Page 84 of Choosing Jenny
“I’m not, but how did that keep everyone safe?”
Jac blinked in surprise. “Had you not done that, Sam could have had us running around Halla for days, trying to find all of you. If it wasn’t for you, Tiger, everyone would have died.”
I shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise as we continued on to the kitchen. “I’m sure they would have found a way out eventually.”
He scoffed. “When are you going to stop selling yourself short?”
“I’m not, I just—”
“You are. And it needs to stop.” His voice dropped into something gentler. “I know I’m not your cousin, Kapok, but he used to help you sort through all the stuff with your clan. He knew how they treated you, and he knew you deserved better.”
My eyes narrowed on him. “You two talked about me?”
“Before I hired you, yeah, of course we did.” He shrugged, like it was not a big deal. “When Kapok tried to sell me on bringing you ontoSovereign, I was hesitant. You were young, untested. But he told me how your clan made you do everything they didn’t want to do. All the grunt work. And you never complained. You just did it. He said it got to a point where you just did things as you saw them, before anyone could assign you the work, simply because it needed doing.”
“Well, yeah. I mean, that’s how everyone should be.”
Jac smiled kindly. “That’s how no one is. No one but you.”
“I don’t know…I just…” I turned away, grabbing a pitcher and pouring two glasses of what Jenny had called lemonade. Such a weird word for olirck.
He took a long drink, then continued. “Kapok told me that you were also unflinchingly generous, and extremely neat, and you could speak eight languages, to boot.”
“That last one is a total lie.”
He chuckled. “I figured that out on my own, thanks. My point is, yes, we talked about you. We also talked about the Orne clan and all theirstuff, too. Otolith Wakamyn, I know he’s your clan master, but he’s not a good man, Tiger. He does not deserve you. I’m overstepping here and I know it, but I cannot standthe thought of someone like you giving up their happiness for someone as self-centered as him.”
“I’m going to sever my ties to the clan.” Saying it fast felt sickening and right all at the same time.
His leaned against the counter, surprise flickering in his eyes. “Are you sure about that?”
I drank my olirck because just saying the words out loud had made my throat dry. “There is nothing else to be done, Jac. The clan is too rigid for me. It’s their way or nothing. If I’m not obedient, I don’t belong. And I won’t unite with anyone but Jenny and Mal. That’s final and not negotiable.”
I finished my drink and stared at the empty glass, wishing it had been something stronger. “That said, I’m going to send the clan my sperm and a solar freezer unit to keep it cold. That way, they have what they really want from me, and I’m done with them.”
Jac was silent for a moment, before he spoke again. “I think you should speak to Jenny and Malice before you make that call, Tiger. Make sure you’re on the same page about this, first, before you sever ties with your clan. That way, if things go wrong—”
“If things go wrong, if they fall apart, then I’m coming toyou. Not the clan. You’re my family now.” I set my glass on the counter. “All they want is my genetics. The elders who once loved me? They’re gone now. And the rest? The ones who replaced the elders never really cared about me. They just used me for their own purposes.”
Jac digested that. “Then why give them your sperm at all?”
His question hit hard. He had a very good point. I swallowed against my still dry throat because I wasn’t sure I liked my answer. “I don’t really have a reason, do I?”
“Only you can answer that question.” He looked me in the eye and studied my resolve. “But no matter what you decide, I knowyou will have a good life. If you end up with Jenny and Malice after all this is over, or if you end up with me.”
I appreciated his kind words. “Thank you, Jac.”
He gave me a final nod, then turned to leave, his boots echoing against the polished floor of Mal’s manor. As the front doors shut behind him, I leaned back against the counter and really let myself feel the weight of everything I was possibly letting go, and everything I stood to gain.
My past had shaped me, but it didn’t own me. Not anymore. And whatever came next—peace, chaos, heartbreak or love—I would face it on my own terms.
CHAPTER 28
Jenny
Surge’s hand was tight against my chest. Blood dripped down his face, his neck, his arms. His eyes, almost as dark as his skin, closed while he murmured a string of inaudible words.
Since he had touched me, my heart had felt off rhythm and wrong. Like it wasn’t my own anymore. A tendril had grown in my mind. Something oily and dark wrapped around my brain. My head throbbed worse than any headache I’d ever had, and all I wanted to do was close my eyes and lay down.
