Page 35 of Seducing Jenny
“You think we’re here to kill you?” Tiger asked, sounding just as stunned as I felt.
Volatile gave a dry, broken laugh. “You’re not who you claim to be, Jade. And Tiger arrived not long ago with a man of questionable reputation who claimed to have rescued my niece, Silence, though every report I’ve seen says otherwise.” He looked between us again. “So tell me, why else would you be here except to dispatch me…and my father?”
This was not how I imagined my first breakfast with my father would go. Not even close.
I straightened in my seat. “I’m not here to kill anyone, and neither is Tiger,” I said softly. “You’re right that I am not who I said I am, but for now, just…call me Jade. I swear to you, one day you’ll understand everything.”
He exhaled again, shoulders sagging. “So I am to continue this half-life?”
“What do you mean?”
“My glorious exile.” He waved his hand in the air, his tone bitter. “This island. My prison. Banished from the public eye. Cut off from stars that I once loved.” True sadness glimmered in his eyes. “I was a star merchant before the war. I traveled through galaxies. I’ve been to places you’ve never heard of, my life was endless with possibilities…”
“That sounds like the perfect life,” I said, realizing in that moment just how much my father and I did have in common. The love of travel. Wanderlust.
“It was,” he said on a sigh. “Until my brother decided I should stay put.”
“Why would he do that to you?” I asked.
Volatile huffed. “You truly have no idea, do you?”
Both Tiger and I shook our heads.
“Who hired you?” Volatile asked, his tone sharp.
“No one,” I said quickly.
“You don’t need to protect their identity, Jade,” he said angrily. “If someone wants me dead, I at least deserve to know who.”
“I swear to you,” I said, meaning every word. “No one hired me or Tiger. We’re not here to kill you.”
He still didn’t look convinced.
“Why did Justice imprison you?” Tiger asked.
Volatile leaned back in his seat, jaw tightening. “Because there comes a point in a royal’s life when the bonds of family shatter on the rocks of ambition. After the war, it was decided Justice would remain ruler of Ladrille. The question then became who would rule Yesanol, after the family there had been deposed. Thunder wanted the honor, but by custom, as the elder male, I had to be offered the position first. And Justice wanted me to take it. He said we were brothers, that we could rule side by side and show the universe what Bateens were made of.” He scoffed, his expression filled with disgust. “I refused. I wanted the stars again, and since our war was over, that was where I was headed. So, instead, he installed Thunder as ruler of Yesanol and exiled me here for my ingratitude.”
“But you’re royal,” I said. “I thought that meant you could do whatever you wanted.”
A bitter laugh escaped him. “Not for a very long time. I’m allowed visitors, yes. But I’m not allowed to leave. The servants you see are mine. The ones you don’t see are the prison guards Justice planted here. They are hidden around here somewhere.” He waved his hand toward the trees lining the island. “I see them only when they get sloppy enough for me to see them. That’s why the island is so overgrown. It keeps them hidden. But makeno mistake, if I attempted to leave here they would execute me without a second thought.”
“That is why you were relieved when you believed we were here to kill you, isn’t it?” Tiger asked.
My father nodded, looking weary. “My brother didn’t just exile me. He designed the best torture for me he could conjure. I was a star merchant, born to travel the galaxies, so he punished me with immobility and cut me off from everything that I loved and mattered to me.”
A hard knot formed in my throat. My heart broke for him. I wanted to tell him the truth, to spill everything, but I knew the timing was all wrong so I swallowed down the urge.
Still, I couldn’t leave him in despair. “Do you want help leaving this place?” I asked him.
“No. I do not want anyone else to suffer because of me.”
I met Tiger’s gaze. He gave a subtle nod.
“Alright then,” I said softly. “But if you had the choice, youwouldleave, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes,” he replied honestly.
“Then we’ll come back,” I told him, meaning it. I stood, and Tiger rose beside me. “Once our other business is handled, we’ll return. And we will set you free.”
