He walked well enough beside her, but she still wanted to offer the support for both his physical pain and any emotional damage she had caused. How could she haveeverin her right mind not only pointed a gun at Theo, but pulled the trigger?
But that was the thing: she wasn’t in her right mind.
How long had Nicolas been controlling her? From the moment they met? Before? Had he hidden in the shadows and guided her exactly where she needed to go on her missions? The thought made her sick, like she needed to take a scalding shower to rid herself of the lingering traces of his influence.
Now was the perfect time to search his bunker for all the evidence they needed to accuse him, but Jade didn’t have that luxury. Theo needed prompt medical attention. Inevitably, by the time they came back, likely with a whole squad at their disposal, the place would be wiped clean.
“I’m so sorry, Theo,” she whispered as she helped him toward the door. “For all of it. I never should have trusted Nicolas. I never should have done all of this alone. So much could have been avoided if—”
“I know,” he replied gently. Jade glanced up to see him peering down at her, compassion—not anger or disappointment—radiating from his features in the meager light. “Let’s just do what we can about it now, all right?”
Jade nodded, feeling less sure than she expressed to Theo, but she would do everything in her power not to fail him again.
They left the bunker and stepped into the tunnels, but before turning in the direction of the way back, Jade peered down the length of the tunnel to her right. Nicolas had once mentioned that the tunnels ran underground between several farmhouses, connecting bunkers for various families. There was no way of knowing where he had gone, no way to pursue him down here. Just like that, Nicolas was gone without a trace.
Forty-Four
Night had fully descended bythe time Jade and Theo emerged from the tunnels. Theo had been moving at a decent pace, and by the amount of his weight on Jade’s shoulder, he wasn’t using her much for support. But after they left the farmhouse and crossed to where Jade’s horse waited in the stables, Theo’s breathing was ragged and too shallow. He’d probably been trying too hard to act like he was better than he truly was.
Jade helped Theo mount her horse then climbed on in front of him. “Hold on tight; I’ll get you back to base.”
“I can ride, Jade,” Theo insisted, but a note of fatigue crept through his voice. “Just take me to my horse at the road. I don’t want to leave it.”
“No! You won’t make it. Ride with me.”
“I’m fine, I swear to you,” Theo said with more force than he likely intended. “Let me getmy horse, please.”
Jade growled deep within her throat. “Fine,” she ground out and stopped the horse at the edge of the property, where Theo’s horse was silently grazing.
To keep Theo from having to dismount and hoist himself onto another horse, Jade rode his instead. She took the lead, riding side by side with Theo and keeping a close eye on him. A couple of times, his body swayed and his head bobbed, and Jade called his name to try to keep him alert. If they didn’t get back soon, he would pass out and fall from his horse.
Jade mapped their route in her head. They should only have a few more minutes of riding. She was torn between riding ahead and getting help and not leaving Theo to make sure nothing happened to him. In the end, she kept close beside him until the wall was finally in sight.
“Captain Redman is hurt!” Jade called out to whoever was on night duty before they reached the gate. “He needs medical attention immediately!”
The troopers at the gate came out of the gatehouse as they approached, hesitating until Jade and Theo got closer. One of them must have recognized the captains and called for the gate to be opened. The others rushed toward Jade and Theo, and just in time. Theo’s body had gone limp and started to slide off Jade’s horse.
Jade practically jumped out of the saddle, ready to soften his fall, but the other troopers reached them before his body hit the ground and caught him. The three troopers carrying him moved automatically in the direction of the medical ward while a fourth retrieved the horses. Jade followed closely behind, suddenly feeling useless.
When they reached medical, Jade ran ahead and opened the door for the troopers. The physician on duty met them inside, coming out of his quarters in the building where he stayed when he was working.
“Gunshot wound to the shoulder,” Jade said without preamble. “He’s lost a lot of blood.”
The physician, Doctor Bethle, pulled his glasses from his pocket and unfolded them, then slid the arms over his ears. “Take Captain Redman inthat room, please.” He gestured toward a door, and the troopers carried Theo inside.
In the light, Jade realized how pale he’d become. The blood stain trailing down his jacket had tripled, but at least the bleeding had slowed. No doubt the ride there wasn’t good for him, but they’d had no other choice.
After the troopers laid Theo down on the bed in the room, they turned and departed. Jade made to enter, but Doctor Bethle stopped her at the door. “Let me attend to him, Captain Ni’ihm,” the older man said. “I’ll keep you updated. Wait out here.”
It was like asking the wind to stay still. Jade obeyed, but she never remained in one place for longer than a minute. Her mind rushed with a flurry of thoughts, many of which she wished she could obliterate from her mind. She hated how easily she gave in to Nicolas’s magic, how much she had believed he could be trusted. The assassin had been within her reach for so long and she’d never realized it.
He was using powerful magic on you. There’s no way you could have resisted, especially without knowing what you were up against.Jade tried to reassure herself, to give herself any excuse for falling into the trap he had lain for her, but nothing made her feel better. She should have known better. She should have been able to put things together faster. Alanna might still be alive if she had.
Jade’s heart caught in her throat and her insides twisted. The coronation was tomorrow. Nicolas was undoubtedly on his way there, with plans to eliminate Reynauld and Arabella. They were the last obstacles standing in his way to the throne.
She shot a glance up at the clock hanging on the wall. Half past hour twenty-two. The coronation was to begin at hour nine the following morning, and the trip back to the castle was a solid five hours with minimal breaks to rest. If she was lucky, she might be able to do it in a shorter amount of time alone on horseback.
Jade would wait as long as she could to see how Theo fared, but she didn’t have a choice. She had to ride through the night to make it back intime for the coronation. Neither Reynauld nor Arabella stood a chance otherwise. And even though Reynauld had done something utterly despicable in his arrangement of the murder plot against the queen and prince, he was still next in line for the throne, and it was Jade’s job to protect him.
