Chapter 4
Four
A fog hung in the air and shrouded the base in gray mystery, the predawn light barely cutting through the mist. Jade’s hand dipped into the pocket on the front right hip of her tailored jacket, and her fingers traced the outline of the latest note.
The words appeared in her mind as if she saw them in front of her.
Lord Grannam is going to make a move at the masquerade ball. Be there.
The last two words stuck in her mind: Be there. Like he was in charge. Like she was beholden to him, an inferior who followed his orders.
With all the previous notes from the informant, Jade had made the choice to investigate his tips rather than feel compelled to follow through.
This was different, and it sent a squirming unease through her heart.
Two little words changed the nature of their association.
Before, Jade had been in control, choosing what to do based on his information and how far to take it.
Now, if she chose to follow through with his command, she was essentially acknowledging his control over her.
Jade puffed out a sigh and crinkled the edge of the paper before removing her hand from her pocket. Major was only a few successful missions away. She would keep her secret—for now.
And she would follow her informant’s order.
She ended her morning walk in the training yard, where troops were filing into lines based on company and standing at attention.
Jade took her place at the front of her company as Matherson came into view.
He stopped in front of the gathered troops and faced them, his hands clasped behind his back, his silver commander insignia shining in the sunlight that peeked through the clouds.
“Good morning,” he greeted, his voice booming through the courtyard as he began morning announcements.
Something Jade appreciated about Matherson was his personable demeanor.
She had worked with other commanders who were all military all the time, tough and rigid and formal, their stone faces never cracking.
“A group of troopers is set to depart for the south tomorrow, where they will help maintain order as recovery efforts are underway after the recent flooding.
They will head out tomorrow at sunrise. The cadets who spent the last week on a training mission will be returning later today.
And by the end of the week, seven new troopers will be joining the ranks of the Enforcement Battalion, having successfully completed their magic-resistance training. We wish them all the best.
“Regarding The Claim, I have heard from the commanding officers at Castle Venemer that they believe a rotation of the military posted with the king’s guard would be beneficial. It’s likely they will pull from our battalion. We must all be ready for this potential transition in the coming weeks.”
Theo. Jade tingled with excitement and straightened her shoulders, but in an instant, her spirits deflated.
Theo had been serving as an intelligence agent at Kingdom Command, the castle’s military base, for the last two years.
But, in one of her recent briefings with Matherson, Jade had learned that Theo’s special unit protecting the incapacitated king had unexpectedly been reassigned at the request of the king’s council.
He was no longer at the castle. The fleeting moment of elation that rose within Jade at the opportunity to reunite with her best friend vanished with the realization that she would not be joining him there.
The more time she spent in the military, the more she believed they would never be stationed together.
“We have no reason to believe there is a threat against the king, but those in authority there have requested this change, and we must follow whatever instructions we are given.”
Jade’s stomach twisted at Matherson’s statement, again seeing the words from the note running through her mind.
Perhaps Lord Grannam had something up his sleeve, and the informant wasn’t the only one who knew.
Ending the king’s suffering in any way would prompt the decision for his successor—immediately.
“In other news, a group of sorcerers and sorceresses was discovered overnight in Fairesse.” The shift of tone in Matherson’s voice and the slight tension of his shoulders weren’t lost on Jade.
“Those who resisted were eliminated during the skirmish, and the others have been taken to the prison at Venemer until time for their execution.”
Jade tried to swallow, but her throat had gone dry.
She gave no outward indication of the agitation swirling within her.
She couldn’t. Did the injustice of the law not sit well with others, or was it just her?
Matherson had never outright said as much, but his reaction in the times that it had been brought up made Jade believe his conscience was bothered also.
But, as members of the military, they were both not only bound by the law, they were also forced to accept it. Outwardly, at least.
Perhaps it was her parents’ disagreement with the law and the consequences they faced as a result that set Jade against it.
Rumor had it that magic was sometimes passed down in families, but other times, it appeared in a person unexpectedly, an innate part of who they were.
No one deserved to die as a result of something they couldn’t choose or control.
All because one sorcerer convinced King Evrard, the grandfather of the current king, to fall to his death from a fourth-floor balcony.
For hundreds of years, magic-wielders on the continent had lived in hiding, practically reducing their status to superstition or legend, after harsh persecution centuries before forced them to suppress their abilities.
While sorcerers and sorceresses existed in old stories, few believed they actually lived among people.
But when magic-wielders appeared in the kingdom of Hervaria, putting truth to the myth, the tone surrounding them shifted.
People were uncertain, afraid. King Evrard wanted to know what they could do.
If they had such magical influence as the stories said, he could use that to his advantage.
He established groups of soldiers to search out magic-wielders, bringing them to the king and forcing them to work for him.
