Empress Game: The Empress Game Trilogy Book 1 (15 page)

“Yes. Please,” she added as an afterthought. Malkor must be needed in a million places simultaneously. The Imperial Diplomatic Corps had been created for events like this, gatherings where cultures, traditions and races would meet, mingle, exchange and potentially clash. The IDC had been diplomats initially, and if the latest generation had become more martial, it hadn’t changed the core of their training. “I’d appreciate it.”

He’d already turned to the door, knowing her answer.

“The inaugural banquet is in a few hours,” Isonde said. “We’ll need to prepare.”

More studying politics and practicing conversation.

“I’ll return in time.” Kayla let the door slide shut behind her and followed Malkor down the hall. Their suite was only a short walk to the security doors that opened into a broader main hallway. Two minutes of walking brought them to the security doors at the end of the IDC wing. Her bracelet unlocked the doors and Malkor escorted her into the deserted corridor. The IDC wing mirrored the layout of her own wing and it wasn’t hard to locate Trinan and Vid’s room. Malkor indicated that the rest of the octet was stationed in rooms to either side and across the hall. Her
il’haar
was as safe as she could make him.

Vid answered the door when they commed, but it was Corinth’s voice she heard, a mix of excitement and relief in his greeting.

::You found us.::

She finally relaxed. His appearance had improved since joining forces with the octet. The nutripacks of the food synthesizers on the starcruiser were so much more complete than her supplies had been, and even the small amount of extra food Corinth had been eating had improved both his color and his energy level. He had lost his fearful wariness of the agents and looked more comfortable than she felt around the large imperials. His eyes shone with enthusiasm.

How bored he must have been on Tri, trapped with only one person for his mother, sister, psionically dead
ro’haar
and teacher.

How bored she had been.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Vid said with a smile. “Your brother’s been busy hacking into the mainframe and manipulating stars knows what. I’m pretty sure he’s already gotten us fired… or worse. I let him use Trinan’s complink terminal, of course.” He winked at Corinth and the boy’s answering grin lifted her heart.

“Thank you,” she said. “For looking out for him.”

Malkor’s datapad beeped again.

“Well, he’s a bundle of trouble, as you know, but I do what I can.” Vid’s infectious teasing made her chuckle. “I need a break from his wild antics. Malk, a few words maybe, if you’ve got a second?” The two headed into the hallway.

::You won’t believe the number of people we saw!:: Corinth launched into conversation as soon as the men had left. ::So many minds. And some have shields! Some people are completely closed off, like you can do, Kay. Even the octet is more guarded. I don’t know if it’s conscious, but Vid is shielding his thoughts somewhat, it was harder to read him than normal. Well, except when we were getting IDed. Then he was worried for me, but he didn’t show it at all. No one else could tell. But the techs were so easy, and they didn’t even pay attention to our scans. And then we met some other octet and Vid didn’t like them. He said they were lazy. And too aggressive. He called them—:: Corinth stumbled to a halt, but not before the memory of Vid’s colorful description of the octet’s leader landed in her mind. ::Um, he told me not to tell you he’d taught me that phrase.::

“Corinth, if Vid’s getting harder to read, I don’t want you to push it.”

Exasperation came through their link. ::He doesn’t know I’m trying to get past his shields.::

“He might, if he’s being cautious. The others might too.”

::I’m careful. I’ve been practicing.::

She sighed, disturbed at what thoughts Corinth might dredge up in a grown male’s mind. “Don’t get too comfortable in there. He’s not a toy or a test bot.”

::I know that, Kayla. I try not to invade his privacy. Too much. Besides, Trinan’s even more entertaining.:: He paused, then rushed on. ::I really like them, and I think they like me. Rigger too.:: She felt his adoration of them, blended with his pride for being someone the tough, capable IDC agents could like, and his yearning for a connection with someone who wasn’t her.

“At least promise me you’ll leave anyone with stronger shields alone. No practicing on them.”

::They won’t know if I just
try
.::

“You can try all you want—once we get home. Where it’s safe.” The mention of home dampened him, but for the first time she felt an easing of the familiar longing the word evoked. “Promise me you’ll be careful, now more than ever. Just a little while longer.”

