Commander Matherson stared Jade down, an expectant pause hanging over them. He’d been speaking. He must have asked her a question. The shock at hearing of Lord Grannam’s death had so redirected her focus that she hadn’t even heard him.
“I’m sorry, what was that, Commander?”
“Do you have any reason to believe Lord Grannam was not the one behind the murders?”
Jade shook her head. “No, sir. Everything pointed to him. I even—” She stopped. This was the moment that would change everything. “I even found a letter from Lord Grannam in Lord Arthur’s house on the day he was killed implicating him in his murder.”
Matherson’s face did not change, a solid mask. Somehow, it made this moment so much worse.
“And where is that letter, Captain Ni’ihm?”
Jade cast a quick glance at Theo beside her, who caught it and gave her a subtle nod. Matherson’s eyes flicked between them, apparently noticing the movement but saying nothing.
“I gave it to an informant who has been providing me with leads in exchange for evidence.”
Matherson’s expression turned to steel as his eyes narrowed. He was seething, taking long, deep breaths to keep his anger controlled. In all her time serving under his command, Jade had never seen him so infuriated. Matherson was a generally peaceful man, preferring instruction and discipline to fiery explosions when his soldiers messed up. But this was unlike anything Jade had witnessed from him before. The betrayal was clearly something he’d never anticipated from Jade.
She dove into the explanation, telling Matherson everything she had just shared with Theo and making sure he understood that Theo was not involved. As she spoke, Matherson took a seat, tapping his fingers fiercely on the desk. The further Jade got in her story, the less she trusted Nicolas’s promises that nothing would happen to her career. The flare of Matherson’s nostrils and the irritated twitches of his lip indicated she was at least looking at one demotion, if not both that she had gained during her time working for Nicolas. Possibly even more. Discharge from the military. Where would she be then? Everything she had worked for was about to go up in smoke.
“I only followed the tips initially because I was running missions where I could double-check them, anyway. When I found they were good, I started to keep an eye out for them. And then once Grand General Devereaux said she wasn’t getting new information, I decided to work for Nicolas because he’d proven himself to me already.” Jade tried to appeal to some compassionate part of Matherson, if any remained. “I swear to you, Commander, everything I did was in the interest of seeing Prince Reynauld take the throne and ending the Conflict of Succession.”
“Everything except bringing the information you discovered back here.” Commander Matherson’s tone was rough and gritty, something Jade rarely heard from him. “Have you considered that if we had received the evidence that Grannam was behind the assassinations, he would have already been stricken of his dukedom and taken into custody? He might still be alive.”
Jade’s eyes dropped to her lap, where her hands clutched each other. She hadn’t considered that. The news must have gotten out and someone decided to take matters into their own hands, likely a family member of one of the murder victims seeking revenge. But who? And how?
Jade’s head shot back up. “How did he die?”
“I beg your pardon?” Matherson’s words were only partially accusatory, a slight curiosity invading his voice.
“How was Lord Grannam killed?”
“Don’t change the subject, Ni’ihm.” Commander Matherson narrowed his eyes at her, utter disappointment mixed with ire radiating off him. “I haven’t minded when you’ve gone against orders on a mission if you believed it was necessary and relatively safe. But this...” He shook his head, and Jade shriveled into a small child being scolded, especially given how fatherly Matherson had always been to her. “You’ve deliberately withheld information that could have aided our efforts to end this conflict and insteadgivenit to a man who’s not affiliated with this at all.”
Jade swallowed her defensiveness, her throat thick. Matherson’s stare was sharp with disapproval, but the corners of his eyes sagged in genuine sadness, as though he was as upset at her underhanded dealings as he was to lose a sense of faith in her. This was so much worse than Jade had ever imagined.
“I’m so sorry, Commander. Truly.” Jade didn’t mean for her voice to quake. She wasn’t trying to elicit sympathy from Matherson. She deserved any punishment he would give her and more.
Matherson didn’t reply, instead turning his attention to Theo. “Redman, you will now be lead on this assignment.”
Jade didn’t dare to speak. Of course Matherson was taking her off the mission. She’d lost his trust. Probably her position. She dropped her eyes to her lap as she chewed the inside of her lip, acid churning in her stomach with shame.
“What you’ve done could be considered treason, Captain Ni’ihm.”
Matherson’s clear return to her pulled her face up, and she found him staring intently at her over the folded hands on his desk.
“I have perfectly acceptable grounds to dismiss you from service right here, right now. But I won’t.” He sighed, his posture softening. “For one, you’re too valuable an asset. We would be doing ourselves a disservice to lose your skills in this most critical hour. But also”—Matherson inclined his head toward her, and the sternness of his tone vanished—“I know your intentions were good. Your loyalty runs deep, as does your sense of duty. You still wentbehind my back and lost valuable information as a result, so there will be a punishment for that, but the military can’t afford to suffer from you taking a punishment. I will keep this between us...for now.”
Jade’s jaw dropped. She absolutely did not deserve such exoneration after what she had done.
“But my pardon is not endless,” Matherson continued, pointing a finger from his clasped hands toward her. “A second chance is just that:asecond chance. I will not be able to look the other way again. Understood?”
“Of course, sir,” Jade answered with a quick nod, her heart in her throat. “Thank you.”
Matherson only inclined his head in response. “I want you on the mission with Redman. You’re still my top agent in The Claim, and the two of you work well together.” His abdomen pressed against the desk as he leaned forward, holding eye contact with Jade. “Get to the bottom of this, Jade. I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, sir.”
The use of her name got her attention. Shewouldget to the bottom of this. She was so close now.
