Chapter 12
Twelve
The afternoon sun shone hot and bright down on Jade and Theo as they left Command the following day. Since Jade had remained at the ball until late into the night, Major Clarke had allowed her to sleep into the morning at the manor and return to base for debrief at hour fourteen.
“So the first man you danced with,” Theo began as they strode down the path toward the community of barracks. He kept his gaze straight ahead. “Nicolas Camarata. He seemed to have bitterness toward Lord Grannam?”
Of all the things Jade had told them, of course that was what Theo focused on. Her heart jolted at the mention of the strange man, especially hearing his name come from Theo’s mouth. But she didn’t have time to delve into what that meant right now.
Or wonder why she hadn’t thought of Theo the entire time she was with Nicolas.
Hours before, she’d had to force her feelings for Theo down so she could focus on the mission, but as she danced in another man’s arms, nothing of Theo returned to her mind.
Had she simply done what she’d been trying to do?
Or had Nicolas so fully captivated her that even thoughts of Theo couldn’t break through?
Jade had relayed the events of the night to both men, downplaying her encounter with Nicolas and entirely omitting how he had affected her.
She noted how his mood momentarily shifted when he mentioned Grannam and how she suspected he might have been a spy for one of the royals, though she had no proof that he was involved in the conflict in any way.
“Yes, but I feel like that’s not terribly out of the ordinary.
” Jade glanced up at Theo, studying his expression to glean anything she could about what he was thinking.
“I just wish I hadn’t been dancing with him when I saw Arabella speaking to Grannam.
I could have gotten close enough to hear something. ”
Theo nodded before turning his face toward Jade. “Maybe, but you’ll be going back to the palace soon. You’ll have more chances to find out what is going on.”
“Yeah.” Jade kept pace with Theo, her mind wandering to the upcoming dinner party. Commander Matherson, thrilled with Jade’s results at the masquerade, had immediately agreed to post the telephone number to Marguerite so she would be able to call her with any invitation.
Theo stopped in his tracks, and Jade followed suit in response. He faced her, angling his head down toward her. “You all right?”
Jade nodded, relaxing her scrunched brow even though her mind still whirred.
“Mhmm. Just thinking.” She released his gaze and shook her head slightly.
“The killer’s still at large. We still don’t know who hired him.
I want to get back out there, do something that will be helpful.
I don’t want to wait until the dinner party. ”
Theo’s silence drew Jade’s eyes back up to him. He stared off into the distance, thoughtful.
“New weapons just arrived at the training arena.” A smirk tugged at his lips. “Want to go break them in?”
Jade rolled her lips as she considered his proposition.
At this time of day, there were no designated training sessions, so the arena would only be occupied with a few troops who wanted to spend their free time honing their combat skills.
Jade and Theo didn’t have any obligations until dinner, so it wasn’t a bad idea to go to the training arena and move her body.
It was that or go for a jog around base.
“It should help with the restlessness.” Theo must have taken her pause as hesitancy. He dipped his head toward her, his smile turning sly. “I won’t go easy on you.”
Jade scoffed, a grin of her own teasing her lips. “Have you ever?”
Theo shrugged innocently, but Jade knew the answer. He’d always challenged her, pushed her to be stronger, better.
“There should be some stakes, then,” she said, crossing her arms. “What’s on the line?”
Squinting against the sun, Theo thought for a moment. “Loser polishes winner’s dress boots for a month.”
An image of Theo scrubbing Jade’s black leather boots until they shone arose in her mind’s eye, and she tipped her chin into the air as she narrowed her eyes. “You’re on, Redman.”
They changed course and headed in the direction of the training arena, only a short walk away. A few troopers with a free hour milled about, most everyone else occupied in field training, strategy sessions, or meetings.
The training arena was divided into two major sections: a spacious, high-ceilinged room with rubber mats on the wooden floor and racks of blunted weapons and dummies, and a grouping of smaller rooms with various exercise equipment for strength training.
As Jade expected, the main room of the training arena was deserted except for three soldiers, two sparring and one practicing against a dummy.
Grunts from the exercise rooms beyond filtered into the arena, indicating the presence of a few more.
