Page 29 of Taking Jenny
The insipid little man glared at me. “Just because you’re luckier than everyone else doesn’t make you better than us, boy,” he snapped.
I arched a brow. “I’m lucky?”
He stood, shouting belligerently now. “A lucky boy who sits at the side of the most powerful man in all of Ladrian history! You did nothing to earn your position. Not like the rest of us who had to work for it!”
Justice started to speak, but I cut in, seething. “I lost all my memories before the age of twelve. I lost my entire family. I was half-starved under the rubble of my home. I was born with no tail. Youknowwhat I do for this council and what I’ve sacrificed, so call me lucky again, Pleon. I fucking dare you.”
The other man swallowed hard in the face of my rage and wisely sank back into his seat.
Justice cleared his throat. “Moving on,” he said coolly, not missing a beat. “Lady Bateen will not be attending any of the Illiapol festivities, as she has taken a turn for the worse. Do keep her in your thoughts.”
My heart sank at the news of Aphonic Bateen, Justice’s consort, falling so ill. “Is she…is it like with your father?”
Justice closed his eyes as if pained and gave a single nod. “I am afraid so.” Then, in the next moment, the emotion cleared from his face. “Her condition has put me in mind to truly enjoy the hunt this year. I could use the stress relief. No mercy as always, councilors, though we will need to make certain adjustments for the avatar I have chosen.”
Ravager Qayout quirked his head to the side, letting his shaggy blue hair fall into his eyes. Tanned skin, muscle bound, and trained by Longshot himself, Qayout was a menace even Justice respected. His reputation was almost as tumultuous as my own. I’d never quite figured out if he had a soft side, though I doubted it.
“Why would we make adjustments?” Qayout asked. “Is it not the point of Illiapol to keep with tradition?”
Justice smirked, like he was sitting on a secret. “As traditional as I may be, there are exceptions to every rule. Considering who I have selected for the avatar, it would be unsporting of us not to give her a leg up and a few advantages.”
Boxer scowled. “Have we somehow run out of healthy unclassed women? Why not hunt one of them? Are we down to the dregs of those filthy wretches? Is she feeble in some way?”
“Nothing quite that morose, Boxer. But don’t you ever get tired of the same thing every year?” Justice sighed and leaned back in his seat. “Your ruler yearns for innovation and a little excitement now and then.”
“Are we to be surprised, or do you intend to tell us about this new innovation and what advantages you have in mind?” Ravager asked.
A slow smile spread across Justice’s face. “We will have to give her a slightly longer head start than normal, because humans are slower than Ladrians.”
Everything went stone cold inside of me, because I knew exactly who Justice had in mind as tribute for Illiapol.
Jenny Hollinger.
CHAPTER 10
Jenny
My ear was pressed to Tiger’s chest when I woke, and his body heat was like a furnace, keeping me warm. His heartbeat was normally loud—it seemed all the Ladrians had a loud heartbeat—but when I shifted against him and the rate of the beat doubled, I smiled.
“Good morning, Tiger,” I said softly.
He pulled me closer, kissing the top of my head. “Good morning, Jenny. How did you sleep?”
Completely naked and still curled against his side, I lifted my head and gave him a playful look. “You mean after thethirdtime, when you finally let me go to sleep?”
He laughed, the sound rumbling in his chest. “Yes.”
“I slept like the dead,” I admitted, my body pleasantly sated, and sore in the best ways.
He arched a brow. “I’ll assume that means you slept soundly.”
I nodded, smiling up at him as I shifted my hips and slid one of my legs between his. “I guess that’s a strange phrase, but yes, it means I slept great.”
Suddenly, a small frown formed between his brows. “Is three times not enough for a night?”
I blinked. “What?”
“The way you said it, after thethirdtime, like it was bad—"
