25. Chapter 25

25

T hen he was right in front of her, that mischievous grin illuminating his face, and Rebecca still hadn’t come up with a new and inventive way to tell him no without making it laughably obvious that she didn’t want anything to do with him.

Now he stood in front of her with a drink in his hand, and the conversations continued all around them. Rebecca’s gaze darted about the common room because she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

“I’ll give this place credit for one thing,” he said. “The magicals here sure do like to throw a party. Over a whole lot of nothing.”

She still couldn’t look at him and took a long swig of Shade moonshine from her cup. “If you’d been here even a week ago, you’d know what we did tonight at the docks was more than a whole lot of nothing.”

“So I hear.”

His gaze felt like fire on her face, but she still wouldn’t look at him.

“Who am I to dictate what others shouldn’t celebrate, though, right?” he added. “Honestly, the only reason I’m here is to collect on that debt you owe me.”

Huffing out a wry laugh, she finally forced herself to look at him. “What I owe you ? I don’t owe you a thing.”

“That’s up for debate. Specifically, though, I remember you promising me that private conversation, which I would now like to call in. I’ve played your games. Now it’s time for a serious discussion.”

Unbelievable. Did he really think trying to corner her like this would get him what he wanted?

It had never worked before, when they’d seen each other every day. Why would he possibly think it would work now?

She stared at him long enough to get the point across—that now was not the time for him to make ridiculous requests. Then she returned her attention to the rest of the party but didn’t process any of it.

“Tonight, Blackmoon,” she said, “you should focus on the celebration. Go enjoy yourself with the rest of the team. You deserve that much, after all.”

“Oh, I deserve far more than that, all things considered. And you know it’s true. Come on, Kilda’ari . Let’s stop playing this game for two minutes and have a real conversation. You and me. About the important things. About what needs to be discussed and handled now . Not…all this.”

She was about to tell him that would never happen, that she wasn’t pretending. Not anymore.

But she didn’t get a single word out before an overwhelming tingle and warmth rose up the back of her neck, growing stronger and hotter and bringing another disorienting flush to her cheeks. She couldn’t say a word.

Damn this energetic thing, or whatever it was. She didn’t need this kind of distraction, which, if left unchecked, would only continue until it popped up at the wrong moment and she made some irreversible mistake because of it.

That was definitely a possibility, and at the same time, Rebecca acknowledged why that tingling rush washed over her again now. Why it made her flush so quickly with so much heat. She was sure Rowan could see it all over her face.

Maxwell was approaching her again. She couldn’t see him yet, but she had no doubt.

He still just didn’t understand appropriate timing, clearly.

But Rebecca wasn’t as skilled at hiding it as she had assumed.

Not from Rowan.

He looked her over from head to toe, leaned away, and wrinkled his nose. “And now I have to ask… What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing,” she replied flatly and swallowed.

Rowan didn’t buy it, but he seemed content enough with having talked her into this new trap of his.

“Well, great,” he said. “There’s nothing going on, and everything’s fine. Then it won’t be difficult to spare a few minutes of your time for me, specifically In case there was still any confusion about that.”

Dammit, she should have made up an emergency.

Now was not the time for any conversation with Rowan that extended beyond surface greetings. If Rebecca had her way, there would never be a time for it.

She wanted to explain that to Rowan, but for some reason, her mind had drawn a complete blank, and now she could only gape at him like an idiot who didn’t know how to handle any new situation.

Could she just walk away from him and leave it at that?

In a matter of seconds, Rebecca went down the list of all her available options and landed on the unjustified response of shoving Rowan Blackmoon away from her, sounding the alarm, and letting Shade deal with him as if he were a traitor.

Because she could so easily make him out to be exactly that.

The fantasy whipped through her mind in an instant, and there was no way to tell whether she would have acted on it in desperation.

Because Maxwell swooped in before she could decide.

