Page 15 of Dark Reign

“This is huge! Do you really think someone would let info like that slip through the cracks?” Banks directed the rhetorical question toward Liv as he pulled up a seat beside Felix, still pecking away at his keyboard.

“I’ll admit it’s not likely, but there’s gotta be a way to find out more. We need that info, need to know what they’re not telling the general public,” Liv concluded, stating what we all knew already—that they were definitely withholding something.

“We need ears.” The hustle and bustle that exploded around me suddenly stopped with Jonesy’s epiphany. “We have to get close to the ones with the info; someone’s gonna have to get it firsthand.”

“The Quincentennial Gala!” Shay blurted.

O.C. pointed at her, as if suddenly having the same thought. “It’s in a few days and I’m willing to bet Clifford Vol, head of the Simon Tine Facility, will be there, hoping to schmooze with the attending emperors.”

Alex stood again, this time wearing an expectant grin. “Well, I’d look mighty dapper in a tux, if I do say so myself.”

“Youdosay so yourself, because no one else says it,” Liv quipped. “But if you’re suggesting that we sendyouin, it’s a no-go.”

A frown sent Alex’s thick brow jutting south. “Why not?”

Liv shot him an incredulous look. “Because, Boy Wonder, your mug is the only one they’ve actually got on record. As far as they’re concerned, you’re a terrorist and, because we live in the Capitol with their beloved Presiding Emperor,” she added mockingly, “I can guarantee the sentinel presence will be tripled to watch over the royal family. I’d be surprised if it took ten minutes for one of them to make you.”

Liv was right.

“It has to be Cori.”

Banks blurted his opinion, and all eyes shifted toward him. Mine included. When he hesitated to go on, I guessed he knew it was probably stupid to suggest, seeing as how last night’s close call was still fresh in everyone’s minds.

“We need someone to chat up this Vol guy, right?” he asked. “If he’s anything like the rest of the male Ianite population, he’s got an affinity for women—the prettier the better. Of our three girls—Shay, Liv, and Cori—two aren’t accustomed to that side of things atall. They’d stick out like sore thumbs in the field,” he reasoned. “The Ianite world functions differently than ours, so you can’t watch a few news broadcasts and grasp it all, move through their world without getting noticed.”

His gaze shifted to me and the look was almost sympathetic. “So … it has to be Cori,” he repeated.

I’d been at this a while, even before the torch had suddenly been handed down to me after my parents passed. But in recent years, our mission had put me in some strange positions. For instance, our contact for transport candidates was a burly Ianite by the name of Spencer who cooperated in exchange for a sizable fee. Then, there were the races. I’d mastered how to be among them without being among them. No one else on our team could say that. In fact, several had never even looked an Ianite in the eyes, had never felt the sting of fear knowing that, at any moment, that perfect face could morph into something grotesque—contorted, like an image straight out of a nightmare.

Banks was absolutely right.

It had to be me.

Those same gazes that had just been locked on Banks were now trained on me, and although no one spoke, the plan was already beginning to take shape. I didn’t like this idea, didn’t like knowing this event would bring all the Dynasty’s heavy hitters into one room, but it was the best shot we had.

In a few days, I’d walk among the elite, the very ones who sought to bring down my team, our entire operation.

I was getting ready to enter the lion’s den … and there was absolutely no way around it.

CHAPTER FIVE

Julian

“Another donor’s gone missing, Emperor Westower.”

My father lifted his head when William, his most trusted aide, whispered the information. I knew word would eventually reach him, hence the reason I didn’t bother trying to run interference.

“And you’re telling me this now? Minutes before I go on camera?” he scoffed. “I stay away from all electronic devices the day of the Address for a reason, Will. So little gems like this don’t muck up my thoughts.”

Father’s gaze shifted, no longer fixed on the large, polished podium centerstage where he’d soon give his speech.

“My apologies, Sir. I thought it’d be best to bring you up to speed. I know it’s become the Dynasty’s expectation that the latter portion of your speech be ‘offthecuff’.”

There was an air of flattery in William’s tone, stroking my father’s ego by reminding him how the people had taken to this trend in recent years. Seeing him venture from behind his post, he deviated from the carefully written prose drafted weeks in advance. It made him relatable.

“Speaking to the immediate concerns of the nation by addressing this fresh topic might be a nice touch, Your Highness,” William added with a pleading expression.

I looked away. Had to. It was never comfortable watching another man grovel. Entertaining, maybe, but uncomfortable nonetheless.

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