Page 95 of Warrior's Reign
On the surface it was a tourist playground, neutral commercial territory for a conglomerate of planets. Anthhori ran its own security force and was beholden to no laws except that of the treaty that governed it.
Beneath the surface, a bevy of players operating on the dark side of the law ruled Anthhori. A score of illicit pleasures could be had if you knew which of the private decks to gain access to.
If you knew which of the lords of Anthhori to petition for access. Staring at Lohail, several things began to click into place. And several uncomfortable questions about Vykhan required setting aside. . .for now.
Damn him. He’d been holding out on her more than she’d realized.
“I’m not going to Anthhori,” Reign said. “Guests with Imperial ties tend to go in and never come out.”
Lohail rose slowly. “Oh, that’s not quite true, my dear. You know at least one person who, having enveloped himself in the darkness, managed to escape. Not unscathed. . .but those wounds will only ever be revealed if you are very, very unlucky.”
He tossed something at her that glinted momentarily in the sunlight. Reign grabbed it out of instinct, and opened her hand to reveal a silver ring embedded with a sapphire jewel.
“If you choose to accept my hospitality—and I believe you now understand what that hospitality is worth—simply activate the chip and speak my name, Ah’Reigna.”
“Can I rub the ring three times and make a wish, too?”
He laughed, a deep tinkle that rubbed up and down her spine, tensing her inner thighs. Reign grit her teeth.
“Until then, Vykhan’s betrothed, Reign Obe’shan, beloved of my—well.” Lohail drifted around the table and paused at her side, bending over so his mouth brushed her ear. “No wonder he finds you so alluring. Your anger is a sweet spice. You’ll fare very well in my court.”
He retreated into the crowd, shoving hands in his black trouser pockets and strolling away with all the grace of someone who wasn’t a lord of Anthhori and therefore probably a criminal in three dozen different ways, on just as many planets.
Reign cursed him silently, wasting a precious minute of time, then forced her attention back to the problem at hand. That conversation had cost attention she couldn’t afford to give, not with the possibility of imperial guards descending on her at any time. She woke her tablet and got back to business.
The drone activated. It was twenty-third century Earth tech—the palace sensors wouldn’t have picked it up when shut down. She had maybe—
A jolt of electric pain shot up her arm. Her eyes went black for a terrifying split second before a message scrolled across her ocular implants.
:Obe’shan, Reign, you are required per Imperial Order to submit yourself into custody. Failure to do so peaceably will result in your immediate execution.:
They’d hacked her ocular implants. Fuck fuck fuck. Which meant someone had figured out she had them, though she hadn’t listed that enhancement on her official data sheet. Must have been the med scan after the bombing.
Martha’s scrambling had finally failed.DamnLohail. He’d deliberately drawn out the conversation, knowing guards were on her tail, to force her into accepting his help.
Reign stood, shoving the tablet and goggles in her bag. A ripple of motion seized her attention. Turning her head slowly, her gaze caught on a squad of guards clad in the white, blue, and gold etched body armor of the ImperialBdahn’spersonal detail.
Stormtroopers between her and the exits. They posted a warrior at each of the eight lifts as she watched. Impassive blue faces, sleek dark hair and death in gem bright eyes.
Reign walked toward the group of teens and paused.
“Hey, those fliers are stellar,” she said, voice just this side of fawning. “A Z-Nova Stellar Class X model?”
The teens gawked at her. “How did you know?” a young male asked suspiciously. “These are prototypes.”
Reign gave a modest smile, her heart rate knifing up as the squad began to spread through the crowd in a search pattern. Martha’s scrambling must still be working somewhat, or else they would have headed right to her. They knew she was in the vicinity, but that was it.
“I’m friends with the developer, Jordak. He owes me a ride in one of these beauties, but keeps fussing about final touches. Mind if I take a closer look?”
The young man nodded. “You know Jordak?” He began chattering, following her to the parking slot.
Reign entered the model data into her wrist unit and casually laid a hand on the hull.Come on, come on.She launched into a stream of techno babble, still slouched casually, one eye on the approaching guards. If this was a prototype, then the advanced security protocols hadn’t been activated yet. Her universal override should work. Granted, her universal override was a burglar’s tool that would see her thrown in a max security lockup on a frozen moon base somewhere, but hey. If the troopers caught her, she’d have bigger problems to worry about than Jordak’s temper and family connections to the palace.
The flier door slid open.
“Huh,” the teen said, frowning. “Must be glitching, it’s not supposed to—”
“Tell Jordak that Reign Obe’shan said hi. He’ll compensate you.” And take it out of her hide later, probably literally.