He appeared beside her, not quite between her and Rowan but still looming over the elf man with a warning growl and his eyes delivering a quick flash of silver. “Let me remind you that all requests to Command go through me and only me. I’m the one with a direct link to Shade’s commander, and that hasn’t changed.”

Rowan’s smile remained unchanged until Maxwell finished speaking. Then the elf scoffed before he grinned at the shifter and somehow made it look incredibly judgmental at the same time.

“Oh, please. Are you hearing yourself? You make it sound like you think she belongs to you. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re the problem here, shifter. Gatekeeping for the commander? I’ve seen entire civilizations with more access to their monarchs than this place has to its own Thon-Da’al.”

Oh for fuck’s sake. Now he was talking about monarchs ? Next thing, he’d be making even less-subtle references to Rebecca as a ruler of far more than just Shade, and she couldn’t let that happen.

“We’re not talking about other civilizations, Blackmoon,” she replied.

Rowan’s upper lip twitched in response, but he still stared up at Maxwell. “Why don’t we let the commander make her own decisions here, hmm?”

Surprisingly, Maxwell looked down at Rebecca with a questioning frown, as if Rowan’s inciting comments had made sense.

As if he agreed .

Rebecca didn’t want to make those decisions right now. That was part of the allure of her Head of Security close by at all times, especially since Rowan’s arrival. Now he was giving her an opportunity to undermine him if she wanted?

She shook her head at Maxwell, then turned back toward Rowan and shrugged. “Those are the rules, and I don’t see them changing anytime soon.”

She’d expected that response to make him angry, but it didn’t.

In fact, he tilted his head and gawked at her, as if she’d spoken in a foreign language he didn’t know she could speak.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Maxwell standing perfectly still beside her. Technically, she’d just taken his side in this pseudo-argument, but the feeling of his stare on the side of her face convinced her he was just as surprised as Rowan.

Surprised to hear Rebecca supporting the rules at all.

“You’ve got to be joking,” Rowan muttered.

“Nope.” Rebecca deepened her frown, hoping he would finally take the hint and leave her alone. “You might think this whole thing is one big joke, but I can promise you I take it all very seriously. Including official meetings I take with any members of this task force.”

The elf’s mouth popped open as he looked back and forth between Rebecca and Maxwell. Then he spread his arms wide and took an exaggerated step backward. “How in the Blue Hells do I get this to happen?”

“Come to me tomorrow,” Maxwell said matter-of-factly, “and submit a request for an appointment.”

“Come on … I still have to make an appointment with her?”

“You’re making it with me ,” the shifter corrected. “To speak with her.”

Maxwell’s deadpan response almost made Rebecca laugh. Or maybe it was the combination of standing beside her Head of Security, whose fondness for the rules and following protocol had previously annoyed her to no end but now played perhaps the largest supporting role in keeping Rowan at bay.

Watching the bafflement and disbelief morphing on her old friend’s expression was satisfying enough.

When Rowan met her gaze again, she vividly imagined what he would have said if they’d been alone: “How much longer are you going to keep this up? This is ridiculous.”

If he hadn’t yet realized that, when it came to Shade’s Thon-Da’al and standard protocol, Maxwell Hannigan was an unyielding force to be reckoned with, he certainly knew it now.

Of course he wanted her to cave, to tell Maxwell he was taking his job way too seriously and that she had no problem making special exceptions for an elf-to-elf chat. Rowan expected her to do just that, because once upon a time, she would have.

Not anymore. Not as Rebecca Knox, Commander of Shade. Not with her Head of Security standing at her side.

Not with so much on the line, even now.

“None of this is new, Blackmoon,” she continued. “I’ve told you from the beginning this is how things work and there’s no getting around it. Once you start playing by the rules, things will be a lot easier for you, I promise.”

She meant every word, despite holding her ground to also protect her secrets. That didn’t change how new and strange and right it felt to take Maxwell’s side in this, supporting his adherence to strict task-force rules.