He nodded. ::I will.::

“Did you go through the floor plans of the building yet?” ::Yup. I know exactly where you are and how to reach you there.:: He closed his eyes and his focus shifted from her. ::The princess is pretty agitated with you for taking off.::

“I need to study, there’s an important gathering tonight. And apparently your
ro’haar
needs some more prettying up.”

::You are beautiful, all the octet thinks so.:: His mouth cocked up in a grin so like Vayne’s it hurt. ::Especially Malkor.::

“
Corinth Reinumon
. We discussed you staying out of his head.”

::I can’t help it. He projects when you’re around. You intrigue him.::

“Please,
please
stay out of his head.”

He made a noncommittal noise.

She glanced at the door, reassuring herself of their privacy. “Were you able to find out anything more about Malkor?”

Corinth shook his head. ::I didn’t have much time with the complink, and I didn’t want Vid to get suspicious of what I was doing.:: A thread of uncertainty crept in. ::I’ll keep looking, but I doubt it’ll be easy to gain access to the IDC domain. I wasn’t even able to find it in my initial search.::

Her thoughts sheared against each other, the need to know exactly who she’d partnered with buffeted by her fear of that knowledge, now that their futures were inextricably linked with Malkor’s.

::You do want me to keep searching, right?::

“Yes. Of course I do.” Of course. There was no dodging the truth, whatever that was. Better to know now than before things went any farther.

The chronometer caught her eye. Thoughts of the council members she still had to read up on intruded, and there was that diplomat from Nixna that she had wanted to investigate. He had powerful backing among the more prosperous Sovereign Planets and actual Wyrd sympathies. He would be a good one to approach.

“Will you be okay here tonight?”

::Rigger’s coming by later, she’s going to let me help with the final modifications on your hologram and we’re going to crack into the Game print-DNA database to add your profile to Isonde’s for the switch.::

“Just, try not to impress her
too
much. I’ll check on you later.”

::You don’t have to.:: He pulled back and looked into her eyes, his psi powers flooding her with the protectiveness that flowed from the octet members. ::They’ll keep me safe while you’re busy. I’m safe here, Kayla.::

If only that were true.

* * *

Kayla wandered from the dining area of their suite to the sitting room and back, giving no thought to her steps as she read. She had a datapad in each hand, memorizing a face while she scanned a brief on Archon Raorin’s latest speech before the Sovereign Council. It was stirring and provocative, and introduced for major consideration the idea of a complete withdrawal from Wyrd Space. His wife—a less influential council member herself who represented a smaller colony on the same moon—had spoken immediately afterward, proposing instead a stronger presence on Ordoch and more pressure on the Wyrds to develop the cure for the TNV.

Their marriage seemed to be going well.

Satisfied she would be able to recognize Raorin on sight, Kayla ducked into her room one last time to check her appearance. She took her identity as Lady Evelyn Broch as seriously as she did her research on the current atmosphere of imperial politics. The more convincing her role, the less suspect her actions. Lady Evelyn, she decided, was confident, well-spoken and stylish, someone the refined Princess Isonde would bring as her one attendant. Knowing as she did each piece of the costume she’d donned, the combined effect in the mirror still surprised her.

Her mother stood there, entwined with Kayla’s uniquely snubbed nose and long, loose, dyed black hair. The same fey eyes, their flame-bright blue a perfect match. Same rounded cheeks that had always held a smile. Kayla’s were more gaunt, but the bone structure was perfectly her mother’s.

For the first time in five years Kayla felt attractive. Beautiful. She wasn’t just a weapon, a
ro’haar
. She was her own. A woman.

Not necessary for the mission, but damn if it didn’t make her glow a little.

She turned her hip to admire her dress. The magenta “fabric” was in fact millions of microscopic links, made from the lightest known metal and interwoven with protein strands from the dhara arachnid. The deep red-violet shimmered when she shifted, and fit her body like a snake’s skin. A stiff collar had been fashioned using extra protein strands, and it came up almost to her jaw line on all sides except the front of her throat. The fit of the dress hugged her body through her hips. She most appreciated the slits running up each thigh; they would have allowed perfect access to her kris daggers, if any visitors for the Game had been allowed to carry weapons. A collection of silver triangles hammered together hung from each earlobe, completing the outfit.

