Chapter 6
Six
Theo opened the front door of Command and gestured for Jade to exit first. She stepped through the open door, Theo easily returning to her side with his long strides.
Once they’d put several paces between them and Command, he halted abruptly and turned to face her.
Jade followed suit, angling toward him with a slight furrow to her eyebrows.
Being with Theo again brought back a long-lost part of Jade, reuniting her not only with her best friend but also with herself.
She had nearly forgotten the girl who traded shells for rocks, who spent her summers in the creek or on the shore, who learned at a young age that life was rarely fair.
The girl who dreamed of accomplishing something meaningful with her life and held on to whatever she could control of it with an iron grip.
They still weren’t alone, but only a few people traversed the base during mealtimes, which gave them a greater semblance of solitude. A swell of emotion rushed through Jade’s heart as Theo crossed his arms and cocked his head, a slow smile stretching across his face.
“It’s been a long time, Jimmy.”
The emotion building in Jade left her in an unhindered bark of laughter.
All those years, same old Theo. The childhood nickname he had coined for her brought back memories that hadn’t touched her mind in ages.
Two children playing outside when her mother called for her to come inside.
“Gem,” she would say, the endearment Jade’s mother had always used, attributed to the gemstone that was her name.
The first time Theo had overheard it, at eight years old, he had arched an eyebrow and studied her before she took off for the night.
“Jim? As in Jimmy?”
Six-year-old Jade had scoffed, her eyebrows scrunched. “No. Like a gemstone. Like what jade is.”
Understanding had dawned on Theo’s face, but he wiped the expression clean in an instant, instead chuckling and shrugging. “If you say so, Jimmy.”
Jade had rolled her eyes as hard as she could before answering her mother’s call, but Theo had latched onto the nickname, using it anytime he particularly wanted to annoy her.
Now, Jade didn’t mind it. “Haven’t let that go, huh?”
Theo’s grin turned wicked. “Never.”
Jade couldn’t help herself. She laughed again before pressing her lips into a wide smile. “Yes, it’s been too long.”
Her voice came out quieter and raspier than she intended, but she didn’t care. The interaction carried her to a place she hadn’t experienced in years, taking her off guard.
Home.
She lost herself in the clear blue pools of Theo’s eyes, rimmed with a circle of deeper blue and lined with thick, dark lashes.
They still held the same power over her, mesmerizing her with their mixture of sincerity and playfulness.
His lips parted as if to speak before he closed them again, the spell finally breaking when he cleared his throat and spoke.
“I have to be off,” he finally said, a new gruffness in his voice.
“What? Already?” Jade couldn’t bear for him to leave now that she had him back. She didn’t want him to leave ever again. “You’ve only just arrived. You at least have to eat.”
Theo shook his head, soft tendrils of brown hair dipping onto his forehead. “I can’t. I need to get back tonight so I can prepare my company for the transfer tomorrow. It’s a good four hours from Ivanelli to Hillseth.”
Jade nodded, finding peace in the word “transfer.” He would return. He would stay.
“Until Friday then, Captain Ni’ihm.”
A smirk teased Jade’s lips at his intentional use of her title before she straightened her shoulders and tipped her head, playing into his game. “We’ll expect you back then, Captain Redman.”
He saluted her—unnecessary, since he was a captain too, but the twinkle in his eyes gave away the playfulness that accompanied it. He was just being Theo. Then he stepped past her down the path that led to the base’s gate.
Without him, Jade became aware of the pounding of her heart, and she wiped sweaty palms against her jacket. She might as well have been eighteen again.
A rumble in her stomach reminded her that she hadn’t strayed into a dream.
Jade made for the dining hall, glancing over her shoulder at the tall form of Theo striding in the opposite direction.
As if he felt her eyes on him, Theo stopped and angled his head back at her as well.
He smiled before dropping his gaze and continuing on his way.
A comfortable warmth filled her as she turned her attention forward, joy flooding every fiber of her being in a way she never imagined possible again.
“Want to show me to my new place?”
Two days later, Theo returned with his entire company of troops.
Jade had made certain to meet them at the gate, not only because she wanted to see Theo again, but also because she wanted to get familiar with his company.
