Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
KIERAN
Itoyed with the scrap of parchment between my fingers while giving Jeremiah Fairchilde approximately half of my attention.
Whilst my lieutenant was giving me the rundown on the scouting mission he’d just returned from, I found myself distracted by the lovely loops of cursive held within, and the way Arken’s handwriting somehow managed to capture her perfect essence.
Fates, I was fucking obsessed with that woman. It was maddening, the chokehold I found myself in the moment she landed in my bed. The moment she kissed me. Hel, I had been strung out over Arken Asher from the moment we met.
A distant part of me questioned if this was the right thing, this…whatever the fuck it was that she and I were doing right now. I struggled to put it into words. It was indescribable, nothing felt accurate enough to explain it…but at the moment, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
It had been hours since I’d left her bed with the taste of her still lingering ever-so-sweetly on my tongue. I wasn’t sure if I could still taste it now, or if that was just wishful thinking. Attempting to be subtle, I glanced down at my pocket watch before shoving it back into my coat.
She should be here any minute now…
“And there’s still no sign of the Pyrhhan agitator, though no further gatherings have been observed,” Jeremiah said before crossing his arms and raising a brow.
“You seem a bit distracted, Cap. Got somewhere to be?”
The man knew me well enough to swallow his smirk, but I knew him well enough to see it swallowed, so I snorted. “Apologies, Jer. And no, I don’t, but I am expecting company soon.”
“Company?” Jeremiah inquired, giving me a knowing look. “Here? Really, Kieran?”
I tried but failed to hold back a smirk as a familiar weary expression took over my lieutenant’s face, the one he and Hans both wore whenever they grew tired of my bullshit.
“Never mind,” he said, shaking his head. “Of course you are, you fucking delinquent.”
“So…Can we resume this debrief in an hour?” I asked, my tone only slightly apologetic.
“An hour at most, Captain. You have me leaving for Amaranthe at six.”
Ah, right. I did give him that assignment, didn’t I?
“Yeah, yeah,” I nodded. “I’ll meet you in your office, and I’ll try to be prompt. And tell Kraiggson I said thanks, by the way.”
My lieutenant cocked his head, frowning at the quip. “Thanks for what, exactly?”
“For being a good boy and running an errand for me earlier,” I snickered. “He’s awfully eager to please, though I suppose you would know better than I, in that regard.”
The tips of Jer’s ears burned violently red, the same color creeping up his neck as he scoffed and turned away, attempting to shroud his embarrassment as he made his way toward the door.
“Shut up, and tell him yourself, you insufferable prick. It would probably make his damn day,” he muttered beneath his breath.
“That’s Captain Insufferable Prick to you, Fairchilde,” I replied breezily. “And hey. I’m happy for you. Really, Jer.”
The small smile that crept up his face told me that all was forgiven.
At long last, my lieutenant had taken a lover, and I truly was happy for him, even if I had royally pissed him off to see that plan finally come to fruition.
Because above Jeremiah’s head, behind his back, and largely against his stubborn will, I had, indeed, taken Kraiggson off the scouting unit, having him re-assigned to standard daily city defense.
My third in command had pretended to be affronted for well over a month, too stubborn to even take advantage of the newfound opportunity.
He had finally exploded on me after I’d given him a teasing prod a few weeks back, slamming his fist against my desk.
“I told you, I didn’t want to interfere with his career, Kieran!” he yelled, frustrated enough that the slightest of embers fizzled around his knuckles.
“You didn’t,” I replied simply. “I did.”
When I’d told Jeremiah that Kraiggson was a shit scout, I hadn’t been lying.
The fact that the kid simply wasn’t cut out for reconnaissance was a convenient excuse, yes—but an accurate one.
I probably would have had to move him eventually, even if there hadn’t been a questionable amount of yearning going on between the freshling and his superior officer.
Besides, it would be easier for Jer this way—not just because the altered power dynamic would make the relationship more appropriate, but because the station Grant was placed at now was much, much safer than ours.
Jeremiah had lost enough in this world to last a lifetime.
I, for one, still found the kid rather irritating and overly enthusiastic. I didn’t quite get whatever it was that my more reserved partner in arms saw in Grant, but hey. I was in no position to judge anyone’s romantic decisions. I just hoped he was happy. He looked happy.
“Thank you, sir,” Jeremiah said, his voice subdued but sincere as he quietly took his leave.