Free King of Slaves (Jenna's Story) (The Slave Series Book 5) by Elin Peer

thought he said. “My team is coming to the palace?”
    “Yes.”
    “When?”
    “Today.”
    “Great!” Jenna couldn’t wait to see Erin, Nick, and the others, but she also needed badly to call her sister and dad.
    She would have done so after her shower, but hadn’t seen her cell phone in the room despite the fact that the king had told her it would be there.
    “Do you know where my phone is? I need to make it few calls.”
    “In room.” Meme answered. “You want I take you back?”
    “Yes, please, and will you be sure to come and get me as soon as my team arrives?”
    He nodded. “No problem.”
    Jenna turned toward Kalen and gave him a warm smile. “It was a huge pleasure meeting you,” she said.
    He gave her one of his goofy grins and patted her hand.
    “Goodbye, Kalen,” She waved and smiled before he resolutely headed down a corridor that she suspected would lead him to his beloved piano.
    Back in her room, Jenna realized why she hadn’t seen her phone. It had been placed inside her handbag, and only after emptying the entire contents on the bed did she find it.
    First she made a call to her sister, who pleaded with her to come back home, followed by a call to her dad, who understood why she chose to stay but still threatened to come over to personally make sure she was safe and being treated with the respect she deserved.
    After she calmed him down he finally promised to stay away, at least for now. She honestly just wanted to focus on her work.
    It took three hours before her team arrived at the castle, and to her surprise they were not just visiting, but staying.
    Meme showed them rooms they could work in, rooms they could sleep in, and a large kitchen that would be at their disposal whenever the castle didn’t need it for large banquets.
    Everyone was excited about the upgrade and honored to be guests at the palace. Everyone except Jenna, who kept to herself that she would have preferred to be accommodated somewhere else entirely.
     

     
    Kioni
    Late that evening Kioni was lounging on his bed when a knock on his bedroom door made him look up from his laptop. “Come in,” he called and watched Zurry walk in and close the door behind him.
    “What happened to you today? I thought we were supposed to go running at seven; I waited for you.”
    Kioni’s gaze lowered back to his laptop. “I’m sorry, something came up that needed my attention.”
    “There’s always something that needs your attention,” A heavy sigh came from Zurry when he took a seat in a comfy chair close to Kioni’s big four-poster bed. He didn’t need an invitation to get comfortable, and leisurely stretched his long legs in front of him; they had been friends since childhood and shared a bond knitted tightly through youth and hardships.
    “I heard what you did, Kioni. It’s generous, but even a king has his limits. You got to stop feeling responsible for every suffering person in this country or you’ll lose your mind.”
    Kioni wrinkled his forehead. “What would you have me do? Leave children to die in the streets?”
    “No, but how many orphanages are you sponsoring with your own money now?”
    “I won’t let children starve, Zurry.”
    “I know… and I admire you for it, but it’s not sustainable to drain your own resources to run the country. Why not raise the taxes a bit?”
    Kioni scoffed. “The elite would start a new rebellion if I raised their taxes, I already took away their slaves and their precious religion. Most of them are convinced that Masi will punish them when they fail to deliver a human sacrifice again this year.”
    “You take too much upon yourself, Kop.”
    Kioni finally looked up. “I appreciate your concern, my friend, but having money means nothing to me if my children are starving.”
    “Your children?”
    Kioni gave him a grim stare. “These orphans may have lost their parents, but they still have a king, and I’m not going to allow them to starve to death.
    Zurry gave him a