Page 28 of Taking Jenny
Gray-haired, tan-skinned, and chronically irritated, Boxer was in charge of overseeing the prisons and always complained he didn’t have time to attend these meetings.
Justice merely arched an eyebrow at him, and the man closed his mouth.
“We could have just…notreceived the meeting notice,” Craven teased with a shrug.
As Councilor of the Ports, Craven Filliate was rarely in one place for long. Constantly traveling, constantly avoiding responsibility. No one would have been shocked if he’d skipped the meeting altogether. It would not have been the first time.
Justice’s mouth curved into a sly grin. “Craven, we had supper only just last night. Do you think I would have accepted a refusal?”
The other man ran his fingers through his black hair and chuckled. “Accepted? No. Hunted me down like the Illiamor avatar? Also, no.”
Justice actually cracked a genuine smile, and I knew what had him in such a good mood as to tolerate their backtalk. The holiday.
“Perhaps not,” Justice replied. “Though if this year’s avatar fails as hard as I expect, then we may need a new quarry. I’ll take that comment as your volunteerism, in the case that I’m right.”
Craven laughed. “You wouldn’t hunt a hunter now, would you?”
“If he irritates me further, perhaps.” Then he turned and asked, “Pleon, what is the word on Halla?”
The bookkeeper read a message from his gauntlet driver. “The council of Faithless has admitted no wrongdoing in the final death of Rex Terian.”
Justice waited for an uncomfortable minute. “That is all?”
Pleon gave a short nod. “That is the extent of the message.”
Justice huffed in exasperation. “Pleon, it is not my job to tell you how to do your job. It is my job to take the information of my councilors and decide what to do with it. So when my councilorsmerely recite what they’ve learned and offer nothing new, I am forced to get…creative.”
He glared at the little man, and I would have sworn Pleon’s hair started to fall out. What little of it he had left.
Justice continued. “I don’t think you want me to be more creative than I already am. I don’t think you want me to be unable to do my job, either. However, I am in a generous mood today, and seeing as we are so close to Illiapol, I will grant you a reprieve. Get me answers about what happened to my friend, Rex, or I will feed you your own cock.”
“I will go to Halla myself,” he reassured our ruler.
The implication of his words floored me. “You haven’t yet gone?” I asked sharply.
His beady eyes glared at me. “I have other responsibilities, as Councilor of Manufacturing,Ripper.”
“Were I you, finding out who murdered this court’s ally would have jumped to the top of my priorities.”
I would have volunteered to go to Halla myself, had I known better. But we would soon have the truth of Rex’s demise, no thanks to Pleon. His assignment was for appearances only, a distraction to keep suspicion away from Justice’s secret project until it could be revealed.
Still, I hadn’t been able to resist goading the worm.
Justice regarded my words. “No need for you to trouble yourself, Malice. Not when Pleon will most certainly get to the bottom of things, now that he is better motivated. Won’t you, Pleon?”
“Of course, your highness.”
“And you will do it before Illiapol, or you cannot join the hunt.”
The other man’s eyes widened at the threat. “But…but there are to be seven hunters and I am one of them. How—”
“If you do not uncover the information that I have asked for, then I will be compelled to bring Malice along in your stead.”
My gut, already soured by a sleepless night, twisted harder. Being forced to join a ceremonial hunt, to chase down some helpless woman for sport, was not how I wanted to spend the holiday.
Still, I had to play along. “Dear Pleon, do fail Justice,” I said insolently. “I haven’t had a good hunt in ages and the idea of you eating your own cock is…well, just hilarious. Justice, how would you find the thing? A magnifying glass?”
The others laughed. Pleon’s face went crimson.
