“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 andholding 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.
“The washroom and closet are over there,” she pointed out, raising a finger toward the doors. “I know it’s not a lot, but the military isn’t exactly one for extravagance, as I’m sure you’re well aware.”
“Not a lot?” Theo echoed, crossing the room and peering into the washroom and closet on the opposite side. “At Hillseth, the captains still had to use the communal washrooms like everyone else. Only leadership had their own.” He turned to face her again, his eyes wide with awe.
Jade grinned and leaned against the bed. “If only they could get us bathtubs. Then this really will be the lap of luxury.”
Theo laughed, and a sensation Jade couldn’t quite pinpoint struck all her senses. The smell of newly cut grass mingled with the perfume of roses. Gentle fingers running through her hair. The soft comfort of freshly baked bread. Water trickling over her bare feet in the creek. A woman’s voice, calling her name.
The sound of Theo’s laughter connected her to her old life, the life where two playful children lived in homes down the street and a mother protected and provided for Jade. In all her time in the military, Jade never imagined such strong memories to be possible again, but Theo had brought with him a magic that returned her to her past.
Seeing him standing there before her, a man with the same eyes and smile as the boy from home, brought a surge of feelings that she had previously believed snuffed out. She saw the friend she had caught frogs with to pit in a race against each other. The friend who always appeared after dinner for a taste of whatever dessert Mama had made that evening. The friend who had held her as she cried at her mother’s burial.
The boy who always supported her, encouraged her, and cared for her, whom she had once thought she might have a lifetime with.
Theo appeared to notice the change in Jade, tilting his head and losing some of his grin as he stared at her across the room.
“I really am glad you’re here, Theo.” The words were little more than a whisper, her use of his given name breaking down the walls of military formality surrounding them.
In three strides, Theo had returned to Jade and wrapped her in an embrace without hesitation. She twined her arms around his neck, closing her eyes and inhaling his scent. It had changed—the starch of his uniform jacket and aroma of the military-issued soap pronounced—but there, underneath it all, was the soft, earthy scent that she so closely associated with him.
He dipped his head into her neck, murmuring against her skin, “I missed you.”
Jade swallowed, willing the pricks behind her eyes to refrain from turning into tears. “I missed you, too.” She hadn’t realized how badly she’d ached for his presence. How little his letters compared to being with him. How much she never wanted to let him go again.
Theo pulled back and met her gaze, his eyes searching hers like he could read her entire story in them. His hands dropped to her waist, his touch delicate over the stiff fabric of her jacket.
Something in the atmosphere shifted. He’d never held her like that before, his hands gently circling her waist. Jade’s heartbeat quickened. Every ounce of affection she held for Theo came rushing to the surface. Could this be real? Could the one thing she’d dared to hope for and ultimately gave up on be within her reach now?
“Jade,” he whispered, their gazes locked, “you have to know—”
A clamor of voices carried from down the hallway as what was most likely a group of troops from Hillseth entered the barracks. Jade’s and Theo’s heads whipped to the open door of his bedroom at the same time, and Jade stepped backward out of his gentle grasp, bumping into the bed.
“Let me know if you need anything,” she mumbled, pushing off from the bed and finding her way around Theo. “I’m happy to show you around the base, or—”
“Jade.” Theo grabbed Jade’s hand as she tried to slip past him, tugging her back. She glanced up to meet his surprisingly intense gaze, and his mouth opened as to finish his sentence. But the voices grew louder as doors near them began to open. Theo bit back his words, the muscles of his jaw clenching as he pressed his lips tightly together. He seemed to reconsider, then finally murmured, “Where can I find you?”
“Capernaum barracks, to the right.” Jade smiled softly again, and one side of Theo’s mouth tipped up in reply. “Settle in. I’ll see you at the meeting later.”
