Page 77 of Choosing Jenny
Jac reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll be right there to get you.”
I nodded and took off in Curse and Patch’s junk ship. Flying in tight to the prison, I reset the wiring and rigged the scrubber to overheat. Older models like this one were notorious for blowing up in hover mode. All I had to do was help it along.
I set it to hover over the prison, then climbed down a ladder from the rear hatch and scrambled across the upper level’s exterior. With any luck, we could take out some of those cell blocks, too. Jac flew by and picked me up mere seconds before the junk ship exploded, taking out a good chunk of the prison where Sam’s family had once been.
The flight to Enelorrk was only a few hours, but it felt like days, and it was the perfect planet to avoid Justice’s people. Enelorrk was full of artists and Gorrks, people Justice would never associate with or even think of. Our friends on the Gorrk planet were at the hangar to receive their new visitors.
It was Treg’s cousins, so there were squishy hugs all around. The wary humans looked positively horrified by the Gorrks, with their gelatinous round bodies.
One of the teenage boys stared at them, wide-eyed. “They look like the Kool-Aid Man made out of Jell-O,” he said, and the rest of the family laughed.
As we said our farewells and Sam hugged me tight, I wondered if I’d ever see her again.
She looked up at me, gratitude shining in her eyes. “I’m so sorry…for everything,” she said, genuinely contrite. “I hate myself for it.”
But despite her betrayal, I understood that she’d been manipulated into her extreme actions. “I get it,” I said, giving her a smile. “If Malice or Jenny were in danger, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to help and protect them.”
She squeezed my hand. “You’re lucky to have such a good family, Tiger.”
She was right.Jenny and Malice are my family, who love me unconditionally. Not the Orne clan, who want to use me to make more of them.
CHAPTER 25
Jenny
Discord’s onworlder was as black as her dyed hair, sleek and silent as it cut through the night. The vehicle itself looked like an enormous, militarized Hummer, but with more rows of seats, almost like a heavy duty bus.
I stared out the window, my gaze flitting from one blurred shape to another as we sped toward the palace, which wasn’t far from Malice’s estate. We weren’t driving through the city to get there, but I still hoped for any change or point of interest to grab my attention and keep my panic from overwhelming me.
Surge seemed to sense my nerves. He grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “It’s going to be okay,” he said.
I glanced at him, grateful for the distraction and amused by the fact that he’d popped his head out from the enormous flower arrangement on the seat beside me. “Promise?”
He grinned. “I promise.” The little bald man was always positive and it was part of what I loved about his charm. “We are going to cure Aphonic.”
I exhaled a shaky breath. “And we’re not going to get caught, right?”
“Nope.” His grin didn’t falter, but I didn’t miss the flicker of concern I saw in his eyes.
I narrowed mine. “Thanks for lying to me, Surge.”
“Anytime,” he replied cheerfully, before he tucked himself back into the floral arrangement.
Discord slowed the vehicle as we approached the front entry of the palace. “Here we go,” she said beneath her breath.
The palace was gorgeous and stately, and I hated every inch of it. After having been aguestof the royal prison and then aguestof the palace itself, I was not feeling particularly welcome in any part of the oversized building, no matter how grand or gilded it was. But when I had been aguest, I hadn’t yet been given my title.
Prima, the winner of Illiapol.
Though, technically, I didn’t actually earn my title. Tiger, Mal and his friends had intervened when it became clear I wouldn’t survive without them. Their help had been treasonous. It should’ve cost them their lives, and mine as well. It still could.
Because Justice knew we’d cheated.
We had no idea what kept Justice from acting on that knowledge. Affection for Mal, maybe. But that couldn’t be the only reason. And now we were walking into his domain again, about to commit another act that could be considered treason, depending on who was judging.
My stomach twisted tighter as we rolled to a stop at the checkpoint.
A gruff looking guard inclined his head at Discord. “Lady Scrylock, welcome back. What business do you have at the palace this evening?”