If she’d had this conversation with anyone but Rowan, she might have considered asking Maxwell to lighten up a little, but these were extenuating circumstances that brought a new shift in the air between Rebecca and her Head of Security.

Maxwell straightened with a subtle lift of his chin as he rolled his shoulders back. The air crackled fiercely with the tension of this unspoken thing between them—competition, or rivalry, or suspicion, or whatever they wanted to call it—and added to the already inherent tension of Rowan’s presence.

If Rebecca had looked directly at her Head of Security, she imagined she would have found mostly pride in his expression. That was also new. The precarious agreement she and Maxwell had was quickly changing, that much was clear.

Especially now that they made such an effective team standing against Rowan’s charm, which historically disarmed damn near everyone enough to give him what he wanted.

Rowan huffed out a bitter laugh, still looking highly amused by the whole thing. When he spoke, however, Rebecca noted the extra acidity in his voice and the way his eyes now gleamed like they used to whenever he was planning a new mode of attack. “Well I just stepped into a whole new world. However unexpected. I guess it’s only fair that I follow the rules. For now.”

Those words brought a tight knot of concern twisting in Rebecca’s gut. She knew Rowan wasn’t finished. He was all talk right now, saying what he thought she and Maxwell wanted to hear while plotting his next steps in breaking even more rules.

In breaking her down.

She’d seen it before, and she was only further convinced of it when Rowan folded his arms, fixed Maxwell with a pert look, and kept talking.

“So where do I need to find you tomorrow to put in my request?”

Maxwell’s reply was quick and succinct, but Rebecca didn’t even register what he was saying.

Rowan’s hands distracted her.

They were much easier to see now, with his arms folded in front of him, when he signed to her in small, covert hand signals only a handful of elven clans understood.

“You can’t get rid of me so easily. This isn’t over. We will discuss what I came here to discuss.”

Dammit.

“There you have it, then.” Rowan clapped his hands together and plastered on another twisted smile.

Rebecca’s concern merely thickened.

“Looks like we’ve got it all figured out,” he added. “So if you’ll both excuse me, I believe I have more celebrating to attend to.”

He didn’t wait for a response before heading back to the party.

Rebecca stood there, stunned by what Rowan had just attempted and hoping Maxwell hadn’t picked up on the Blackmoon Elf’s hand signals meant only for her.

That had been far too reckless. Signing to him in the holding room with her back to the security camera was one thing, but using it out in the open while actively conversing with Shade’s Head of Security? The single most suspicious member of this task force? Where anyone could have noticed? That was something else.

Why did Rowan insist on being so fucking brash here? Didn’t he understand what was at stake, not just for Rebecca alone but for this entire task force of magicals for whom she was now responsible?

How hard was that to understand?

Still staring across the common room after Rowan’s departure, Maxwell cleared his throat. “That one is primed for crossing the lines.”

If only he had any idea how right he was.

Rebecca inhaled deeply and held it a moment. “It’s only been two days.”

“Barely.”

“Let’s give Blackmoon a chance to settle in before we start planning how to break him, okay?”

The laugh bursting from Maxwell’s open mouth put her instantly on the defensive, because she hadn’t yet heard anything quite like it. Especially from him.

When she looked up at him, she realized she enjoyed the sound of his rumbling laughter, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, how much softer it made the shifter look despite his constant rigidity.

Then she couldn’t help but notice how close he stood and how much he seemed to have relaxed around her in the last few days.

It took only a second of consideration before her focus turned to that tingling warmth flaring between them. It hadn’t disappeared or weakened while they’d stood here. Rebecca had merely been too focused on getting Rowan out of her face.

Now, though, she couldn’t help but feel it, that energy of Maxwell’s presence still coursing through her with something she didn’t recognize. Something she couldn’t name.

By the Blood, even with no clue what this was or how much damage it might do in the long run, Rebecca wanted more.

Against her better judgement, she actively searched for a way to keep the conversation going, because all she wanted now was to give Maxwell a reason to stay.

