Page 24 of Seducing Jenny
CHAPTER 7
Jenny
“It’s so good to see you,” my sister said as she led me into her office, which looked exactly as I expected. Soft, floral, and unapologetically feminine.
“Yeah, you too,” I said as we each settled into an armchair situated in a window nook area. “I wish it was under better circumstances.”
She agreed and we sipped tea and chatted. I caught her up to speed on the hunt of Illiapol and Mal. She had no idea where he might be, but I hadn’t really expected her to. I also told her about my relationship with Tiger, as well, though she wasn’t surprised to learn that we were together.
Sarah tipped her head to the side, absently rubbing her small pregnant belly. “So, basically, you cheated at Illiapol, and that got your boyfriend taken away,” she said, just to make sure she’d understood everything I’d just shared with her.
“Justice doesn’tknowthat we cheated. He just suspects, because I’m only a human and shouldn’t have survived it.” I rolled my eyes at the absurdity of Justice’s way of thinking. “Clearly, me making it to the finish line insults his manhood or Ladrian pride or ego or all three, I don’t know. Either way, I’m alive, his entire council is dead, and yes, Mal has been kidnapped and sequestered away somewhere.” And hopefully, he was still alive.
Sarah sighed. “I wish I knew how to help.”
“That’s why Tiger is talking to Deacon and Jac. He thinks they might be able to help with that.” I drank the last of my tea and set my cup on the table between us. “But, there’s something else that I needyourhelp with.”
Sarah blinked in surprise. “Of course. Anything.”
“Do you know the story of Illiamor?” I asked her.
She slowly nodded. “As I understand the mythology of her, she was a royal girl. During a harsh long winter when everyone was starving, including her own royal family, she went hunting to feed them, and when that failed, she volunteered to be their meal, working with the butchers and the cooks to create ways to use her entire body to sustain her family.” She visibly shuddered. “Which is horrible.”
“And that was what persuaded her father to declare that women could be classed, too, not just men. Because of his daughter’snoble sacrifice.” I couldn’t stop myself from sneering. “The whole thing is a damned nightmare.”
Sarah lips pursed. “I think it’s worse that they hold Illiapol tohonorher sacrifice, as though she would want other women to go through anything similar to her own death. It’s not an honor. It’s a disgrace.”
Feeling a little anxious about what I was about to confess, I shifted in my chair. “Yeah, so I met Illiamor—”
“What!” Sarah jolted so hard she spilled a splash of tea on herself and had to blot it away. “What are you talking about?”
I took a deep breath. “When I was on the hunting ground during Illiapol, I met her. Her ghost, anyway. I think I might have been the first conduit to run Illiapol, because she was just as shocked as I was, that I could see her and talk to her.”
Sarah looked horrified. “My god. The poor girl’s ghost is still on Orhon?”
I nodded. “Her and all the other women who have lost Illiapol. Their ghosts are trapped there—”
“Because their bodies weren’t brought here and burned on Halla,” she finished for me. I could tell she was starting to put the pieces together, and with each piece, she looked sicker and began to ramble. “Oh, god. They’ve been trapped on Orhon, never to come here to Halla, never to return to the ether to complete their lifecycle and be reborn in a new body, like every Ladrian does. That’s…sacrilege or something. What the fuck?”
Sarah’s outrage reflected my own. “Exactly. I want your help getting them to Halla, so they can return to the ether and be reborn, instead of being trapped on Orhon forever.”
She nodded immediately. “Of course. But I’m not sure how to do that.”
“Well, you’re the contra, right? The super special conduit?” I said, teasing her, but serious at the same time. “Don’t you think there’s something you can do?”
“I havesomeabilities, but I’m still really new to all of this.” She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. “I’ll have to talk to the other conduits. They know the old texts better than I do, and they’ve mastered abilities I haven’t even begun to unlock. If anyone can help free those Illiapol ghosts, it’s them.”
I sighed in relief. “Okay. Good.”
“You seemed really nervous to ask me about that,” Sarah said. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” I glanced out the window for a moment before returning my gaze to my sister. “When I met Illiamor, I felt this weird compulsion. Like I wasmeantto help her. I don’t know if it’s spiritual or psychological, or what, but I feel like I have to see this through.”
Sarah smiled knowingly. “You feel responsible for her.”
“I guess I do,” I admitted, remembering the kinship I’d formed with Illiamor, and how she’d helped me, too. “Weird, right?”
“Not weird at all,” she said softly. “You have the ability to help her and I think that’s admirable. Dare I say, you might actually be growing up?”
