Page 15 of Taking Jenny
When standing, the man had been taller than me, like most Ladrian men. Younger, too, but his amber brown eyes were full of rage. Neatly trimmed black hair. The most striking feature was his skin. Orne. Distinctly Orne. Gray with a purple sheen. He could not hide his cursed heritage, something I understood all too well.
His family was the last one with his coloring. I had never met an Orne before and this one was muscular, but not bulky. I wasn’t sure if that was due to his heritage or if he was more of a busybody than a lifter.
During the war, the Ornes had sided with the Dembecks and fought against the Bateens. It had been foolish—they didn’t have the numbers or weapons, so there had been no good reason to fight other than pure stubbornness. Most of them had been slaughtered. No one spoke particularly well of the Ornes, only that they were a backward family and still relied on a clan structure. But this one did not seem backward at all. Even with his wrists manacled and a gag in his mouth, he was incredibly handsome.
My gaze drifted to the human woman with thick blue streaks in her hair, something I had never seen before on one of them. Had she thought that would disguise her so she could blend in? Her ivory skin was flushed as she yanked herself away from the guards and made a growling sound around the gag. A smile twitched at the corners of my mouth. She had a lot of spirit in a small, curved package and I was…fascinated.
Her brown eyes danced all over the room, taking in every detail. Her gaze abruptly stopped on me and studied my clothes. I was one of the few in the court who could afford the luxury of an Earth-style suit, and the familiarity must have confusedher considering I wasn’t human. But as she stared at me, my heartbeat slowed in my chest. She was similarly bound as the Orne, yet there was an exquisiteness to her that mesmerized me and made me wonder whether she was human royalty.
“Remove his gag,” Justice ordered and a guard quickly jumped to do his bidding. “Your name?”
The male prisoner stretched his jaw for a moment before answering. “Tiger Orne.”
Justice’s gaze narrowed on him, recognition flashing across his features. “Tiger, why are you here and why were you asking about me and my family?”
“You are the most important family in the history of Orhon, your highness,” Tiger drawled, almost insolently. “I’m not sure why Iwouldn’thave asked about you.”
Justice laughed, yet there was no humor to be found in the sound. “A temerarious answer, boy. Perhaps I should send you to your employer in pieces. Deacon Ladrang, if I’m not mistaken. Make an example of you. How is Valor Ladrang doing these days?”
“Dead, last I heard,” Tiger said with a shade of anger.
A murmur went through the court, while I had to suppress my amusement. Tiger Orne was bold enough to not answer honestly when directly confronted by our ruler and ballsy enough to show his displeasure regarding Justice’s choice to execute Valor Ladrang.
I liked him.
Justice did not. He leaned forward in his chair, pinning Tiger with an incensed stare. “Perhaps we should start with your tail. Guard, lop the end and ship it to Halla. Let Valor know what I do with brash boys who do not show respect.”
The human woman growled against her gag and managed to stand, moving between Tiger and the guard as he advanced toward him. She kicked when the guard tried to push her aside,but Tiger’s expression betrayed nothing. He only tried to calm her down.
“It’s okay,” he said in a shockingly soothing tone. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”
She shook her head vigorously and still tried to kick the guard, before another one picked her up and forced her back onto her knees. The flush of indignation made her even more beautiful than before.
Oh hell, I like her, too.
Longshot saw my face and spoke up. “Ruler, perhaps mutilating the boy will only antagonize your enemies.”
“Why should I care who is antagonized?” Justice snapped.
“I have often found it is best to let spies report whatever they’ve heard, so long as they have only heard what you want them to know,” Longshot said reasonably. “Besides, the prison and its infirmary are full. If you clip him, he will have to go to both.”
Justice huffed, then firmed his lips as he looked at Longshot. “You’re right. Do you know how infuriating it is that you’re always right?”
Longshot offered a slight smile and a bow of his head. “I have been told.”
“Very well,” Justice said, waving his hand imperiously in the air. “Let the insolent boy keep his tail. For now.”
A wicked idea flashed through my mind, and I stepped through the crowd and moved up to the front of the room. “Perhaps, since the prison is so full, I could be of service.”
Justice turned his attention to me, frowning. “I cannot recall the last time you spoke up at court, Malice. What service are you offering?”
I clasped my hands behind my back, my expression giving nothing away. “Obviously this pair has secrets. I would be happy todiscoverthem on your behalf. Besides, if you want to make anexample of them, it will have to wait until after Illiapol anyway. No one can focus on anything else, this close to the holiday.”
“That is a good point,” Justice said as he thought it over. Then he sneered at the prisoners. “And after Malice Ripper is through with you, you will wish I had simply executed you.” He let out an evil sounding guffaw, seemingly delighted with this plan. “Get the information out of them and find out why they are here, then you can do whatever you want with them. Afterwards, we’ll ship their bodies to the Ladrangs on Halla. Another reminder that I am not one to be trifled with.”
I nodded once, and waited for the guards to fit the prisoners with their gags once again before I took their leash and gave it a firm tug, making them rise to their feet. Then, I led them from the throne room, paging my staff ahead of our arrival to allow them time to set everything up at my estate. I thought it best not to speak to the prisoners until we were someplace private. Let their minds wander as I showed them the splendor of the palace. I personally didn’t enjoy it any longer, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t.
My onworlder was large enough for eight plus a chauffeur, but I preferred to drive myself most of the time. I set them in the last seat row and drove us to my estate on the far side of Evermoor, an elite suburb of Ladrille. My nearest neighbors were several kilometers away, but they still had issued a complaint when I had moved to my estate.
