Page 53 of Taking Jenny
“Then we’ll walk until your nausea passes and you get your strength back.”
“Sounds good.”
We hiked down the path. I didn’t feel hungry or thirsty—only massive relief that Mal would have likely gotten word if Sarah had been arrested while searching for me. I prayed that she didn’t learn about Illiapol until I was able to tell herafterwards. I hoped it wasn’t like an Earth sporting event.
Which made me ask, “Do people travel here to watch the trial?”
“No. The course is behind the palace, so the space is forbidden from outside viewing. In spite of our technological improvements, the trial is not broadcast, either. It is sacred to many and to witness the event would be to cheapen its meaning.”
I thought about that. “So, the hunters can rig booby traps and do whatever they want to the avatar, and no one outside the course would ever know it?”
His lips pressed together in a thin line. “Yes.”
“That is not reassuring.”
“The only reassurances in life come from preparation.”
“That’s—”
“I mean it, Jenny,” he said, his tone suddenly stern.
He stopped walking, and I did, too, looking at him.
He braced his hands on his hips. “You’re worrying about everything you can’t control instead of the things that you can.You can’t control your sister’s actions. Or Tiger. Or Mal. But you can control how hard you train and how well you prepare for Illiapol. If you don’t eat, if you don’t focus, none of it matters. That is why I am adamant about your feeding habits and your efforts. Success will not come from winging it.”
I jutted my chin out stubbornly. “You think I can’t train without eating?”
“I think it’s foolish,” he said in a flat tone. “Your vomit supports my point.”
“Watch me.”
I tore off at high speed down the path and toward a tall gray tree I’d nicknamed the Tiger Tree because the coloring reminded me of him. Before today, it made me smile, but as I ran to it, every footfall felt cursed with anger. As I neared, I wanted to hit that tree. To scream at it and release my anger. To make it hurt like I did.
I took a final leap toward the tree, but my foot caught on a log and I went flying. As I landed, my head cracked against something hard.
Then, there was nothing.
CHAPTER 17
Tiger
“How does she know?” I asked Mal, guilt gnawing at me as I grabbed the rannat to smear on my bread.
He shrugged and sipped his coffee. “I’m not sure. But she wasn’t happy about it.”
“You might as well try to hide the color of the sky from her,” Surge mumbled.
“From whom?” Discord asked as she joined us for breakfast out on the terrace.
“Jenny knows Mal and Tiger slept together,” the pint-sized man answered casually.
My face burned and I was aghast. “Do you always tell each other everything?”
Discord nodded, while Surge shrugged and admitted, “Most things, yes. None of us are good at keeping secrets from each other, except Mal. But that’s only because he keeps palace secrets, and we don’t want to know them.”
“Better to not know anything about that awful place,” Discord mumbled and made her plate.
“Okay, fine,” I muttered, leaning my elbows on the table and pinning Mal with a look. “So should I expect you to tell them all the dirty details about us, as well?”
