Page 51 of Taking Jenny (Planet Orhon #4)

Mal

T rue to my word, Jenny did not walk straight as the three of us, as a throuple, walked to breakfast out onto the terrace. Each of us in our finest loungewear, we sat at the near end, while my friends populated the far end of the table.

Surge, with his usual tact, asked the question that Discord and Longshot clearly wanted to know, as well. “So? The three of you?”

I casually poured coffee for both me and Jenny. When I offered Tiger a cup, he made a face and waved it off. Looking back to Surge, I lifted a brow. “What of it?”

“It’s just…well…”

Discord looked fascinated. “We never thought we would ever see you do something so old-fashioned and traditional, Mal. Not saying there’s anything wrong with being in a committed relationship, but—”

“Really?” Jenny looked up, her expression incredulous. “Someone once told me that polyamory used to be the norm for Ladrians, but he was old and I thought he might be a little off his rocker about the whole thing. It’s really a traditional thing?”

I chuckled. “Yes, Prima. It really is.”

Discord’s gaze narrowed on me. “So, what the fuck, Mal? I never thought I would ever see you happy doing anything traditional in all your life.”

I shrugged. “What can I say, Discord? I’m happy.

” I looked at Tiger and Jenny, and my chest swelled with something quiet and unshakable.

“Maybe the ancient Ladrians had it right. Maybe our ghosts aren’t satisfied until we find many to love us.

All I know is that that I’ve never been happier in my life, and I don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks. ”

Longshot raised his glass, and even Rhonda, who was curled on his arm, looked on fondly. “Then we’re happy for you, Mal.”

“We are,” Discord agreed. “Don’t misunderstand me, Jenny, Tiger. I’ve known Mal most of my life, and I’ve just…never seen him like this. It’s different.”

“Because he’s been so normal otherwise?” Surge asked facetiously.

She laughed, rolling her eyes. “Good point.”

We started in on our meal. The sun warmed the terrace, birds sang somewhere overhead, and for a brief moment, I thought we might enjoy a peaceful moment after the chaos of the past few weeks.

No such luck.

Longshot cleared his throat. “Jenny, after breakfast we’ll need to work on a statement you can safely give to Justice…regarding the deaths of the hunters.”

She reluctantly nodded. “Were you the one who trained Mal to be able to handle sleep deprivation?”

Longshot looked as surprised as I was by her question. “I believe I was one of many, actually.”

“I’d like to try that.”

Longshot and I shared a look. “Why would you need that skill?” I asked quietly.

She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Because I don’t think Justice is done with me. He let me beat him at his own game, and yesterday he was…chummy. I think he’s planning something.”

“He is,” I confirmed, nodding. “He doesn’t believe you made it all the way to the finish line on your own. He’s convinced you had help. And based on our talk last night, he thinks it was one person, not a group.”

Longshot leaned back in chair and frowned. “Interesting. He said the same thing to me. Claimed he might appoint me to the new council, but I hadn’t expected him to seek my opinion on this.”

“He told you the same one-person theory?” Discord asked curiously.

Longshot nodded. “Yes, though he lied about part of it.”

“How so?”

“He said that Arrow and Lawson died of hand cannon fire, but we all know that no one out there had a hand cannon.”

I gripped my fork. Hard. The metal bent in my hand. “You didn’t correct him, did you?”

Longshot met my gaze evenly. “I’ve been at court far longer than you, Mal. I know when I am being played. I did not correct him. I acted surprised.”

I exhaled a deep breath and forced myself to relax. “Sorry. I know I shouldn’t doubt you, but Justice is pissed and he is circling, and I wish he would focus on someone else. He tried the same thing with me last night, saying the same lie. He had to know we would confer on the matter, right?”

“Of course. He knows we are friends.”

The details did not add up. “Then why lie so obviously?”

Surge leaned forward. “Maybe he hoped to drive a wedge between you two. Make you doubt Jenny’s Illiapol win. Make you think she seduced someone to help her, and that she’s cheating on you.”

I tried to follow his logic. “So I would turn on her?”

He nodded. “He’s building her up to be a hero of Illiapol, the people’s favorite. If he can shatter that image, make her the betrayer on all fronts, the fall is bigger. And more believable.”

I didn’t know what to think. I glanced at Jenny. Her shoulders had drawn tight.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Justice is angry. He might not be thinking clearly. He might just do something rash and lash out.”

“He will,” Longshot said. “If he truly believes she cheated to get to the end of the trial, he won’t let it go. We need to stay sharp.”

“Fire is hot,” Discord added, deadpan. “You should not touch it.”

We all gave her a strange look.

She shrugged. “I thought we were giving each other pointlessly obvious advice, like Longshot.”

Tiger snorted a laugh, but Longshot gave Discord a dagger-glare.

Ignoring the bickering, Surge turned to me. “Do you think he’s suspicious of Tiger, since he’s looking for a solo accomplice?”

I didn’t want to reveal what Justice had said about Tiger, but I needed him to know in case it was relevant in the future.

