Page 67 of Elven Throne

“It’s a long shot, I know. But it’s all I have. If I can prove that prophecy either has nothing to do with me or doesn’t demand that I go back to Agn’a Tha’ros to keep an entire elven empire from being ripped to pieces… Well, then all this ends.

“Maybe not right away. Maybe not for the empire, or my people, or the Azyyt Ra’al. That’s not my problem. But if there’s even a chance that what it really says, what the Mystic really foretold,isn’twhat everyone believes it is, all this will end forme. I’ll be free of it. And then I can finally do something about leading everyone around me into danger and death, no matter what I do.

“Most importantly, I’ll know I’m doing the right thing when Irefuseto go back to Xahar’áhsh. When I refuse to be the thing my people are so desperate to believe I truly am.”

Maxwell’s brow furrowed as he studied her face and he tilted his head. “And you need the original prophecy for that?”

“I know,” she breathed, puffing out a sigh. “It sounds stupid as shit. But this stuff is…old-world magic. Prophecies in Xahar’áhsh are entirely different than what you’d normally find here. They hold their own kind of power beyond the power given to them by those who think they know their meaning.”

He nodded, gazing at her face as if he’d never seen it before. As if he hadn’t already spent a combined total of so many hours staring at her already. “Then that is the one we will find.”

His words settled something inside her she didn’t quite understand, nor could she fathom how he was still so supportive of this. Ofher. After everything she’d just told him. After all the coming dangers she’d just explicitly revealed would still be coming for her.

And he’dstillsaid they would find the Bloodshadow prophecy. Together.

A knot of guilt twisted in Rebecca’s stomach, sharper and heavier than any other she’d felt in a very long time.

Then it occurred to her that maybe her Head of Security just hadn’t yet absorbed the full scope of the inherent dangers and overwhelming risks of having anything to do with her.

“Listen, Maxwell…” Now it washerturn to gaze vacantly off through the trees in front of them. “You’ve seen for yourself what I can do. You’ve seen a lot more of it in the last few days than I ever planned to show anyone, honestly. If I hadn’t dragged Shade into this with me, I wouldn’t have had to do any of it. They don’t deserve to suffer like this. Because of who I am…”

Then she forced herself to look up at him again and add what her guilty conscience required her to say. “Neither do you.”

His eyes flashed as he held her gaze and dipped his head toward her. “You have not dragged anyone anywhere. They follow their Roth-Da’al. As do I. The fault does not lie with you.”

Another bitter laugh puffed out of her, dry and dusty and inefficient. “Let’s see how many of them agree with you when I’m gone. I can’t wait any longer. I can’t put anyone else in even more danger just by taking my own sweet time about this. That prophecy is…the key. To everything, really. I have to find it. I have to know…”

Whether she could actually be held responsible for her actions, magically or otherwise? Whether the Bloodshadow Heir was or ever could be anything more than a coveted weapon? Whether she’d been fighting destiny and duty and all their bullshit this whole time, for nothing?

“Where you truly stand in all this,” Maxwell finished for her, his glowing gaze and steady presence unwavering.

He reallydidunderstand everything she told him, didn’t he? He understood, and he hadn’t shied away.

The way he gazed at her now made its own incredibly strong case that he wouldn’t shy away sometime in the future, either. Not when he had the chance to do so now and willingly refused.

“Exactly,” she said.

The shifter nodded again, tore his gaze away from her, and resumed their otherwise leisurely stroll through the thick woods, still caught up in his own private contemplation of everything she’d told him.

Rebecca hadn’t told himeverything, of course. That would have taken far too long and been too much for anyone to soak in. It would have been too much for her to even put into words all at once.

But it was enough.

More than enough.

He knew everything he needed to know right now, and a bit more than that. If hestillchose to remain at her side with all that new knowledge, she would forever be grateful for it.

If he decided it was simply too much, how could she possibly blame him?

Damp, fallen leaves coating the forest floor whispered beneath her bare feet, but Rebecca hardly heard a thing. She was too focused on waiting for a reaction in Maxwell. Some indication that he’d made up his mind after all this new knowledge. A change in the constant, steady sensation of tingling warmth in his presence as they walked side by side.

That presence had now become more of a comfort than an annoyance. Especially after she’d felt so much more of him through their connection. And so much worse.

When the shifter opened his mouth to speak again, she felt the intention in him before he uttered a word. But she certainly hadn’t expected his next question.

“Do you really believe Blackmoon will show himself to join you in this search?”

She paused, blinking quickly in surprise. The possibility of Rowannotfollowing through on his end of their hastily made agreement hadn’t occurred to her, even after his cutting betrayal and how much he’d endangered them all.

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