t that exactly where we just were?” he quipped and rolled his eyes. “Mission accomplished?”

“You didn’t say shit about the Agn’a Tha’ros records!” she snarled, shoving him away with both hands. “What the hell are youthinking?

“I’m thinking it’s none of your gods-be-damned business!”

“That wasnotyour assignment!” She shoved him again.

Rowan stumbled backward and almost went down, pinwheeling his arms to right himself.

“No one gave your orders to—”

“That has nothing to do with you!” he roared, spinning out of his almost-fall and catching himself with a wide stance as he pointed an accusing finger at her. “No one gaveyouorders to be here, either! So go crawl back into your dusty little hole in the Moon’s Heart, where all theunworthy massescan keep worshipping you as long as you like and just…do whatever it is you do somewhereelse!”

She stopped at that, glaring at him with wide eyes, then shook her head. “Oh no. This just gotwaytoo good to leave now. And if you’re trying to do this on your own, you’ll just end up screwing the whole thing anyway. Youneedme.”

Dipping away from his sister as if she’d thrown the first punch at his face, Rowan rolled his eyes, smoothing back his hair with both hands. “Yeah, like I need a fucking bramble ofthrisískewering me through the eye after a little drought.”

Then he turned toward Rebecca, scowling. “What were youthinking, huh? Handing over the Darkspawn to that…witch?”

“Definitely not a witch,” Maleine muttered.

He ignored her, focused only on glaring daggers straight through Rebecca’s face as he surged toward her. “Youknowhow much something like that could help Agn’a Tha’ros, and you wanted togiftit to her? Are you completelyinsane?”

She almost thought he’d close the gap between them and take a swing ather, but then Maxwell inserted himself between them, growling in warning and staring down the Blackmoon Elf without a word.

Rowan stepped back without acknowledging the shifter, like he’d almost just stumbled into a firepit before reorienting himself. “Do you evencareabout—”

“I care about the risks when I see them!” Rebecca snapped. “Plain as day. Unlikesomepeople, who know exactly what they have in their hands and ignore all the risks anyway so they can play with it like a fucking toy!”

“I—” Rowan stopped himself, mouth gaping open, then thrust a finger in the air. “That was different.”

“You’re unbelievable,” she snarled, spinning away from him.

But she couldn’t help double-checking her jacket pocket all the same, just to make sure the Darkspawn was still there where she’d put it.

He’d stolen it right out from under her once before, after all.

There it was, the rough outer surface of the burlap serving as the Darkspawn’s disguise in a faded and frayed rag doll.

But there was something else there in her pocket. Something she absolutely didnotput there herself.

It crinkled beneath the pressure of her fingers, and she froze.

“Wait a minute…” With a startled yelp, Rowan spun around, extending both hands outward to steady himself as he took in their surroundings. “What the hell? Wherearewe?”

32

Rebeccadidn’tknowhowlong she’d fixed her blank stare at the ground in front of her shoes, her insides squirming at the new discovery she wasn’t quite ready to face.

It must have been a little too long, because when she looked up, she found Maxwell staring at her in concern.

What was she supposed to tell him? What could she say?

Some unknown thing had slipped itself into her jacket pocket while they were running for their lives, and she didn’t want to pull it out in case this unknown thing blew up in their faces and killed them all anyway?

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