Chapter 48 Jesper
jesper
. . .
April clicked her pen at a tempo that grated on my last nerve.
“No,” I gritted out, for the fourth time. “You never yank a vault open with your bare hands just because the human guard’s on his lunch break. Break into it by cracking the code. Stealth is required for this specific mission, and they can’t know we were ever there.”
Click.
Click.
“In my defense…” Her lips twisted with exasperation as her short, curly brown hair fell into her face. “The lock wasn’t working. Which, by the way, is sloppy craftsmanship on the humans’ part. I thought I’d help.”
Click.
Click.
“You helped the security go off,” I growled out.
“Every passive alarm in that facility woke up. The only reason we got out is because I read the blueprints and knew where a service tunnel was. Not to mention the relic. We barely got out of there. Oh, and of course the lock wasn’t working.
Turn the dial three times and wait for the click. I’ve explained this to you.”
Click.
She huffed, her iron and hints of mint scent blowing into my face, making me nauseous. “Well, I didn’t know the lock was connected to—”
“You didn’t pay attention. I briefed you on this.” I kept my voice even. “You don’t know what you don’t know. That’s fine. Ask. Pay attention. Don’t improvise on human-made architecture. Nine times out of ten, they have security.”
She folded her arms, dropping her pen on the ground, and narrowed her brown eyes at me. “You’re being dramatic.”
“April,” I groaned and let her hear my frustration, “if that had been a live site with human tac teams inside, we’d have been caught or dead.
You don’t get to learn this lesson twice.
You’re becoming a liability, and I will tell Gavin that you won’t pass if you will not listen.
These are real missions. You cannot be nonchalant about safety protocols. ”
She looked away with a sad expression.
That was when I saw Rune walking toward the houses with Slater and Zuko squeezed in on either side of her.
Her laugh hit my ears as Slater said something that earned him an elbow from Zuko.
There was a softness around her when she was with them I didn’t see with anyone else.
She was always sharp and alert, in control.
With them, she seems more relaxed.
Her golden eyes met mine, and her smile widened. “I’ll meet you all back at the house!”
“We have to study for—” Dimitri started.
“I’ll be back in like ten minutes! Don’t get upset, overachiever!” She peeled off from her squad, and Zuko and Slater joined her as the rest headed back to the house.
She jogged the last few steps, her breath fogging the chilly spring air.
“Jesper,” she greeted me, almost bouncing. I had never struggled so hard not to look at a woman’s chest before. “Quick question! No, wait, two questions.”
April exhaled and wedged herself at my elbow. “He’s busy,” she told Rune. “We were reviewing my mentorship—”
“We already have,” I dismissed April and turned to Rune. “What were your questions?”
“Can you make me more of those noodles? I want to go on a mission with you,” she rushed out in a breath. “When can I shadow you?”
April slid in front of me, putting herself between Rune and I. “He’s already mentoring me.”
Rune’s smile went sugar-sweet. “Aw. Too bad. Must be hard being around someone who shits their pants.”
“What?” I asked before I could stop myself. My mom had drilled it into my head not to ask women about their bowel movements, but…what?
April’s face went paper-white. “She’s lying,” she blurted, her voice jumping an octave. “I didn’t—it was poison! She did it!”
“April,” I said calmly. “Your review’s over. Run lock-picking drills. You can brief Gavin during class.”
“I—But—Jesper—”
“Brief Gavin,” I repeated.
She stiffened. “Understood,” she muttered, turning and walking toward the academy. I didn’t feel good about that. I also didn’t feel bad, though.
Zuko leaned in behind Rune and murmured something that pulled a sound out of Rune I’d never heard her make before.
It was low, involuntary, and pleased.
Then, a sweeter scent of midnight orchid hit me an instant later. It was her arousal.
I took an instinctive step back, but my foot caught on the edge of a paving stone. I stumbled and caught myself, coughing into a fist as I did so.
Smooth, Jesper.
Rune tilted her head, studying me with unnerving gentleness. “So, noodles? Shadowing?”
“Any time,” I murmured before remembering to add, “Within reason, for the shadowing. You also have to check with your mom.”
Slater saluted me with two fingers that smelled exactly like Rune’s arousal. “See you later, future brother-mate.”
“Future…what?” I blinked at him.
Zuko shot me a wink, and Rune blushed as she gave me a little wave bye.
Then, they drifted back toward the year-one house. Rune walked between them, her pretty green hair catching the sun like sea-glass.
My phone buzzed before I could collect myself.
Mom.
I headed toward the column holding up the gate to Academy Nexus. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, baby,” she greeted me softly. “You sound like you swallowed a talon. What’s wrong?”
I leaned my shoulder against the cold stone. “Do you ever—” I stopped talking because I was a grown man who had walked out of drake fire with two dragons slung over my shoulders, and apparently this was what made my brain stop working.
“Oh,” she cooed with a delighted edge to her tone. “Is it a girl?”
I closed my eyes. “Maybe.”
“The coordinator’s daughter?” she asked knowingly.
I inhaled through my nose. “That obvious?”
“You made her noodles,” she reminded me. “Do you like her?”
“I…” Memories of every single interaction I’d had with Rune flashed through my mind. “Yeah. I do. A lot.”
“Good,” Mom said simply. “Then like her.”
“She’s Sabine’s daughter,” I said. “Gavin’s daughter. The headmaster’s daughter. There are politics at large here. Expectations. Lines I shouldn’t cross.”
“There are always lines,” she told me. “We decide which ones we honor. You can cross a line respectfully, dear. Does she make you feel better?”
“Yes,” I said, smiling just from the thought of her asking for more noodles. Maybe I could make her a ramen dish next time.
“Would you keep her safer by staying away?” she asked, knowing that was my go-to excuse for never getting involved in romantic relationships.
I thought about it. I really thought about it.
About Darian and the way Rune looked at me with surprise and longing when I’d punched him, knocking him out cold for talking like that about her.
About her scent that knocked my balance off a few minutes ago.
About her talent for getting into dangerous situations, all without my help.
“I don’t think so,” I said honestly. “With who she is, she’d be in danger with or without me.”
“Then protect her,” she giggled. “With respect. With patience. And by the way?” Her voice warmed in the same way that had soothed me through fevers and my first few kills. “Any woman would be lucky to have you. You’re a good man. That’s rarer than it should be.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I blinked away tears. I’d wanted to be a good man because my mom deserved a good son. “I tripped over a rock today.”
“You’ll step over it next time,” she said supportively. “Eat something with protein, okay? You don’t eat enough on your missions.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Tell Sabine I said hello,” she added, entirely too cheerful. “And tell the coordinator that if she wants the best for her daughter, she won’t scare off the best man for the job.”
“Mom.”
“Kidding. Mostly. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
She ended the call.
I rolled my shoulders back, breathing the air and the lingering scent Rune left behind.
I felt guilty doing it. She deserved more respect than that, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Of her pretty green hair, of that sound she made after Zuko whispered something in her ear, and of her golden eyes locked on mine.