“Could you point me in the direction of the captain’s office?” I asked.
“Sure thing, ma’am. Which one?”
“Scouting.”
The recruit’s eyes immediately widened, a nervous expression replacing his previously friendly warmth. “Oh, um, I. Err, well, you see…I actuallycan’t?—”
“I’ll take it from here, Edmundson,” a low and grizzly voice spoke from just behind me.
Snapping out of his skittishness, the recruit immediately stood at attention, his back straightening as he raised his hand to his temple in a formal salute. “Yes, sir,” Edmundson said promptly.
I turned to face whoever carried such authority in these halls.
In a uniform noticeably more decorated than any I’d ever seen before, a tall and broad-shouldered man stood with both command and confident ease, looking past me and nodding toward his recruit.
“At ease. Carry on with your day.”
The lines embedded in his deeply golden-brown skin softened slightly as he turned to me, and if I had to wager a guess, he was probably in his mid to late forties. With his cropped black hair, well-kept beard, and the serious gleam in his dark brown, almond-shaped eyes, he cut an imposing figure indeed. No wonder the recruit had been so intimidated, all too eager to scamper off the moment he’d been dismissed.
“Hello, Miss Asher.”
How did he know—I didn’t even bother to finish the thought. If this man was higher in rank than Kieran, I had a feeling there was very little he did not know about what went on in his city-state.
“Hello,” I echoed. “I don’t believe we’ve met, Mister…?”
“Commander,” he corrected. “High Commander Hanjae Ka. And it’s a pleasure to make your formal acquaintance, Lightbearer—though yes, I do already know who you are. Naturally, I’m expected to keep tabs on those with a history of delinquency on their records.”
Oh my gods.
A corner of his mouth twitched when my eyes grew wide as saucers.
“I-I swear I don’t normally make a habit of getting into trouble, sir,” I stammered. “That wholegetting drunk on the Biblyos’ roofthing was a one-time deal, and last week was just?—”
“Come along, Miss Asher. I was only teasing.”
I found his conspiratorial smile rather disarming as he continued. “I take it you’re here to see my scouting captain?”
“Yeah—I mean, yes, sir? Commander? Sorry. Yes, I’m just here to bring Kier—erm, Captain Vistarii? Some lunch,” I sputtered out, awkwardly holding up the brown paper bags.
The idiot hasn’t eaten today.
I wasn’t sure if the full-bellied laugh that escaped the commander was over my irritated expression, or my scrambling attempts to follow decorum, but it made the man look about ten years younger as he said, “No need for such formalities, Miss Asher. You’re not under my command, which means we can skip all those pesky honorifics.” As he guided me toward a short set of stairs leading up to the next floor, he grumbled something so low under his breath that it probably wasn’t intended for me, but Icaught the gist. “The Source only knows your captain can’t seem to manage them, either.”
I tried not to snort. Now, why did that not surprise me?
After the kind commander dropped me off at Kieran’s door, I took a moment to straighten myself out, quickly tidying up any stray curls with my fingertips, adjusting my outfit—feeling unusually shy as I reached out to knock on his door.
“You can come in, Little Conduit,” I heard him call through the door.
I nearly jumped out of my skin.Now, how in the Hel?—
“It’s a ward,” Kieran explained as I stepped into the room with a raised brow. “And ‘loquacious fiend’? That’s a new one. Were you reading the dictionary for fun again, Asher?”
“That was an encyclopedia!”
“Same shit, bookwyrm.”
I blew an irritated breath through my nose as my eyes wandered from his handsome face, taking in the rather spacious suite—the one Kieran claimed was essentially his second home. With floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, a crackling hearth decorated with a miscellany of plaques and medals, and at least three teacups left in precarious locations, I could see that was indeed the case.