Page 5 of Taking Jenny
“No.” I flew our ship past the estate toward the opposite side of the city. “Because Jac is so notorious, when we visit the city we have to park at the dump.”
She blinked a few times at me, as if she’d misunderstood. “Huh?”
“We park at the city dump,” I repeated, watching as her eyes went wide. “It’s the safest place to leaveSovereign. Otherwise,task forces might impound the ship to keep Jac grounded so they can finally arrest him.”
Jenny’s jaw dropped open. “My sister married a criminal?”
“No…well, yes.” I winced at how that sounded. “But since he’s never been caught, I think that makes him more of an outlaw. And they’re united, not married.”
“Right. I keep forgetting what you call it here,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “So we’re going to the dump?”
“Yes, and quite frankly, it reeks. If you want to stay on board, I’d understand. You’ll be safe. The woman who runs it is sort of Jac’s friend.”
“Absolutely not,” she stated adamantly. “You’re going to spy on some king—”
“Ruler,” I corrected her.
“—and you think I’m going to stay behind?” She laughed. “You’re out of your mind.”
“Fine,” I said, knowing there would be no dissuading her. “If you’re joining me, then don’t mention your family heritage while we’re here. It could complicate things.”
“How so?”
I spotted the dump down below and steered the ship in that direction. “Because you’re Volatile Bateen’s daughter, which makes you Ruler Justice Bateen’sniece,” I said, reminding her of that convoluted family dynamic and that she did have alien blood running through her veins, even if she did look one hundred percent human. “Your sister was involved in the death of Rex Terian, an ally of his on Halla. It’s…complicated.”
“Yeah, okay,” she said, more subdued now. “And I shouldn’t mention Silence either? Since she’s Justice’s daughter but publicly considered deceased?”
“Right. We faked her death. The people mourned her, but anyone who saw the body knew it wasn’t her. Which means Justice knows.”
She huffed inelegantly. “I still don’t get why Justice locked up his own daughter in the first place.”
Because the man was a bastard through and through. “It’s a long story but the main parts are that Silence was betrothed to Deacon but she had an affair with his father, Valor, and fell in love with him,” I said, giving her a quick rundown of the situation. “Justice used that betrayal to execute Valor and lock Silence away in the royal prison, even though she was pregnant. Jac and the rest of us broke her out of prison and brought her to Halla to be with Valor.”
“GhostValor,” she said, correcting me.
I nodded. “Yes.”
She was quiet for a moment, as if processing everything, then spoke again. “So when Ladrians die, they all become ghosts on Halla?”
“Not automatically. Our tradition is to burn the body on Halla, which releases the person’s ghost. We live on Halla as ghosts for about a century. Then we return to the ether, where all Ladrian souls come from, and wait to be born again into a physical body on Orhon.”
She smiled at me. “That’s kind of beautiful. Like reincarnation. Do you remember your past lives?”
I shook my head. “Not really. But sometimes it shows. I knew a boy who was terrified of murky water. Our clan master said he drowned in a past life.” I gradually decreased the speed of the ship and glanced over at Jenny. “Put your seatbelt on. We’re going to land.”
She secured the strap around her waist right before we hovered, then finally touched down in the usual space Boundless kept clear for friends. I was relieved Treg had replaced the air scrubbers. The dump’s stench didn’t flood the ship like last time. Outside, the trash was piled higher than the trees. The collection barges hadn’t been by in ages. Odd.
I opened a channel to Deacon’s ship,Allegiant, and Treg’s deep Gorrk voice came through almost immediately. “Didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,” he rumbled. “Everything alright?”
“Yes,” I replied, trying to keep my voice even. “Is Sarah around?”
“I’ll get her. Give me a minute.”
I glanced at Jenny. She was watching me, nervously twisting a strand of hair around her finger, her lower lip caught between her teeth like she didn’t realize she was doing it. Gods help me, it was adorable. And distracting.
I smiled at her. “Thank you for not asking me to hide you from your sister the whole time we’re here.”
She let out a breathy laugh. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Tiger. I don’t want you getting in trouble because of me.”
