Page 49 of Seducing Jenny
“And it’s not only that,” she said, setting her cup of tea down. “Since arriving on Halla, I feel…trapped, is the only way I can explain it. Like someone is always trying to control the outcome around me. First it was Sarah and Rex. Then Tiger and I got arrested. Then everything at Illiapol and your arrest,twice. And when we visited Volatile, he told us he’d been exiled. Did you know about that?”
What the hell?That piece of information sent me reeling and it took me a moment to process it and respond. “We—the council, I mean—were told Volatilerelocatedthere. Not that he wasexiledthere.”
“It’s true,” Tiger concurred. “Volatile said since he refused Yesanol, Justice exiled him to the island. If he leaves, he’ll be executed by guards Justice stationed there. The place looks like paradise, but those men are well hidden. When I first went there with Jac, I didn’t even see them.”
“Volatile thought we were there to kill him,” Jade quietly added, stunning me a second time. “When we asked about Credo, he thought we’d come for them both. He begged us, thatif Credo had to die miserably, for us to do it to him, and let his father have a peaceful death.”
Her voice cracked, and Tiger gently rubbed her back.
“I’d heard Volatile was a brave man. I never knew him well. He had no tolerance for life at court.” The more I learned of Justice Bateen, the clearer my path became. And the harder it was to face.
Justice had taken me in. Educated me. Raised me after my family was killed in the war. He was the closest thing I’d had to a father. And now I was thinking about how to betray him.
“What do you think can be done for Credo?” Tiger asked Jade, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I don’t know,” she said, looking thoughtful. “Maybe Sarah can get his ghost back into his body, or maybe I can, as a conduit. This is all out of my depth, so we need to see her.”
Sarah Hollinger. Queen of Faithless. Contra of Conduits. The woman responsible for the second death of Rex Terian.And a permanent fixture in my life, if I want to keep Jenny around.
I kept my mouth shut in regards to my feelings, as I’d not yet processed what I thought about what Rex had done. Killing a girl’s family in cold blood in front of her…unconscionable. Not even during wartime. There was no good reason for that kind of cruelty.
Except that one thing Rex and I had always had in common. Blood lust.
For now, I pushed Rex from my mind and glanced back at Jade. “You believe Sarah can help Credo?”
She nodded. “If anyone can, it’s her.”
I hesitated before saying, “Aphonic Bateen, Justice’s consort, she has the same condition as Credo. Early stages. If your sister could help Credo, do you think she’d be willing to help Aphonic?”
“Of course,” Jade said, her tone slightly offended. “Why do you make it sound as though she wouldn’t?”
I tried to find the best way to respond to that. “There could be significant risk to her, if she were to leave Halla. Justice was not exactly pleased with her appointment as Queen.”
“Justice really wouldn’t let her come to Orhon to heal his consort?” she asked incredulously.
“It’s not important,” I said, brushing it off. “Forget I asked.”
She gave me a pointed look. “For future reference, when someone says, ‘forget it’, I never do. So, out with it.”
I exhaled in resignation. “Fine. I wasn’t sure if your sister would be willing to help someone outside of her own bloodline.”
She blinked, her expression bewildered. “I don’t understand.”
“Sarah is a queen,” I reasoned. “Her city is rebuilding. She has obligations that—”
“But if she can help someone, she will,” she said, almost indignantly. “What kind of person do you think she is?”
“I don’t know. I’ve only met one Hollinger sister. You. Everything I know about Sarah has come through council chambers. That she’s the new queen, focused on her city.”And partially responsible for Rex’s murder.
“What I know about her,” I continued carefully, “comes from you. And in my experience, family is never impartial, so I don’t know enough to assume one way or the other, in regard to her willingness to help someone she does not know.”
Her jaw tightened, annoyance flashing in her eyes. “I told you last night. That’s the kind of person she is.”
I nodded once and reiterated, “You’re her sister. You care for her very much. You arenotimpartial.”
“Well, I’ve met her,” Tiger said, adding his own experience to the conversation. “And sheisthe type of person who helps strangers. Jac had to track her for days on Earth before we tookher. And I swear, every night he came back to the ship grinning like an idiot. He’d seen her do something kind and caring. Something selfless. He fell for Sarah before he ever spoke a word to her.”
“Thank you,” I said with a sigh. “An impartial opinion, at last.”
