Page 48 of Taking Jenny (Planet Orhon #4)

Mal

T iger’s eyes burned through me. “You think Justice is going to take Jenny?”

“I don’t know what his plan is,” I said, glancing back toward the thrones where she sat, far too close to the enemy. “But right now, she’s playing another dangerous game. Only this time, she’s alone. I’m going to fix that. See you in a bit.”

I strolled past Tiger and wove between dancers, overhearing petty conversations and gossip that didn’t matter.

Like Lord Yelskin, who said, “I better be on the short list for council. I’ve earned it.”

I rolled my eyes and pivoted around him and his consort.

Then, Lady Spoolsby, “…such a romantic evening. A perfect night for asking bold questions, don’t you think?”

I was tempted to tell her, Wind Tru is never going to ask you to unite . It had been plain to everyone for years.

But none of the inane chatter held any bearing on my goal…getting Jenny away from Justice. As I circled yet another boring couple, Justice left his throne and headed straight toward me. Not good .

I grabbed another banwine from a passing servant, moved around a slow-waltzing couple, and came face-to-face with Justice. His expression was unreadable. He tipped his head toward the balcony, so I followed him there.

The moment we stepped outside, the few people lingering cleared out by dashing back into the ballroom. We had absolute privacy, or rather, the absolute privacy afforded to a space I now knew had microphones. Why else would I have been arrested the night I was there with Jenny?

“Having a good Illiapol?” I asked facetiously.

He laughed sharply, his eyes gleaming. “How dare you.”

I merely shrugged and sipped my banwine.

He drank his, too, then said with unnerving calm, “Congratulations.”

I cocked a brow. “How’s that?”

“The money you made on Illiapol. I understand you won a significant amount by betting on Jenny.”

I forced an easy-going chuckle. “Oh, that. Yes well, Kable was good to me.”

Justice narrowed his gaze. “It was not the god of luck who shone on you, Malice.” His tone sharpened.

“You were wise to bet on her. Even if you did try to help her cheat by warning her about the trees. And don’t try to deny it.

Had I been in your position, I might have done the same thing. She is enchanting.”

Tomorrow, stay out of the trees. They’ll look like safety. They’re not. The trees will get you killed.

Those were the words I’d spoken to her right before the guards had burst out onto the balcony the night before Illiapol and dragged me away. I tipped my head in concession, relieved that Justice didn’t know how much deeper my involvement truly went.

“She is very enchanting,” I agreed.

“Do you think she made a sacrifice to Kable?”

I hesitated. “How do you mean?”

“She made it all the way to the finish line. A human…” Justice shook his head. “I cannot sort it out.”

“I would imagine not. Who would have thought a human would win Illiapol?” I said, pandering to Justice’s thoughts. “I only bet on her because the odds were so high against her. Easy payout, if she happened to win—”

“That’s just it. I don’t know that she did win it. At least not on her own.”

The chill that slid down my spine had nothing to do with the night air. I kept my voice even and tried to look intrigued instead of guilty. “How do you mean?”

“How did that little bitch manage to get the best of the entire council? She killed six of the best hunters I have ever known? Her ? She looks like she couldn’t strangle a cina, much less butcher half a dozen strong Ladrian men. So the question becomes, how?”

This is what’s bothering him? The how? Shit. We’re the how.

I shrugged. “I don’t—”

“What has me vexed is that if she was able to flip you into helping her by warning her about the trees, then who else did she seduce into helping her cheat?”

“Justice, I don’t think it would be that much of a boon—”

“And as I said, I understand your urge to help her,” he went on, interrupting me. “I did not take great offense to what you did. So why are you still defending yourself?”

I half-laughed. “You didn’t take great offense to my helping her by telling her about the trees? You had me thrown into a shit-filled prison cell.”

“So imagine what I would have done, if I had taken great offense to it, Malice.”

My stomach clenched. I did not want to imagine it, and yet I couldn’t help myself from doing just that. I shook my head to clear the mental image. “On that, why didn’t you have me arrested again, after I broke out?”

He laughed. “I expected nothing less of you, my boy. I only had you arrested to get you out of your own way for a bit. Had I not locked you away, what other perilously stupid shit would you have done for that girl?”

I sighed and leaned against the balcony railing. “Probably something worse.”

“Precisely.” He patted my back. “Malice, you are the son I wish I had. Sometimes, that means reining you in. But don’t make me do it again. For both our sakes.”

