Page 94 of Elven Throne

“What are you doing here?” Rebecca asked.

With another snarl, Maxwell tightened his grip.

The elf woman choked before croaking out, “I’d love to tell you once I can breathe again.”

Rebecca nodded at the shifter. “Stand down.”

He looked baffled by her decision, then begrudgingly loosened his deadly grip around the woman’s throat, no more.

She hadn’t told him toreleasetheir captured spy, but at least the other woman could freely breathe and speak at the same time.

Then Maxwell narrowed his eyes at his Roth-Da’al. “Would you like me to dispose of our spy now, or subdue her and take her along for later?”

A simpering giggle fluttered out of the woman’s mouth as she looked Maxwell up and down and winked. “Definitely take me along for later, handsome. Granted, a shifter’s not usually my first choice, but I’malwaysdown for new thrills.”

With a snort, Maxwell merely frowned at her.

Rebecca was still too stunned to say anything else.

Then quickly scuffling footsteps echoed against the building’s outer wall, growing louder and closer before they were joined by Rowan’s voice as he rounded the corner. “Thereyou are. You know, if you wanted to slip away without a trace, leaving the getaway car behind seems like a pretty counterintuitive—”

He froze the second his gaze fell on the woman pinned to the wall beneath Maxwell’s hand. Rowan almost dropped the plastic bag of purchases in his arms. His mouth worked open and closed without sound for a moment before he blurted, “Maleine. You look…here.”

Maxwell started to step away, but Rowan pointed at him. “Hey, you know what, Wolf Boy? Go ahead and keep her there for another few minutes. Hours, even. I really don’t mind. Just as long as you press that hand downhard.”

And of course, because Rowan had said it, Maxwell did the complete opposite and fully removed his hand from Maleine’s throat.

She stumbled a little beneath the release, quickly straightened, and grinned, brushing her fingers across her throat as if he’d left kisses there instead of reddening lines in the shape of his fingers.

If the trembling tension between the three of them had been bad in the car, it grew to completely new heights withfourof them.

Rowan smacked his lips, glancing from one of them to the next and seemingly unable to look at Maleine for longer than a second. “What are youdoinghere?”

The woman tossed her russet-colored hair over her shoulder and simpered, “I heard a thing or two about what you’ve been up to in this world. And that you’d finally found Agn’a Tha’ros’sprecious gem.”

When she nodded toward Rebecca, Rebecca almost turned around and stormed off.

“I figured I’d tag along to make sure everyone was doing their jobs,” Maleine finished.

Rowan stared vacantly at her before his eyes narrowed with a twitch. “Who sent you?”

“No one.”

He squinted even farther and tilted his head, eyeing her warily.

No, the woman’s answer hadn’t convinced Rebecca, either.

Then Maleine glanced at the plastic bag dangling from Rowan’s hand and the bottle of liquor clearly visible inside it. “Thisis what you’re delaying your homecoming for? Spirits?”

“There’s a bigger plan involved,” he muttered.

“Well great. I’m happy to help wherever I can.”

“Yeah, actually…” Rowan pointed at Rebecca and Maxwell, the bag rustling in his grip. “We’re on a little side mission, here. So, you know, nothing you’d be interested in. You should probably just go find some poor, thirsty farmer from beyond The Rift and bestow yourbeneficencethere while he gets his rocks off.”

“Oh please.” Maleine smoothed her hair away from her face and brushed off her clothes as she finally pushed away from the wall. “I’m staying right here. Where I can keep an eye on you and protect you. Make sure you stay on the path. Who knows? Maybe even offer a few pointers with my own wisdom, here and there.”

Rowan’s eyes widened in terror before he wiped the entire expression completely off his face. Then, rolling his eyes, he scoffed and turned away from them all to stomp back around the corner of the building.

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