Still, it was uncomfortable to say it, and I winced.

“Oddly no. He said, and forgive me for sharing this, Tiger love, but he said he thinks Tiger is not smart enough to be able to pull it off. He said he’s brave enough to have done it, but not clever enough. ”

Tiger laughed. “I am fine with that assessment, actually.”

Discord gaped at him, aghast. “Our ruler believes you have nothing between the ears, and that you’re okay with?”

He shrugged. “Keeps me off his radar, so yeah. I’m completely fine with that.”

“Why?” Discord could not let it go.

“Justice is the kind of man who believes anyone formidable must be put in their place, which is beneath him,” Tiger explained.

“If he doesn’t fear you, you don’t matter to him.

When I was little, the bullies always went after my cousin, because he was the strongest. No one gets points for picking on the runt.

Justice is just a boy-bully with too much power.

If ignoring me means I’m safe, then let him think I’m dumb. ”

A subtle smile curved Discord’s lips. “He might think you’re dumb, but you are far smarter than he will ever know.”

Tiger grinned. “That’s the idea. Stay off his radar, and you stay alive.”

I loved that Tiger surprised me with his insight. It wasn’t that I underestimated him—that was Justice’s job—but Tiger was so sweet and unassuming, it was easy to think there wasn’t much more to him.

Jenny lifted her coffee cup with a sigh. “So…since I’m definitely on his radar, how do I get off of it?”

None of us had a brilliant answer.

After a few moments passed, Surge said, “Once you craft a solid, detailed story about what happened out on the hunting grounds, I believe that will be the end of it. We’ll add our parts to it and make it a cohesive story. If we control the narrative, it should keep you out of royal prison.”

“But he can do whatever wants,” Jenny said quietly. “Right?”

“Yes,” I admitted, knowing Justice far too well. “But with any luck, he’ll stay enamored with the novelty of you, and will let the situation die.”

I took a drink of coffee as my friends’ gazes glanced behind me. When I turned to see what held their attention, a frantic Vine quickly emerged out on the terrace from the house.

The older woman wore a grim expression. “Apologies for the interruption, Malice, but there are palace guards here.”

Fuck. He’s already got proof against Jenny . “Have you told them who is present right now?” I asked in a calm tone.

“They knew. They’re—”

Too late. A squad of palace guards had tromped through my home and emerged out on to the terrace like they owned it. I shot to my feet, furious.

“Who the hell do you think you are, barging into my home like this?”

“We are here by order of the Ruler Justice Bateen,” one of them sneered. “We can go wherever we please.”

He stood far too close to Jenny. My vision tunneled. “You will keep your hands off of her—”

“Why would we bother with her?” the spokesman cut in. “You’re the one under arrest, Malice Ripper.”

Jenny gasped as he spun me around and clamped manacles on my wrists.

Longshot was on his feet in an instant. “He is a member of the royal council, do not think to gag him.”

“We wouldn’t dream of it, assassin,” he said before he put my head in a black serenity bag.

Fuck. I could no longer hear or see anything, and no one could hear me either. Even my breathing was limited in it. I tried not to panic, but it was damn near impossible.

Serenity bags were only used when people were disappeared by a royal order.

Terror clawed at the edges of my mind. My friends were smart enough not to attack them—it would mean they could not rescue me. But I was not sure about Jenny and Tiger. Smart, yes, but both had a passion that could overrule their intelligence. I prayed to Kable they would behave.

Two guards grabbed my shoulders, and I was pushed through my home, out the front door, and tossed into an onworlder’s rear pen. I lay on the floor, bumping and rocking with the vehicle’s movements, and tried to avoid hitting my head on anything.

They did not remove the serenity bag, not even when the onworlder stopped sometime later. I caught a whiff of sea air and assumed the rear pen had been opened. A pinch stung my arm, and the injected drug slowed my heartbeat and breathing.

I struggled to stay awake, to fight it. But I lost the battle as the darkness pulled me under, and I had no choice but to succumb to whatever nightmare Justice had waiting for me on the other side.

Find out what happens between Jenny, Tiger, and Mal in SEDUCING JENNY , the next book in the Planet Orhon alien trilogy.

Three hearts. One empire. A thousand deadly secrets.

I crossed galaxies to find my sister… and fell in love with two alien men instead. But just when life on Orhon starts to feel real, safe even, Mal vanishes without a trace. Tiger and I are ready to tear the planet apart to find him, but the deeper we dig, the more tangled the web becomes.

Palace spies. Royal lies. Magic I don’t fully understand. I’m in way over my head, but I’m not giving up. Not on Mal. Not on Tiger. Not on us.

While Mal fights to survive on a hidden island, hunted by secrets and haunted by his past, Tiger and I chase every lead, risking everything to bring him home. The deeper our bond grows, the more dangerous our enemies become.

We didn’t ask for this war, but we’re in it now. Hearts bound, fates entwined.

And I’ll burn this empire to the ground before I lose either of them.

Seducing Jenny is the second book in the second Planet Orhon trilogy.