Page 16 of Vex
Time to play the spoiled mistress.
The receptionist guided her through opulent chambers designed to make visitors feel pampered and overwhelmed by casual displays of wealth. Luisa maintained her vacant, wide-eyed expression while cataloging security cameras and blind spots.
At the receptionist’s suggestion, she took a seat in the relaxation area that overlooked Galaxie’s courtyard. They were high in the mountains, but it somehow looked warm outside. That was rich people for you—they got whatever temperature they wanted, wherever they wanted it.
Luisa had just subtly stuck one of her bugs behind a grotesque abstract sculpture when Maera Daxkar swept into the room.
Right on time.
She took her tea there every morning, followed by some rejuvenation treatment, if the booking schedule Luisa had hacked was accurate.
"Good morning!" Maera’s voice was bright and welcoming, the kind that could easily extract donations with lots of zeros. "I didn't expect to see another early riser here. You are …" She gave Luisa a thorough look. "You are the dragon's woman, yes? I met him last night, quite the player."
Her information was good. No one but the concierge and room attendant had seen Luisa enter the casino beyond a passing glance. There had to be at least a hundred people staying there, so it wasn't a guess.
"Luisa," she said. She wished she'd been given a false name to go with this identity, but there was no point. Better a name she was sure to answer to.
Not that Luisa was a stranger to changing her name. It was the cost of doing business.
Or it had been. Once upon a time.
But now was not the time to dwell on the past.
"And is his lordship spoiling you like he should be?" Maera was all conspiratorial girl-talk.
Luisa laughed and stroked the necklace at her neck. "He's a dear."
"If you think that, you must be in love." It was a cutting remark, clearly something Maera didn't expect Luisa to understand.
Because mistresses just had to be dumb and pretty.
Luisa blinked innocently. "Of course! He buys me the most beautiful things and takes me everywhere. He even—" She bit her lip. "Oh, I shouldn't. He'd get in so much trouble."
Now Maera looked more intent. "Who's going to hear? It’s just us girls."
Us girls and half a dozen data scrapers that Luisa had planted.
Luisa leaned in like she was telling a secret. "He took me to Halaea. Said he had some business to deal with there, something about …" she waved a hand dismissively, "I don't know. But I'm not supposed to say because the king doesn't like it when his lords go there for some reason."
Halaea was a hub of slavery and worse. The Mountain catered to the vices of the rich. Halaea catered to the vices of everyone.
Maera's expression shifted, practiced warmth giving way to something sharper, more calculating. Her fingers drummed against her teacup. "Halaea is such an interesting place. So many … opportunities. He’s a man of vision, isn’t he?" Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "I imagine Lord Vex found exactly what he was looking for there."
She was fishing, probing to see if Luisa knew more than she was letting on. The woman was definitely more than a simple philanthropist if she wasn’t disgusted by the mere mention of the cesspit of a planet.
"How long have you been with Lord Vex?" Maera asked.
"Awhile," Luisa said, reaching for her water glass. "He's very … generous."
"I'm sure he is. Though dragons can be so possessive, don't you find?"
Warning bells went off in Luisa's head. What did that have to do with anything?
"I wouldn't know," she said carefully. "I've never dated a dragon before."
Maera's laugh was like silver wind chimes. "Oh, my dear. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you?"
The words hung in the air like a threat. Maera's smile was still perfectly pleasant, but there was something lurking beneath the surface that suggested she knew far more about Luisa's situation than she should.
