Page 76 of Seducing Jenny
“I didn’t care.” Tears filled my eyes and my voice broke. “She deserved to die, and I should have been strong enough to kick her out of my body. I wasn’t, so I deserved to die for what she did to Surge. This is all my fault.”
“You didn’t do this,” Mal said, trying to calm me down. “Youweren’t in control.”
Hot tears slipped down my face. “But I didn’t stop it, either. That’s on me. I should have been a stronger conduit. But I’m just…out here getting people I care about hurt.” A sob caught in my throat and made it hard to speak. “Mal, please promise me you won’t unchain me.”
“I told you,” he said, gently wiping away the track of tears on my face with his thumb. “You didn’t do it.”
“She could come back, and then what happens? She finishes what she started?” I shook my head hard enough to make myself dizzy. “No. Don’t let me free.”
“Possession doesn’t work like that,” Longshot said in a cool tone.
“What do you mean?” My voice was barely audible.
He sighed, folding his arms over his chest. Rhonda, my savior, gleamed around his neck like a silent sentry. “A man in my squad was possessed. It was when Mal and Justice had come to visit us, a boost for morale, or so Justice had said. The man,Private Scale Polamon, had been suffering headaches for days before their visit. Now, mind you, possession on Orhon is so rare that most people think it’s impossible. It’s not.” His jaw locked. “But because it’s so rare, the doctors didn’t know what to look for. One night after playing dice games with Mal and the others, well…” He glanced toward Mal.
Mal nodded. “It’s okay. They should know.”
Longshot exhaled hard, the weight of the memory pulling at his features. “Private Polamon went back to the barracks, and Rhonda shot off my neck like a rocket and bit him. First time I’d ever seen her do it. He kicked her across the room, and I gathered her up. I thought he’d just lost his mind from the pain in his leg. But before I could call for the medic, Justice started screaming at me for keeping a ‘deadly pet’ in the barracks.”
Rhonda’s eyes gleamed, as if she remembered the incident, too, as Longshot continued. “Then, Polamon lunged for Justice and tried to choke him out. We fought him off, but he grabbed Justice’s hand cannon and shot two of my squad, killing them both. Then he suddenly dropped to the floor, crying and screaming at us to kill him. Justice didn’t hesitate. He put a bullet in his head before the medic arrived.”
I blinked through the horror, but I was still confused. “Why did Rhonda attack him? And me?”
“Strigella is old Ladrian for soul-purifier,” Longshot said. “Going back to when our people believed in souls instead of ghosts. They were used in funerals, blessings, fire rituals…anything sacred. People thought their venom only hurt those with intent. I don’t know how they sense possession, but they do. Rhonda knew. If she hadn’t bitten Polamon, we would have all died. It gave him just enough clarity to fight the ghost’s control and ask us to end things…just like you did.”
I swallowed hard, feeling grateful to Rhonda for saving me. “Is there a way to thank her?”
Longshot walked to me and pulled her from his neck. He lowered her to my hand. “If you’re still possessed, she will bite you again,” he warned me. “I will not let them give you antivenom. Do you still want to thank her?”
I stared into his eyes and nodded, though my heart was pounding. “Please.”
He gave me a slight smile. “Stroke her just behind her eyes and think about how you feel.”
I could hardly move my fingers because of the tight chains around my wrists, but I managed to pet her. Her mirror scales were smooth and dry, cool to the touch. Per his instructions, I thought about how I felt. I focused on everything in my heart—gratitude so deep it hurt, guilt so sharp it bled. I was sorry. I was ashamed. But above it all, I was grateful she’d saved Surge. And me.
I started to quietly cry, but Rhonda slithered slowly up my arm. She paused at my shoulder, her head tilting toward my face like she was deciding something. Eye to eye, she stared into me.
I didn’t know if she would see the evil things Grass had done. Maybe she could see every terrible mistake I’d made. Maybe she’d judge me unworthy and bite me again. If she did, I wouldn’t fight it. I wouldn’t deserve to live.
I braced myself as her head bobbed toward me. I tried to anticipate what the strike would feel like on my lip or my face somewhere, praying I’d die fast. But instead of a bite, her head thwapped my shoulder, just before she slithered over and curled around my neck.
Is she going to choke me out instead?
But once she got comfortable, she stopped moving. The weight of her cool body was oddly calming, and she quietly vibrated, almost like a cat’s purr.
Longshot smiled, a true, genuine sign of satisfaction. “Strigella only do that when they approve of someone. They are the best judges of character.”
I let out a strangled laugh. Half sob, half relief.
Discord grumbled, “Rhonda has never done that to me.”
Mal chuckled. “I’ve never seen her do that with anyone but Longshot.”
Longshot crossed his arms over his chest, and eyed me, then Mal and Tiger. “I believe there is much more to this story than a ghost and a hidden conduit.” He arched a brow. “Who would like to go first and explain?”
Tiger hesitated. “Should we really discuss this now? Sam is right outside.”
“Still?” Mal looked through the lab’s door window, and frowned. “Give me a moment.”