Through them, he imposed his own influence over his kingdom’s subjects, even planning to expand to kingdoms beyond.
In opposition to the king, Marrani magic-wielders who had been in hiding for generations banded together with one goal: remove King Evrard from power.
They chose to do so with violence, murdering the king with their influence, and as a result, they exposed themselves as an organized, capable threat.
That one act had sealed their fate.
Matherson rattled off a few more announcements—a change in instructors for one class and how the training arena would be receiving replacement practice weapons and dummies soon.
Jade listened but with only one ear, her mind still whirling with possibilities about new movement in the conflict. She itched to debrief with Matherson.
But he had morning meetings, and she had a detailed agenda until midday, so she pushed aside her circulating thoughts and headed toward the dining hall for breakfast.
The Command building bustled with activity at ten to hour twelve. Jade had headed straight for Matherson’s office the moment she’d finished lunch, ready to impart what she’d learned at Lesseine the night before.
But she would only speak to what she observed herself. The contents of her informant’s note would remain solely in her knowledge.
“Enter,” came her commander’s strong voice from within the office after she’d knocked on the door.
Jade turned the knob and stepped into the room, stopping short to see a man already seated in one of the soft leather chairs facing Matherson’s desk, his back to her.
This was supposed to be a debrief about her most recent mission.
No one else was supposed to be here. Was she going to get in trouble for disobeying orders after all?
“You’re early, Captain Ni’ihm,” Matherson said matter-of-factly, neither annoyed nor glad. “But I suppose it doesn’t make much difference. Captain Redman can tell you the news himself.”
Captain—did he say Captain Redman?
Jade’s rise of nervous energy accelerated and transformed into overjoyed shock.
The man sitting in the chair before her turned halfway, looking over his shoulder.
His brilliant blue eyes locked onto her, and his mouth pulled in a grin that made Jade’s stomach flip and sent her hurtling into the past.
She was nineteen, embracing him at the end of her graduation ceremony, which he’d been granted leave to attend.
She was fourteen, leaning on him at her mother’s funeral, feeling a little less alone in the world beside him.
She was ten, splashing him in a creek in the height of summer before plopping into a sunny meadow to dry and munch on some apples.
Captain Theo Redman sat in the same room as her, with her for the first time in almost five years.
Seeing him in Matherson’s office was the absolute last thing Jade had expected.
A comfortable warmth rushed through her body as her heart started to race, and she clenched her fists to keep her military formality in check, fingernails digging into her palms. She smiled back at him, her eyes burning.
Long ago, when she hadn’t known they would be separated from each other and go on living different lives, she had imagined a future with this man.
The friendship between them had been transforming as they were cadets, but it was cut short when they were sent to distant bases.
She’d fallen in love with him, only to force herself to shut down those feelings when she realized they might never be stationed in the same place at the same time.
“Surprise,” Theo said, the lines at the corners of his mouth framing his wide, genuine grin.
He looked the same now at twenty-six, if not more mature—and more handsome.
He was clean-shaven—standard for the military—and his light brown hair was shorter on the sides while the length on the top was brushed and styled into place.
There was a new roughness to his features, a new sharpness, but underneath, she saw the boy who had woven her a crown of dandelions and taught her to skip rocks.
After Jade’s mother died, Theo had encouraged her to join the military, not only because he had joined, but because of her focus, drive, and habit to end up in places she wasn’t supposed to be.
Theo had singled her out as an excellent candidate for the intelligence branch long before she had even reached the age to train as a cadet.
In his letters to her, he had written how proud he was of her more times than she could count.
For a long time, it was the only validation she had needed.
Jade tilted her head in his direction, barely able to keep her toes touching the ground. “It is a surprise, Captain Redman. And just what are you doing here?”
“I requested for my company to be transferred here,” he said, the deep timbre of his voice a familiar melody.
A hint of a smile still remained on his lips.
“The new castle guard is most likely to be pulled from this battalion, and I hoped to get my troops close to the castle again. There is room here for another company. I have been in touch with Commander Matherson since we first heard the rumors circulating three days ago.”
“And we’ve been finalizing the details of the transition all day,” Matherson broke in. “We were wrapping up here so Redman can get his troops ready to move in two days from now.”
Move in. Theo had been transferred here.
The words broke open the locked and buried box that housed Jade’s feelings for Theo, hidden away deep but never lost. If he was being transferred to her base, if he was going to be stationed here . . .
Images of a life with him flashed through Jade’s mind, but she quickly turned them off. This wasn’t the time or the place. She didn’t even know if he felt the same way about her. Sure, they had flirted as teenagers, but that seemed like a different lifetime.
But Theo was here now. Her heart soared with the hope of what that might mean.