“Theo,” she began, choosing her words carefully, “remember my theory that the assassin is a sorcerer?”
He nodded, a crease between his drawn eyebrows.
“Nothing up here, sir!” a constable called from above, likely from Lord Martin’s box. Jade closed her mouth and waited, her ears perked.
“No sign of anything to indicate the reason for the fall?”
“No, sir,” the constable in the box yelled back. “Just the chairs and a program for the opera.”
“All right, come back down.”
“This place is currently closed to civilians!” another constable called, his voice projecting in the opposite direction of the curtain.
“It’s all right, constables,” came a raspy male voice. “We’re from the mortuary. We’ve come to retrieve the body.”
“Oh, right. Well, come on then.”
Shuffling footsteps and the rustle of fabrics filtered through the curtain, along with murmured instructions for taking hold of Lord Martin’s body.
“We should go. They’re leaving. We can talk more freely outside.”
Jade nodded, and she followed Theo back up the ladder to the top, then through the open ceiling to the access door on the roof where they’d entered the opera house. Once on the roof, they both scanned the area for threats. Theo turned to Jade, leaning against the statue of an otherworldly being twice as tall as him.
“You think the assassin is a sorcerer?”
“It makes sense,” Jade began, absently massaging her injured right shoulder after so much wear on it. “I already wondered if he could be using magic to get around unnoticed, but this confirms it to me. Lord Martin had no reason to fall, no poison. The constables said he went into a daze, leaned forward, and fell. You can’t tell me that’s not the result of an external magical influence.”
Theo rubbed his chin. “He could have even led me toward the rope. If he is a sorcerer, we have to alter our approach to these investigations. We could just as easily fall under his influence if we’re not on our guard.”
Unease soured Jade’s stomach. She had likely already been a victim of the sorcerer assassin’s magical influence, a power so great it scared kings of the past into calling for the execution of all magic-wielders. But it raised thequestion—why hadn’t he used it on her since? Or had he, but she had been blissfully unaware?
She would have noticed.Surelyshe would have noticed. She’d been trained. But if he were older, more experienced in making his magic undetectable...
“Come on,” Theo said, shaking her from her thoughts. “We’ll report back to Matherson and see where to go from here.”
Jade gave a weak nod, but Theo came to her, grabbing her hand and kissing her quickly on the forehead. “Thanks for helping me back there.”
A huff of disbelief left Jade’s lips as she furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about? I will always come for you. I was—” She dropped her eyes, unable to hold his gaze as the heat of tears pricked the backs of her eyes. “I was terrified it wasyouthat had fallen. That I’d look out from the rafters and see your body on the floor.”
“Hey,” he murmured in a low breath, pulling her into a hug.
Jade closed her eyes as her face pressed into his jacket, inhaling his rich, earthy scent. He smelled of pine and cedar and home. The wetness that pooled around her lashes absorbed into the fabric as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“I’m sorry. But I’m here. You’ve still got me.”
She pulled back and looked up at him through the blur of tears, then lifted up onto her toes to press a kiss to his lips.
“And you know what? I just thought of something good that can come out of this.”
Jade narrowed her eyes, skeptical. “What?”
Even in the darkness, she saw the smirk that tipped Theo’s lips. “You have a cover for your injured shoulder now. You can tell Matherson that you dove through the flies to save me and barely managed to catch yourself.”
Jade made a show of rolling her eyes, but she smiled despite it all. He’d given her an excuse and a victory, even if it was a lie. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d covered for her. He’d been there for her as cadets, coming in tohelp her out of sticky situations and keeping things quiet as long as no one was in danger. Without a doubt, Jade could always trust that Theo would have her back.
In all her life, she would never deserve this man.
Twenty-Eight
