Page 77 of Seducing Jenny
He unlocked the door and Sam burst in. “Is he okay?” she choked, her red-rimmed, puffy eyes darting to the table.
Mal gently placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder to keep her from running to Surge. “He’s resting, but he will recover,” he promised the girl.
Sam’s gaze flicked to me. “And her?”
“We need to talk things through in private,” Mal replied. “I hope you understand.”
Sam slowly nodded. “Yeah…okay.”
“Why don’t you eat supper and go to bed,” Mal suggested kindly. “If Surge’s condition changes, we will signal your gauntlet driver.”
She lingered, scanning each of us with uncertain eyes. “Okay. But why is she tied up?” she asked, pointing at me.
“Seizures,” Mal replied without missing a beat.
She accepted the lie, but her expression still brimmed with suspicion. “Alright. I’ll go lie down.”
Sam left quietly and Mal watched her disappear up the stairs before turning back to us. “We’re clear.”
A soft, ragged cough snapped everyone’s attention toward the table.
“Hi,” Surge rasped.
Discord gave a joyful laugh. “You nearly fucking died on ustwiceand all you can say is ‘hi’?”
She collapsed against his chest, burying her face there, her tears soaking his bloodied shirt. “Don’t youeverfucking pull that shit again, Footwick! Always hogging the attention like this…”
Seeing Discord like that, so openly affectionate, was shocking. Discord, the ice queen of the galaxy, melting like that for Surge.
Surge chuckled weakly and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Missed you too, Scrylock.”
The others offered soft words, and the tension in the room eased, knowing he truly was okay this time. Eventually, they stepped aside so he could clearly see me from across the lab, still chained to the chair.
He smiled at me, and his voice rasped, “Hi.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I tried to speak around it. “Hi,” I echoed.
His eyes traveled over the strigella, who was still curled contently around my neck. “Rhonda has taken a shine to you, I see.”
I gave him a tremulous smile. “Seems like it.”
“That’s because you’re good people, Jenny.”
Tears stung my eyes and my throat closed up again. How could he say such a thing to me after what had just happened. “I’m not,” I whispered.
“You are,” he said firmly, but gently. “I know that wasn’t you, and being a conduit isn’t something you’ve chosen for yourself.This sort of thing happens, Jenny. When you cross between worlds, stuff like this can happen. No different than accidentally bringing an invasive species of fern-eating bacteria on your boot when you go to a new planet—”
“I didn’t know it was going to kill your ferns, Surge,” Discord said defensively.
His eyes sparkled with humor. “Yes, well,not knowingdoesn’t bring my ferns back, Discord.”
Mal laughed at them. “That happened eight years ago. I’d think you two would have gotten over the fern massacre by now.”
“Longshot, are we good to disconnect?” Discord grumbled. “This greedy fuck is draining me dry.”
Longshot chuckled at his friends’ bickering, assessed Surge’s condition, and removed the transfusion equipment. “Better?”
She nodded succinctly, but there was still fondness in her eyes for Surge. “Much.”
