She refused to believe it. Nicolas was getting under her skin. But his leads had never steered her wrong before.
The monotonoustick-tick-ticking of the clock grew to a roar as Grand General Devereaux seemed to ponder over the reports Jade and Theo had recounted. She drummed her fingers on the table, her nose high in the air.
“So you think the assassin and Lord Grannam’s associate are different people. That is possible. But how would the assassin be involved in the death of Lord Martin?” Devereaux’s tone held a mixture of curiosity and challenge as the rhythm of her fingers carried through the room. “As I previously stated, he had consumed nothing that could have contained poison. He was not pushed. By all accounts, he became faint and lost his balance.”
Jade inhaled deeply through her nose, readying her words and preparing for Grand General Devereaux’s reaction, whatever it may be. “I believe the assassin is a sorcerer.”
The drumming on the table ceased. Devereaux froze, her narrowed gaze fixed on Jade. “Do you have any proof?”
There was an edge to the way Grand General Devereaux asked that set off an alert in Jade’s head, as though she needed to know what proof Jade had found rather than if she had found any.
“No, I don’t,” Jade replied, and she didn’t miss the slight release of tension in Devereaux’s shoulders. “Nothing except a sensation that came over me the first time I encountered the killer.”
Jade quickly recounted the tale from the night of Count Aubergine’s death. Only the tiniest flicker of reaction passed over Devereaux’s face—a clench of her jaw—and Jade didn’t know what to make of it.
When Jade had concluded, Devereaux brought her hands together again on the table, her fingers tightly interlocked. She paused, angling her head in thought before lifting her eyes again to Jade. When she spoke this time, each word came out quietly and slowly as if it carried a deadly secret.
“If this killer is truly a sorcerer, why would he not use the power of influence from his magic for all his murders? Why bother with poison?”
It was a question Jade had considered herself but didn’t have the answer to. “I don’t know,” Jade replied, that now-familiar burn of failure coiling in her gut again. “I think he has used magic in order to get around and gain access to his victims, but I can’t figure out why he always uses poison as his weapon. It might be so that people wouldn’t suspect he is a sorcerer.”
She cast a quick glance at Theo. He was no sorcerer. Jade had known him almost her whole life. In all that time, if he had been a sorcerer, some manifestation of it would have come out, especially as a child. No, Theo was no more a sorcerer than Jade, which sealed the opinion in her mind.
Theo was not the assassin. Nicolas was wrong.
Grand General Devereaux hummed, then turned to Theo. “Captain Redman, in your experience with this assassin, have you drawn the same conclusions?”
Theo sat forward, his forearms resting on the table. “I haven’t had the same kinds of interactions as Captain Ni’ihm has, but I support her position. In my opinion, it makes sense to assume that the killer is a magic-wielder.”
Jade could have hugged Theo. She would, after they left the meeting.
“It’s something worth investigating,” Grand General Devereaux said after a moment, shifting her focus from Theo to Jade. “But, unfortunately, we have nothing concrete to lead us back to the killer and currently no leads as to what Lord Grannam’s next move may be.”
“If I may make a suggestion...” Jade moved in her seat to turn her attention to Commander Matherson. She hadn’t forgotten what Nicolas had requested of her the last time they were together. “I’ve cultivated a relationship with Lady Marguerite. I can reach out to her and ask to pay her a visit, but only her. The other times I have spent with her, others have always been around. But perhaps if I can get her by herself, I could direct the conversation so she might divulge whatever she knows about her father’s plans.”
Commander Matherson raised his eyebrows and turned to Devereaux, as if for confirmation. “This was ultimately the purpose of Captain Ni’ihm’s mission: to gather information from the royal family as a result of developing trust between them.”
Devereaux nodded. “Yes, we’ll set that up right away.” Pristine eyebrows arched over the sharp green eyes that cut Jade to her core. “No missteps, Captain. We need to know what Lord Grannam plans to do next.”
A thin smile stretched across Jade’s lips, her poor attempt at reassuring Grand General Devereaux that she would be successful. “Of course, Grand General.”
Information on Grannam for the military. Information on Arabella for Nicolas. The two directions competing for Jade’s attention would have to battle it out in the moment whenever she met with Marguerite. Perhaps she could get enough on each contender to satisfy both her commanding officers and Nicolas.
Either way, there was no question this conflict was drawing to a close. What remained to be seen was whether the ending would come about peacefully or go up in flames.
Thirty
The day Marguerite had pickedto invite “Elena” over ended up bringing a thunderstorm with it, forcing the ladies inside. They sat in the drawing room as rain lashed the windows and lightning split the sky. Theo, as Elena’s driver, had been given the opportunity to come inside and take shelter from the storm. He waited in a room off the staff entrance with his own refreshments, ready to jump into action if Jade needed him.
Jade brought the steaming cup of tea to her lips, relishing the comfort of the hot beverage on such a dreary day. The same cakes from their previous meeting were present, a highlight that Marguerite immediately pointed out. She truly loved the soft, round treats.
But the cakes weren’t the only thing that made Jade happy to be there. Surprisingly, she had been looking forward to meeting with Marguerite again, and not only to see what she could learn. Jade realized she enjoyed time spent in Marguerite’s presence, almost as if she was becoming a friend.
But Jade wasn’t there to make friends. She had a job to do.
“I was absolutely horrified when Lord Martin fell from his box,” Jade said before taking a sip, giving Marguerite an opportunity to respond.
Marguerite’s eyebrows crinkled. “Were you at the opera? I didn’t see you.”