The three soldiers in the arena looked up briefly at Jade and Theo’s entrance before returning to their activities.
“Should we use the same weapon?” Jade asked as they stopped by a long bench. She unclasped her belt and slung it over the bench before starting to unbutton her jacket.
“It’s only fair.” Theo grasped his cap and laid it near her belt, then ran a hand through the longer hair on the top of his head.
He glanced over at Jade, his eyes landing on the buttons her fingers manipulated.
Her stomach flipped and swirled with warmth.
The rhythmic pounding of her pulse became noticeable as heat crept up her neck and jawline, and she fumbled over a button.
She cleared her throat before replying. “A pair of knives, then.” Her weapon of choice.
As an intelligence agent, Jade kept weapons on her person only for self-defense.
The pistol she always wore at her hip was helpful in case something went wrong and her cover was blown, but she preferred the silent knives if she needed to make a clean getaway.
Theo smirked, his eyes bright, and he removed his own jacket in a few swift movements to reveal a plain white cotton shirt underneath that clung to his sculpted abdomen. “A fine choice.”
Jade couldn’t stop the flood of heat that rushed into her cheeks, so she turned and quickly covered the distance to the weapons. She’d never been as self-conscious in her own sleeveless white undershirt as she did in that moment, feeling Theo’s gaze behind her.
She ran her thumb over the hilts of the practice knives hung in a row on one of the weapons racks.
Tarnished metal and worn leather gave way to shiny new weapons, and Jade selected two of the new knives.
Light streaming in from the wall of windows glinted off the metal.
She took her position on a free mat as Theo selected his weapons, and he strode to take his stance opposite her.
“Do we have any ground rules?” he asked, twirling one knife in his fingers.
“No rules. Whatever it takes to win.”
Theo angled his head, and a crooked grin split his face. “Captain Ni’ihm, are you suggesting we fight dirty?”
“I’m just giving you your best chance,” Jade quipped.
“Oh, I see how it is.” Theo tossed one of the knives in the air and caught its hilt with the blade pointing behind him. He bent at the knees and held the knives slightly out at his sides. “And how will we determine the winner?”
Jade mimicked his posture, crouching a little and readying her weapons. “First to tap out.”
Theo replied with a single nod and forced his smile away. Seconds passed, and they stared each other down, unwilling to be the first to make a move.
It had been years since they’d sparred, the last time happening when they overlapped as cadets in training. Jade now had to view Theo as a new, unfamiliar opponent. His fighting style would have certainly changed in all that time, and she couldn’t count on past strategies to work against him.
Theo broke free from their impasse—as Jade had predicted, his impatience getting the better of him—and lunged with an arm arcing down at her.
Jade ducked and slid past him, giving him nothing to catch his momentum but air.
He recovered quickly, finding his balance and rounding again on Jade.
This time she was too close to avoid the hit, but she got her blade up in time to meet his in the air.
She used her left hand to jab, crossing her body and aiming for his torso, but he pulled back.
Metal scraped against metal as their knives slid down each other, and Jade whirled, using her small stature to her advantage and swiping at his legs.
Her blade caught the fabric of his pants, forcing Theo back.
She took the second to catch her breath, but Theo was already on the move.
He released a knife with a spin and gripped it again almost instantly, adjusting it in his grasp.
He closed in on her and slashed his knife toward the space between her shoulder and her neck.
The blade whistled by her ear, but Jade kept her feet planted, leaning back at her hips, and the blade grazed her chest as it came across her body.
A line of fire tore across Jade’s exposed chest, just beneath her collarbone.
The weapons may have been blunted, but metal was metal, and these new knives hadn’t been further worn down with use.
Without looking down, she could tell the knife had only left a scratch and hadn’t drawn much, if any, blood, and she wouldn’t let a scratch stop her.
Theo hesitated as his wide eyes dropped to the wound he had left, his lips parting in what might have been worry.
But Jade didn’t move other than to retake her stance, unflustered, and Theo’s eyes flashed back up to meet her own.
He must have seen the challenge in her expression, because his mouth transformed into a half-smile and he moved again.