Some of them had been chosen to accompany them to the Brithswaite estate for her new assignment, and she hoped to make their acquaintance.
“Sure. Your company is in the Dresden barracks.”
Theo glanced over his shoulder at a wagon where cadets were unloading luggage. “Great, I’ve got plenty that needs to be carried.”
She would have shoved him, had they not been captives to decorum, but instead, she followed Theo to the closest wagon being unloaded. He grabbed a pack, turned, and feigned throwing it at her with a grin. Jade flinched and scoffed through a smile.
“Not the sort of behavior I would expect from a respected military leader, Captain Redman.” She crossed her arms and planted her feet, half of her mouth still curling up.
Theo grasped another bag and flung it over his shoulder. “I think you’ll find I’m full of surprises, Captain Ni’ihm.” His eyes twinkled as he took a large satchel from the wagon and held it out for Jade.
She accepted the bag, bringing the long leather strap across her body. “You’ve surprised me already.”
Theo held out one last pack, and Jade extended her arm, accepting the bag and letting the handles fall into the crook of her elbow. “Is that so? How?”
Jade nodded as she turned in the direction of the barracks, Theo falling in step alongside her. “Just by being here. You said you requested the transfer.”
“That’s not in the least bit surprising. We’ve always talked about being stationed together. I saw the opportunity, and I jumped on it.”
Something in Jade’s belly swirled, but she kept her gaze straight ahead as she strode down the stone path to the barracks. “Talking is one thing. Besides, you said you wanted to be here for the potential transfer back to the castle.”
“It’s harder to get a transfer approved with leadership when you say you want to be closer to someone.” The low intonation of Theo’s voice sent Jade’s pulse skipping. Had he truly just come here for her? Before her thoughts spiraled out of control, she mentally shook her head to reframe her focus.
“You controlled the direction of an entire company of troops so we could be on the same base?”
Theo’s momentary hesitation turned Jade’s head, only for her to find him looking down at her. “I worked hard to be in a position where I could do just that.”
A wave of warmth climbed up Jade’s neck, and she dropped her face to avoid him seeing the pink tone undoubtedly rising under her brown skin.
She said nothing as they approached the building where Theo and the rest of his company would be housed, turning his words over in her mind.
He was right. It shouldn’t be a surprise that he wanted to be stationed with her.
As cadets, it was something they had always dreamed of.
It came up every so often in their letters, how much they would like to be on the same base.
But in the years that had passed since, the idea had grown less and less likely, and Jade had come to accept that it might never happen.
Theo, apparently, had been working to ensure it would.
They walked in silence for a few beats as Jade searched for adequate words, but all she finally managed to say was, “Well, I’m glad you’re here.” She lifted her face to his, a small but genuine smile on her lips.
Upon arriving at the barracks, Jade gestured for Theo to enter.
He pulled open one of the double wooden front doors, stepping aside and holding the door for Jade to step in first. She strode through the common room to a hallway on the right, following the same floor plan as her own barracks to the room she knew belonged to the captain.
The Dresden barracks hadn’t been occupied in months, ever since the company residing there had been called to guard Lesseine and the surrounding areas.
Not long after the king had fallen ill, the Fellsrins had notified the military about threats they had received from Lord Marchand, the newest contender for the throne at the time.
Marchand was investigated by the military and surveilled for months, but once it was determined the threats were empty, the investigation was called off.
The extra guards at Lesseine, however, had remained as a precaution protecting the true line of succession.
Jade led Theo wordlessly down the hallway lined with plain wooden doors on either side, finally arriving at an equally nondescript door at the end.
She turned the knob and stepped inside, the crisp scent of cleaning agents stinging her nose.
The room wasn’t much, with a metal-framed bed along one wall, a desk and chair under a window on another, and two doors on either side of a dresser on the third, which led to a closet and a washroom.
One of the greatest benefits of reaching the rank of captain, Jade thought, was having her own private toilet and shower.
Theo dropped his bags unceremoniously on the bed, and Jade added the ones she carried to the pile. He tugged off his cap and threw it on top as he turned in place, taking in the room.