“Karya sent you because she believes we can trust you,” he said quietly. “You’re uniquely qualified to help us. You’ve been in Saurellian space, and you have contacts there. We know you’ve already helped at least one Imperial slave escape. Don’t bother to deny it,” he said, holding up one hand when she started to protest. “Dani, you’ve been very careful, but we know you’re smart and you’re loyal to the Guild. You’re also the perfect go-between for the Saurellians and us because no one will suspect you.
You aren’t a Guild functionary, you hold no office and you have no power. In short, you’re not important enough for the Emperor to suspect you.”
Dani snorted at his description.
“No, don’t be offended,” he continued. “That’s what makes you perfect for this role. Karya has had her eye on you for a long time. She trusts you, and I trust her.”
“That’s not what she says,” Dani said, her anger growing. Who the hell did he think he was?
“Well, that’s what she says when she’s being spied on by the Imperial intelligence service,” Drake said. He reached forward, clutching her shoulders in his hands and pulling her toward him. He stared into her face, as if he could make her believe him by sheer force of will. “This whole evening is a set-up.
Karya and I have been building toward this moment for a year. We’ve carefully created a rift between me and Guild so that no one would suspect us of collaborating.”
“What is the point of all this plotting?” she asked harshly. “What are you going to do, overthrow the Emperor?” she asked, laughing at the idea. As if anyone could topple a sitting emperor. The thought was ridiculous.
“I can’t tell you that,” he said, dropping his hands from her shoulder and sitting back. “I’ll only tell you what you need to know. It’s safer for everyone that way.”
“Oh, Goddess,” she whispered, searching his face as the realization hit her. They were planning to do that very thing. “You’ll have to kill him.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, Goddess,” she whispered again, and sat back heavily on the floor. Life had suddenly gotten far more complex than she could ever have dreamed. “I’m supposed to be on vacation, you know.”
“Yes, I know,” he replied. “I’m sorry, Dani, but it’s already too late for you. You’re part of this whether you like it or not. You're the only one who can help us.”
"Why me?" she asked quietly. "Why did you have to pick me? There are thousands of other pleasure workers who've been in Saurellian space. Why couldn't you pick of them for this? I don't want this!"
"Because to carry out our plans, we'll need to work with the Saurellians," he said. "And you're the only pleasure worker with the connections we need. That slave you helped escape, her name was Calla?
She's more than an escaped slave. She's become the daughter-in-law of the Saurellian Federation Council's President. She's going to be in Tyre over the next six months with her husband on a diplomatic mission, and you're the one woman in Imperial space she'll trust."
Chapter 4
He stared earnestly into her face, willing her to believe him. They were almost out of time. He'd managed to arrange a temporary power failure that would keep the Emperor's spies from listening in on them, but they would suspect something if the power didn't come back on soon.
She bit her lip, staring up at him with those stunning, unreal blue eyes. Despite the seriousness of their situation, he felt a twinge of desire for her. It filled him with dark amusement. Here he was, plotting to overthrow an emperor, and still all he could think about was bedding this incredible woman.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that it never occurred to him she would hit him.
The blow took him in the jaw, and he hit the ground with a thump. He gasped for breath as it had knocked the wind out of him. She stood over him, hands braced on her hips and glaring in anger.
"I may be a pleasure worker, but I will not let myself be used," she said with bitter venom. "I have no reason to believe you. You may kill me for this, but I'd rather be dead than betray my friends and my Guild. I have no reason to believe a thing you say."
"I can prove it to you," he said, fingering his jaw.
"How?"
He stood, watching her carefully. He wouldn't make the same mistake again, he thought.
"Take off your earrings."
"What?"
"Take off your earrings," he repeated. "Karya gave them to you earlier today, didn't she? For tonight."
She nodded, reaching up to take out the delicate silver baubles.
He reached out to take them from her. She handed them to him, and he turned them over in his hands. They appeared to be a random twist of silver wires and pearls, but he knew there was a pattern.
There it was…he found the right spot and allowed them to interlock with each other. Then he held them up for Daniella to see. They had formed the delicate outline of a dragon, the mythological beast which was part of the Von'hot family crest.
"Where did Karya say she got these?" he asked quietly, handing them back to her.
"From her son," Dani whispered, looking up into his face.
"I gave her the earrings," he said quietly. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off. "I'm not going to tell you the whole story. There's no need for you to know any more, and too many people could suffer if anyone found out. But Karya is my mother, and we have been working together for years. Before he was killed, she planned all of this with my brother. Come over here."
He strode across the room to a small table. He picked up a small, hand-held illuminator, one with varying light frequencies. It was something that could be found in almost every home in the Empire. He turned to her.
"This is only visible with a specific frequency of light," he said quietly, punching a six-digit number into the wand. "It was tattooed into my upper arm as a child, to help them identify me if I was ever kidnapped."
He switched on the light, holding it up to his arm. Within the purplish light, the glowing outline of a dragon came into view beneath his skin.
"Hold up the earrings next to it," he said. She did, gasping. He watched her face, but he already knew what she was seeing. The delicate tracery of the wires and beads, held at exactly the right angle, matched his tattoo exactly. There could be no mistaking it.
"Do you believe me now?" he asked.
"You could have had those given to Karya," she said, shaking her head.
"Yes, I could have," he replied. "But how would have I arranged for her to give them to you? You know I’m telling the truth."
She was silent, a single tear welling up.
"I wish you weren't," she said. "How could all those people be dead, and none of us know about it?"
"He's not sane," Drake replied, filled with compassion for her. He remembered when he'd first heard the news, and realized that he no longer had a choice in fighting the Emperor. "Will you help us?"
"Yes," she whispered, reaching one hand up to wipe away the tears. "Yes, I will," she added, her voice stronger. He detected a note of steel in her tone, and he sighed with relief. Karya hadn't underestimated her.
"It's going to be very difficult for you," he said. "You're going to become my mistress. The Guild is going to expel you for turning against them, and you'll be publicly humiliated."
"I understand," she said, nodding her head with quiet dignity.
"When we go to Tyre, you'll be an outcast among the Guild members. And you'll be an outsider among the nobles. They won't look upon you as an equal, you know."
"I can handle that."
"There's one more thing," he said, “and this may be the hardest part of all. Within a day or two I can guarantee that the Emperor's people will contact you, try to recruit you to spy on me. You'll have to agree with them, and you'll have to keep up a convincing front that you're working against me."