Page 29 of Elven Throne

Rebecca raised her voice enough to be heard by this smaller group around her. “Go help where it’s needed. Let the others know the compound’s a lost cause now and we’re looking for somewhere new. See if anyone has any ideas. The most important thing now is finding a safe place to rest up. Where we won’t be found.”

Those around her nodded, shared knowing looks with each other, or averted their gazes altogether before dispersing to carry out their everyone dispersed to carry out their Roth-Da’al’s not-so-invigorating order.

They could talk all they wanted about needing a new place to hunker down and build up as much of an operation space as possible. They could sit here for the next forty-eight hours discussion it all, but the gravity of the situation wouldn’t change.

Everyone Shade knew, had been in contact with, or dealt with on a regular basis, to any degree, was already dead.

Rowan Blackmoon had made sure of that.

Now, the task force didn’t even have their own home to fall back on.

Everything was gone, and Rebecca was all out of ideas.

If she didn’t come up with something soon, they’d be sitting ducks for any of their enemies still unaccounted for.

And if that happened, everything they’d just fought so hard both to protect and to survive would all be for nothing.

9

TheenormityofShade’scurrent predicament was almost more than Rebecca could bear.

They had fought so hard to do what was right. To clean up Aldous’s messes. To avenge the brutal attacks on their contact network—innocent magical civilians—by planning an admittedly clever ambush on the magical crime lords of Chicago they’d assumed were responsible.

And then they’d fought to survive the ambush by Rowan and hisHakalini’ir, their imprisonment within his force-field dome, the attack by the Azyyt Ra’al. They’re narrowly escaped it all with their lives before rushing back to Headquarters to stand against Eduardo’s horde that would have been Shade’s final downfall if it hadn’t been for several sacrifices made.

Sacrifices that had almost cost far too much.

Rebecca’s operatives were exhausted, devastated, homeless, damn near hopeless, barely hanging on, and Rebecca had no other tricks hidden up her sleeves.

Nowhere left to go. No last-minute Hail Marys to help them when they needed it most.

She’d done everything she could, andstill, she hovered on the verge of letting them all down.

For good this time.

The operatives had all dispersed to spread the harrowing news to the rest of the task force and collect even the most unlikely suggestions for Shade’s next safe refuge—if one even existed.

But Maxwell remained perfectly still at Rebecca’s side.

Frenetic energy thrummed through the shifter and into Rebecca, as if standing here any longer, doing nothing even for a few seconds longer, might make him explode.

They’d all had enough of that tonight to last multiple lifetimes, thank you very much.

She could remind herself of everything at stake, all the looming threats, and how much they still had to do before anyone could consider themselves remotely safe again. But those reminders were weak, useless, and practically non-existent with the shifter standing right there, so close beside her.

A constant reminder that their connection, the darkness of that unknown thing growing between them, had no need for sustenance or sleep or shelter.

That it would never rest.

That even the constant pressure tugging at her core, turning her constantly toward Maxwell at every waking moment, didn’t give a shit about the dangers they all faced or how much time they did and didn’t have.

She tried to ignore its call, but the harder she struggled against it, the more of her it seized in its ever-tightening grasp.

Until she finally turned toward the shifter standing rigid and motionless beside her and thought for the briefest moment she saw him trembling.

Or maybe it was just a trick of the light?

Maxwell’s jaw muscles clenched over and over as if he fought against some invisible force keeping him away from her. Then he slowly turned his head to meet her gaze.

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