Page 73

“Well,” he shrugs, dropping his hand away from where his fingers curled, just barely, along the edge of my jaw. “On and off for five years. Most completely for a year and a half when I was twenty. All in secret. Rose didn’t want it to be in the press.”

I quickly do the math in my head, realizing they must have met when he was eighteen. I narrow my eyes very deeply, leaning forward again. “Did you lose your virginity to her?”

He laughs and nods.

I gasp, scandalized. Then, completely on impulse, I lean forward and smack him on the chest. “I can’tbelieveyou brought the girl you lost yourvirginityto on this mission!”

“Ididn’t!” he says, laughing and leaning away from me, his face just…lit with happiness. I pull my hand quickly back, clutching it to my chest, kind of…undone by how happiness transforms his face. I mean, it’s all against my will, but I’m undone by it nonetheless. “Mydadsent her – and he didn’t ask me.”

“Mean daddy,” I murmur.

“Oh, he doesn’t know,” Cole murmurs, glancing over his shoulder at the tent. “Or at least, I don’t think he does. Come on, do you want to go to this briefing? Or do you want to drink coffee and ask me more questions about my sexual history?”

I hesitate for a second too long, and Cole turns back to me, a wide grin on his face.

“Fine, let’s go!” I snap, standing up, very nearly sloshing my coffee everywhere. Only Cole’s steady hand stops my mug from tilting over.

I glare at him for that, storming off toward my dad’s tent. Cole easily keeps up with me, fighting a smile.

I glance up at him. “Thanks,” I whisper. “It…means a lot to me. To be included. I…want to help.”

“I know, Nadia. You’re welcome.” Cole looks seriously down at me as he lifts the tent flap, bowing me inside.

I grin at him as I step into the tent. “Hey, dad!”

Chapter 33 – Command

Nadia

My dad looks up from his desk where he’s setting up the video call, his eyes moving quickly between Cole and me. “Nadia,” he murmurs, dropping his gaze to the keyboard, clearly hiding a smirk. “Good morning. To you as well, Cole.”

“Good morning, sir,” Cole says, taking me by the elbow and giving me a little tug so that I follow him. As we move to stand behind my father, another man comes in – one I’ve seen frequently around camp, especially as he organizes the delivery of more and more patients. He stops at the entrance, narrowing his eyes at me with a frown.

“Captain Stanzor,” Cole says, nodding to the chair in front of him, which is empty and clearly reserved for this relative stranger. “Good morning.”

Stanzor slowly crosses as dad presses the button to connect the video call. The Captain takes his seat, glancing up at me, his confusion obvious. “Are we inviting civilians to secret meetings now?”

“Nurse Amir’s presence is necessary,” Cole murmurs, keeping his eyes on the screen.

“Amir,” Stanzor huffs, glancing over at my dad, clearly making the connection. Dad doesn’t bother looking at him. I fold my hands behind my back, feeling quite…

Well, smug. Yes. I feelquitesmug and pleased.

The video flicks on, focusing on the handsome faces of the King and the High Chancellor of Clythera. They smile to see us.

“Good morning,” Ethan Kincaid says, leaning forward slightly, his eyes moving over us. I note the way he frowns when he notices my presence, but beyond a single look, he doesn’t acknowledge me. “Good to see you all. Cole, everything’s all right?”

“Yes,” Cole says, leaning forward to smile at his father. I look between them, noting again – as everyone in the Kingdom has – the nearlyuncannyresemblance between these two. God, Cole could be his father’s twin if the King were thirty years younger. Or twenty. Ethan Kincaid has aged…very well.

“Is that your daughter, Adam?”

The Chancellor’s voice brings my eyes back to the screen.

“Yes, Nadia is here as well,” dad says, his voice perfectly dry. Remembering that I’ve been instructednotto speak, I just smile and raise my hand in a little wave.

The Chancellor smirks and looks at the King. “Is that the one you were telling me about?”

“No,” the King growls, dry. I go a bit still, wondering…what on earth that could mean.