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“If I tell you this, you’ll never be able to leave.”

“More bullshit, I’d never be able to leave anyway. I already know too much.”

He nodded his head, acknowledging the point.

“We’re not just building a settlement of people who were off-planet when Danube was interdicted. We’ve formed an organization, part military, part espionage and for the past year, we’ve been blockade running. We bring out refugees a few hundred at a time and settle them here.

“Our headquarters are most unfortunately located under the garnet deposits. We discovered them while we were building but didn’t think much of it. They weren’t worth anything back then.”

Tessa took a deep, hissing breath.

No wonder they’d planned to kill her. This was big, bigger than anything she could have imagined. Suddenly she wished she’d listened to him instead of demanding the truth.

“So you’re actively engaged in treason against the Emperor.”

“Yes. That’s why it’s very convenient that you can’t testify against me.”

Chapter Five

Tessa spent several long seconds calming herself.

“I hate to say it, but killing me makes a hell of a lot more sense than marrying me.”

“I suppose so,” Daaron replied, reaching out to touch her cheek gently. “But I couldn’t do that to you, Tessa. You were the only person at university who didn’t fall all over themselves to kiss my ass. You were the only one who told me the truth, who stood up to me. You were the one who taught me that everyone—even someone born in the Warrens—has as much right to freedom and prosperity as a noble.”

“Wow.”

“Not to mention the fact that I still hadn’t gotten into your pants,” he added, a sly little smirk stealing across his face. It broke the tension that hung so heavily in the room. Tessa snatched a pillow and hit him over the head with it, hard. He grabbed her and wrestled her down, kissing her roughly even as he reached around to tickle her.

She kicked at him, pulling away from his kiss and screeching. He clapped one hand over her mouth.

“Be careful,” he said. “Remember our listeners in the hallway. We’ve already given them enough of a show.”

She nodded her head and he released her. Goddess be-damned, touching him made her want him again. All those years of celibacy must be coming back to haunt her, because all she could think of was sex, sex, sex.

“So where do we go from here?” she asked finally. “I understand why you can’t let me have the garnets. I don’t think I want them anymore, not if it means hurting so many people. And I certainly don’t have any love for Imperials. I grew up in the Warrens, remember? Their own personal hunting grounds? Where I live, a person who works for the Emperor is likely to get gutted if he strays too far without armed guards.

I’m not going to rat you out, Daaron.”

He nodded his head.

“I believe you,” he replied. “But only marriage is enough to convince my people of that. They’re different than most living within the Empire, very religious. When their priestesses declare a marriage valid, they don’t just see it as a social contract. It’s a lifemating. And something strange happens between them, I’ve seen it. I don’t think those couples could separate even if they wanted to. Our marriage will keep you safe.”

“I have an obligation to my mother,” she said, feeling tired. “I was going to use the money from the garnets to buy her freedom. I can’t just let her rot away. Will you help me?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Easy enough to buy out one woman’s indenture. I’m sorry for that—I know you wanted to do it yourself.”

“My pride isn’t worth destroying lives,” she said firmly, pulling away from him.

“This isn’t how I would have planned things, but I can accept reality. We should make the best of it, Daaron. I don’t want to fight with you if I don’t have to.”

“Then I guess we’re stuck with each other,” he replied. He reached up and tousled her newly shortened hair. She sighed, rolling her head into his touch. It felt good, comforting. For the first time in her life, she felt safe. Pretty pathetic, considering she’d just entered into a conspiracy against the Emperor.

“I suppose so,” she replied. “At least, let’s give it a try. I never considered marriage to you, Daaron. It’s going to take some getting used to. But when I was a little girl, getting out of the Warrens and going to university seemed like an impossible dream. I made it there. Maybe I can make it here.”

Daaron gave a sigh of relief. He hadn’t realized just how nervous he was until she’d said yes. He thought about when he’d cut off her braids, marking her as his in the way men of the Warrens had for centuries. His noble peers had always laughed at the lower-

class practice, mocking the masses of Tyre for their barbaric traditions. He hadn’t understood until now just how satisfying those traditions could be.

“Come here,” he said, reaching for her.

“Why?” she asked, her tone suspicious. “I’m not up for more ‘boinking’ as you so eloquently put it. I need a shower first.”

He laughed and shook his head.

“Because you’ve done me a great honor and I want to thank you,” he replied, willing her to believe and understand him. “I know this isn’t what you planned, but I promise you I’ll care for you, Tessa. And your mother. I still have enough contacts on Tyre to find her.”

“Thank you,” she said. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Daaron smiled at her, feeling strange, almost light. Happy.

“I had no idea how much you could mean to me,” he said. “Never dreamed it, but I can’t imagine anything better.”

*** Tessa tried not to get too lost as Daaron guided her through the training center. The place was a maze, but she’d always been good with directions. Who would have imagined a conspiracy of this scope against the Emperor could exist, let alone that she’d become part of it? Although the politics really didn’t really matter to her. All that counted was her mother’s freedom and their new life. Daaron’s compassion for the Danubians, his willingness to risk his own life, had taken her completely off guard.

Who could have imagined the mighty Lord Von Saur’rel could have a soul?

It certainly made up for the loss of her garnets.

After leading her in what seemed like endless circles, Daaron finally brought her into a large dining hall. Round tables surrounded by bench seating were bolted into the floor. At some silent signal, people filtered in through the doors, more men than women. They eyed her closely, some looking friendly but most seeming suspicious, even hostile.

She supposed she would feel the same way about a potentially threatening stranger if she found herself in their shoes. Daaron took her hand, guiding her up and over a bench onto one of the tables.

“This is my wife Tessa,” he said, voice firm and in command—the voice of a man whose authority had never been questioned in his entire life, she thought. “You will treat her with the same respect you treat me. Do you have any questions?”

“I do.”

The woman who spoke was young and lovely, but her face held a brittle tension that spoke volumes about the life she’d led. No one could ever mistake her for someone who had been granted anything. Tessa knew instinctively that if anyone could successfully challenge her presence, this woman would be the one.

“Why should we believe you won’t betray us?” she asked, her voice ringing in the barren, metal-walled room. “Daaron says you’ll obey him, that you’re his true lifemate.

Will you obey?”

Good question, Tessa thought. She knew she should say yes, but she’d never been good at lying. Warrens culture might tell her to obey her husband, but somehow that didn’t seem to apply to a woman who had been to university and now found herself married to a noble-born rebel. And she wasn’t even sure she knew what a lifemate was, let alone whether Daaron was hers. He looked at her expectantly, nodding his head as if to give her permission to speak. Needing a man’s permission just because he’d cut off her braids rankled. Time to lay her cards on the table. She figured it might not be smart, but Tessa didn’t care. She should be honest if she hoped to make a new life among these people.