Page 91 of Choosing Jenny
I gave a short nod. “It is.”
“Please, do tell Rasmine what he has signed up for.”
I was not a fan of using racks for torture. Too much damage too quickly, but at Justice’s request, I had used them.
I hesitated for as long as I could before I recited the painful way he would die. “First, your hands and feet go numb, but start to ache from the tightness of the restraints. Then the real pain begins. Shoulders usually dislocate first. When they do, they impede blood flow, causing pooling and swelling in the limbs. After that, depending on the angles of the binding, the knees give up their integrity. The hips are one of the last joints to snap apart—they’re quite strong. Then your skin will begin to tear and rip apart from your limbs.”
Justice turned back to Rasmine, still kneeling in supplication. “That is what you would take, in place of your son?”
“Yes,” he begged, desperate to spare his child. “Please.”
“Impressive.” Justice considered the offer. “But not what I want.”
“Please, take my lands, take anything—”
“Silence!” Justice turned to the guards. “Leave the boy in his room.” Then he returned his menacing glare to Rasmine. “You will be flogged instead, followed by losing a finger length of your tail, so you do not forget who your Ruler is and what I’m truly capable of.”
I did not mistake this for mercy. Rasmine’s army could have laid waste to Ladrille, had he been put to the rack and torn apart.
Rasmine collapsed in relief. “Thank you, Ruler, thank you,” he simpered.
Justice gave the rack’s knob a quick heave, and the wheel spun fast, ripping the assassin apart and splattering us all in his blood and guts.
“Never forget the day I showed you the true meaning of generosity,” Justice said, a warning to us all.
Now that the traitor had been outed, there was only one concern on my mind. What would happen to Elizabeth?
CHAPTER 30
Tiger
Iwas going to wear a hole in the marble by Mal’s front door.
Vine, his ever-patient housekeeper, had kindly brought me food and drink, but I barely acknowledged her. I kept pacing.
“Where are they?” I muttered, more to the silence than her.
The old woman smiled gently. “I cannot speak for the others, but Malice will be fine. He always is.”
“Unexpected things happen, Vine,” I said, shaking my head. “You can’t know for certain he will be okay.”
“I have faith in him. In them,” she said, her tone unwavering. “He will—ah, look. Headlights.”
I spun to look out the windows by the front door. Sure enough, two onworlders were headed down the driveway. Relief loosened my muscles for half a second, until dread flooded in.
“What if those vehicles are from the palace?”
“Then tonight will become more interesting than I had hoped,” she said, perfectly calm.
But the moment I saw the figures climbing out, I exhaled a long breath. “It’s them.”
“See? Everything is fine.”
When they came in, though, I knew she was wrong. Everything was not fine. Discord stepped in first, carrying an unconscious Surge in her arms. Jenny trailed behind her, looking pale and utterly exhausted.
“Is he okay?” I asked.
“I believe so,” Discord replied in a way that reassured me. “What he did for Aphonic was intense and he just needs rest.”