Kayla entered the sitting area and Isonde’s pale blue gaze skimmed over her. The princess straightened her posture with the slightest smile. “Good. You might almost be able to pull this off.” Kayla took that as praise.

They’d been forming an odd sort of rapport over the last week. From things she’d said, Kayla knew that Isonde’s aim to become empress came not from a desire for power, but rather from a need to correct the course of an empire that she saw as having gone off the rails. She rather arrogantly assumed she was the only woman for the job, but Kayla took that in her stride. The goal, and the woman behind it, she could respect.

Isonde’s initially chilly manner had thawed as Kayla demonstrated not only her ability to carry off the charade, but her determination to do the whole thing right. The disparaging remarks had disappeared as they’d both gotten down to the business of planning their political agenda for the Game.

Tonight Isonde wore an airy gown of layers of sheer white pinned at one shoulder and wrapped around her body. An opaque slip lay beneath and both fabrics floated like cloud wisps. Subtle plascrystals glowed at her ears, formed a necklace that rested on her collarbones and wrapped around the wrist not wearing her credentials bracelet. Her auburn hair was done up in curls held in place with woven copper filaments.

They made their way through the halls, seemingly in no great hurry despite the determination Kayla felt coming from Isonde.

Kayla thought she was ready. She’d practiced the traditional Piranan greeting, touching right fingertips to right shoulder before lowering the arm, palm up. She’d studied the current Piran treaties and trade agreements with Sovereign and Protectorate Planets, memorized potential allies who had yet to commit to the Ordochian situation one way or the other, made a list of council members who could potentially be brought to their side with trade, aid or other incentives, and identified those worlds most affected by the TNV.

She had not, however, been able to prepare for the sheer size of the gathering at the inaugural banquet.

Or the noise.

It was held in the arena that would house the enormity of matches the Empress Game required. The Game complex had hundreds of function rooms, none large enough to accommodate the mob of guests present—they could have populated a small city on Ordoch. The hum of chatter drowned her. Above it all rode the announcement of each guest as they arrived, name, rank, station, holding, designation, planet… the titles seemed to go on and on.

Kayla and Isonde stopped in the lower level arena seating, by what had been dubbed the presentation steps, waiting to be scanned for weapons and then announced. From there they would make their entrance by descending the stairs to the floor, or “pit,” and joining the waiting throng. She skimmed the crowd, unable to focus on a face before another person came into view. So many. Too many. How could she find anyone?

Indigo and jade crepe assaulted the eye from every level of the arena. It ringed the perimeter, wound around the stair railings and draped along the edge of the pit. Flags representing each nation recognized by the empire lined the ceiling, hung from rafters in row after row of fabric, too high up to even make out their differences. Lights of a million colors shone down, created laser shows on the walls, blinked in time to music. The heat from the press of bodies in the pit rose into the chilled upper levels, the breeze stirring her hair.

“Princess Isonde Veriley of Gangisha, Sovereign Planet Piran, accompanied by Lady Evelyn Broch of Ishimi, Sovereign Planet Piran.”

The number of heads that turned at the announcement was staggering. She descended the stairs beside Isonde, trying to mimic the princess’s elegance. Isonde casually lifted the hem of her skirt a centimeter as if she strolled through a meadow, and she drifted down the steps like a feather, floating into the galaxy’s most monumental social event. Kayla felt more like an escape pod launched down a long chute into the unknown of space.

They touched down on the arena floor and she fought the urge to run as a swell of people met them. She was an Ordochian princess. She had attended every royal function since she and Vayne had come of age. None of these people could even read a thought, let alone influence an emotion from her. She could handle this.

She affected a smile similar to Isonde’s—pleasant, confident and approachable. Kayla might battle for the crown here in the days to come, but tonight, she was in Isonde’s arena.

* * *