The praise twisted in my gut, and I redirected our conversation back to what was important, and what Justice suspected. “So you think she cheated?”

His lips pursed. “When I asked her to account for each death of my council, she started to cry. Said she was too shaken by it all to speak on the matter, but perhaps once she gets some distance from the trauma, she may be able to give a full account. Which is bullshit.”

“She’s just a human,” I said as an excuse. “Maybe—”

“If she is strong enough to do what she did to those men, then she is strong enough to own it,” he hissed angrily between his teeth.

I considered my next response. “Maybe she’s just…lucky.”

“ Luck ,” he growled furiously, “does not explain how Arrow and Lawson died of hand cannon wounds, when all Jenny had with her was a staff and a leather bag.”

Fuck me. He’s trying to trick me into admitting I know better. I forced myself to suck in a shocked breath instead of looking responsible. “You’re serious?”

He nodded solemnly. “I have not told anyone else. But since you are the last of the council, I thought you should know, in case they target you next. Someone helped her out there on the hunting ground, and I mean to find out who.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to my question, but I had to know Justice’s thoughts. “Do you think it was Tiger Orne?”

“That boy?” He barked a laugh. “He’s brave enough to do something that foolish, but too simple-minded to be able to pull it off. No. It must have been someone smart enough to plan it, but dumb enough to do it. He fits only half the criteria.”

I forced myself not to clench my jaw in anger from his assessment of Tiger. “How can I help?” Because I certainly wanted to be involved so I knew what Justice had planned so I could keep Jenny safe.

“For now, keep it to yourself. We cannot let this information get out. We must play up her status, her success.” He turned and stared at Jenny through the glass panes in the doors.

“We build her up, so that when the truth is exposed, her fall will echo through all time. No one will cheat at Illiapol ever again, once I’m done with her. ”

Dread tightened my chest. “I want to do something, Justice. I can’t just hold onto this information and do nothing.”

He chuckled softly but there was steel beneath the sound. “For now, that’s exactly what you do. Save your strength. In the upcoming days, there may be an alarming number of executions and you will be a very busy man.”

I gave him a tight smile and stared at Jenny, too. “I’ll sharpen my ax.”

He slid his assessing gaze back to me. “In the meantime, I understand you’ve been keeping her and the Orne boy at your estate, sans lock and key?”

“Makes it all the more interesting when I work them over,” I said with a shrug. “They never see it coming.”

He laughed brashly. “Do you think more torture will get us the answers we want?”

I sighed like a weary executioner. “Sadly, no. Nothing I’ve done has gotten me anywhere. I’m starting to worry I’ve lost my touch.”

“Now, now, we’re at a party. Chin up,” he said, almost jovially. “Perhaps you need a different strategy with them. Less torture, more friendliness. Get them to drop their guard so they’ll open up to you.”

Which is exactly what he’s trying to do with me. Call me his son, then try to bait me into admitting to treason. “It’s worth a try.”

Someone inside the palace caught his attention. “Ugh, Yelskin is going to force me to lop his tail, isn’t he?” Still, he smiled and waved at the dolt like he was a dear friend.

“Very likely. He still wants a seat on the council.”

“As though I would ever allow that worm to bother me on a regular basis. Pfft.” Justice rolled his eyes. “Disappointing him will be fun. I should do it in front of his consort. Excuse me.”

Justice left without another word, for which I was grateful. I needed air, and it always seemed like he sucked in every bit for himself, even outdoors.

So he lied about how Arrow and Lawson died…to what end? Though it explains why he cozied up with Jenny—he wants her downfall to be huge, and the closer he seems to her, the bigger her scandal will look when it hits.

A dozen different questions danced in my mind, and—

“Deep in thought?”

Hearing that soft, feminine voice, I smiled before I turned. “The hero of the hour.”

Jenny shook her head, not impressed with my praise. “Don’t call me that.”

“You are what you are.”

“I don’t think it’s heroic to save your own life.”

“I beg to disagree.” I crooked a finger at her. She came closer, so I yanked the edge of her dress at her cleavage and kissed her. Her soft moan overcame my senses. But only for a moment. I kissed along her jaw and whispered directly in her ear, “They can hear us right now.”

“ I know …you want me, Malice,” she said, already playing along. “But I’m not sure I should limit myself to just one man tonight. Seems there are several who want my attention.”

“And some of the ladies, I suppose.” I was relieved she knew about the microphones on the balcony.