“This is a nice change of pace, don’t you think?” She nodded toward the magicals drinking and partying and enjoying themselves late into the night. “Good to see everyone in a decent mood. You know, instead of sulking and trying not to murder Command.”

Maxwell’s nose twitched. He seemed hesitant to answer before offering an uneasy reply. “This is certainly not the norm.”

“But it should be.”

When she finally brought herself to look up at him, of course Maxwell had already been watching her. Their gazes met, and it felt like another unspoken agreement had just formed between them—an acknowledgement of what Shade could still be, provided the right circumstances.

That together, Rebecca and Maxwell could make this the norm for everyone because they’d already proven it was possible.

The admiration in his gaze took her by surprise and simultaneously overwhelmed her.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that he meant something more with that look than pure admiration or even gratitude.

That she was supposed to recognize it and respond accordingly.

But she just didn’t have it in her. Going down that rabbit hole right now felt too dangerous, too distracting, too much like holding all responsibility at bay so she could lose herself in the shifter’s glowing silver eyes.

Not the best move.

What Rebecca needed was to turn in for the night and call it a day. She could use the extra rest, and it didn’t feel right to stay out here with the others when she didn’t have the energy to celebrate the way she would have liked.

Maybe if Rowan hadn’t been here, she could have thrown caution to the wind for a night. But he was here, and his presence made it impossible to focus on anything else.

She considered disappearing without a word, but that wouldn’t be very leaderly of her now, would it?

With a wry smirk, she leaned toward Maxwell and muttered, “I’m just gonna make a quick announcement before I turn in.”

She’d meant it as a courtesy so her call for everyone’s attention wouldn’t startle him, but the shifter took it one step further without even being asked.

He shot her a quick knowing look, then stuck two fingers in his mouth to deliver an ear-splitting whistle that made her jump before the common room fell into a quick hush.

All eyes focused on their Thon-Da’al.

“That’s one way to do it,” she said with a chuckle. “Thanks.”

Rebecca lifted a hand in greeting and nodded. “Just a few things, and then I promise I’ll leave you alone.”

Subdued laughter and soft chuckling rose at that, which would have been all the encouragement Rebecca needed, if she’d ever needed it.

“First, you all deserve this tonight, and I want to make that clear. We’re doing exactly what we set out to do, especially now, and it’s only going to keep getting better from here.” She lifted her disposable cup toward them. “So drink up, enjoy yourselves, and try not to kill each other.”

Titus was the first to roar his approval of her toast before everyone else joined in, lifting their plastic cups toward Rebecca and drinking together.

“Tomorrow, you’ll all have additional work assignments,” Rebecca added. “We brought in some pretty valuable cargo tonight, which could be a real benefit for us. Maybe even bring on some future partnerships.”

“You mean you’re keeping the weapons?”

She knew it was Rowan even before she found his face among the crowd, his self-absorbed smirk mocking her as he lifted his drink toward her again, his eyes gleaming.

“What, you mean her specifically?” someone else shouted. That got another round of good-natured laughter before everyone settled down.

Rebecca felt the tight smile spreading across her lips on its own, but she could only focus now on staring Rowan down from across the room.

He just had to interfere, didn’t he? Calling out suggestions like that.

Now she had to address his comment, or she’d come across as careless.

“Of course we’re keeping the weapons,” she replied. “What else would we do with them?”

The second the rhetorical question left her lips, she wished she hadn’t asked it.

Because Rowan’s expression lit up with excitement and his own special brand of flaring mischief she recognized only too well.

Damn it. How had she let this happen?

By trying to include the whole task force, she’d literally handed him an opening to express his opinions on a silver platter. With everyone watching. In the middle of celebrating their recent success.

Rowan had the floor now. Rebecca was entirely powerless to stop him from saying whatever he wanted without alerting the entire task force that something was very wrong here.

If she chose this moment to blow her cover, she was screwed.