Page 50 of Seducing Jenny
Tiger stood. “I’m going to set a course for Faithless. You two, eat something. You’re both on edge.”
He left the lounge for the cockpit, leaving Jade and I alone.
“He’s right.” She stood and printed bread with rannat for both of us, before she handed me a plate of food. “I’m sorry I started to get grumpy. I just…I don’t like hearing someone question Sarah’s integrity.”
“Understandable, and thank you for breakfast.” I took a bite of the bread, which tasted much fresher than what I’d been eating on Credo’s island. “And I am sorry for my role in that unpleasantness. A life spent at Justice’s side has made me cautious of fawning praise onto a ruler of any kind.”
“I hadn’t thought of it from that side of things.” She was quiet, nibbling at her bread before she winced. “Ugh. My headache is back.”
I grimaced, feeling responsible for that. “I am sorry, particularly if I am the cause—”
“Of course you’re not.” She grinned at me, and knowing she was no longer upset with me loosened something tight in my chest. “If anything, you and Tigerhelpedwith the headache.”
“Glad to be of service.” I returned the smile. “How else can I help?”
She tipped her head thoughtfully. “Know anything about relocating ghosts across planets?”
A surprised laugh escaped me. “Uh, no. Unfortunately, that’s not one of my particular skills.”
“Right now, that is problem number five in my head,” she told me. “But the problems are not ranked in importance.”
“What are the others?”
“One, make sure Justice doesn’t freak out when he realizes you’re missing from Credo’s island,” she said, ticking them off on her fingers. “Two, free Volatile. Three, repair Credo. Four, repair Aphonic. And five—”
“Help relocate the Illiapol ghosts,” I finished for her.
She nodded, her gaze softening as she looked at me. “I came to Halla to help Sarah. Then I had a little crush on Tiger, so I snuck onto the ship he used to take my sister, Elizabeth, back to Earth, just so we’d have more time together. I’ve always just…followed my soul.Flighty, is what my mother called it. She said my whims were my compass.”
She sighed and set her bread on her plate. “Now, because of that whim, I have all these people to help and save and fix—” She caught herself and quickly blurted, “Not that you need saving or fixing—”
“I absolutely need saving,” I interrupted gently. “Credo’s island was a nightmare, yes, but long before you and Tiger came into my life I needed saving from myself. The first time I saw you and Tiger at court, bound and gagged, mishandled in public, like animals, I felt it like a fire in my blood. It wasn’t just rage. It was clarity. I had to do something. I had to act.”
My throat tightened as I held her gaze. “I might have saved you both that day, but you’ve saved me every day since. You have both made my life infinitely better. So do not lie to yourself. You and Tiger, you are my saviors.”
“And you are ours,” Tiger said, as he returned to the lounge. “But I think that’s the point, isn’t it? When you find your people? You save each other.”
Jade smiled up at him. “Yeah. I think so. We’re on our way to Faithless?”
“We are.Cheesecakesuggested autopilot, so I could rejoin the conversation."
She shifted her gaze back to me. “So, my point is, Mal, part of me feels like Iwhimmedmyself into these huge messes. It’s exhausting and hard and overwhelming, and half the time I just want to run back to Earth and hide and pretend that none of this is real.”
She looked out the lounge window, watching the pink morning clouds drift past before returning her attention back to me. “But I can’t do that. I can’t go back to the girl I used to be. Not when I know what I know now. I have a chance to do something meaningful with my life. I will not go back to pretending everything is fine when I know that it’s not, andespeciallynot when I have the power to help.”
“That’s why Volatile knew you weren’t who you pretended to be,” Tiger murmured, his tone soft with understanding.
I frowned, lost by his comment. “What was that?”
“Volatile saw right through her Malongwah identity—”
“You pretended to be a Malongwah?” That made me laugh. “Who told you to do that?”
“Silence Bateen.”
Everything inside me stopped cold.
Tiger’s eyes widened. “Fuck,” he said beneath his breath. “Um, Jade, Mal and Silence were athing, and I don’t think he knew she was alive until you just told him right now.”
