I opened it. Inside was something that looked eerily like a tablet back home. Except this one seemed to be motion activated because it turned on, its screen bright and the image clear.
Oh, god.
I looked at the top several images, flipping between them quickly with a swipe of my finger. There were more, but I didn’t dare take the time to look through all of them. There were at least fifty images here. The stakes had just gone up.
If they found me with this, they’d kill me.
My heart skipped a beat as I replaced the device, closed the box and pushed it back into the far corner of the cabinet. Those images were of the queen and a little girl who had to be her daughter, same red hair, same smile. It was clear that whoever had taken the first picture knew the queen personally, as she was staring directly into the camera and her smile was genuine, not forced.
Hands shaking, I quickly put everything back exactly as I had found it. There were more photos of the queen and her daughter on that device, obviously taken some time in the past. But the one that made my blood run cold was of that same little girl, the princess, in some kind of transparent, coffin-looking thing, just like Snow White in the forest. That had to be a ReGen pod. I’d never seen one, so I couldn’t’ be sure. However, these images gave irrefutable proof that there was indeed a traitorinsidethe palace. Not just any traitor, but someone the queen trusted.
I couldn’t leave with the device. I nowhere to hide it. Literally. I was basically naked. Could I sneak one past the guard? Not a good idea. The tablet was not small, the device having laid across both of my palms. Too large to hide in my hand. I didn’t have shoes, the subs here didn’t wear them inside. Mine were with Mal. Somewhere.
I couldn’t swallow it and I couldn’t shove it up my hoo-ha, so I had to leave it here. They would just have to believe me when I told them what I’d seen.
Time to get out of here.
I made my way to the door.
I stepped into the corridor, but the stubborn pet-thing refused to leave the room.
Damn it. I didn’t have time to deal with a stubborn, alien cat cousin. They’d just have to wonder how the stupid creature ended up in that room.
Just as the door slid closed, I heard heavy footsteps coming at a rapid pace. I froze just long enough to make sure I knew what direction they were coming from. I ran on silent feet back to the room where the guard had left me.
A door opened behind me, but I didn't dare look back. I kept moving forward, toward a window that overlooked the city. If the guard noticed my movement, I could only hope he would assume I had been nervous. Pacing.
I needed to leave. Now. Now. Right now. I controlled the urge to run, as I had hundreds of times before, the calm on my face the opposite of the turmoil in my mind. I controlled my breathing and turned when the sound of the guard’s footsteps were directly behind me.
“I apologize for the delay. I can take you back to the salon now, my lady.”
“Thank you, Sir. I am afraid I would get lost again on my own.” I kept my gaze demurely on my hands where they were clasped in front of me. I made sure my chest was on full frontal display.
“Of course, little one. Follow me.” His gaze drifted exactly where I wanted it to, which meant he didn’t look too closely at my face or notice that I was a bit out of breath from the mad dash back here.
Little one? Of course he would call me that. I’d acted the part of a docile lamb and called him ‘Sir’ when he wasn’t my master, my lover, myanything.
Score one for the helpless damsel in distress routine. It had never worked for me before. But then, I’d never been dressed like a horny man’s half-naked fantasy before, either.
The image of the little princess laying in a coma made the blood in my legs turn to ice-cold sludge. I had to get back to Mal and Geros or no one would know what I’d found.
I followed the guard like a lost puppy despite the fact that I knew exactly where I was in the building. My sense of direction had always been excellent. A few twisty hallways were nothing to the underground tunnels I’d crawled through on the border.
I really hoped this guy would taking me where he was supposed to. I didn’t want to fight him. My only chance would be to take him out immediately. Not good odds. He was big, not an ounce of fat on him. No need to tempt fate unless absolutely necessary. In all honesty, and I generally tried to be honest, at least with myself, I didn’t think I could take him. Some men, yes. Not this one. Every move screamed fighter. Soldier. Killer.
Being nearly naked didn’t help my confidence, either.
He took a strange turn.
Shit.
I mentally planned my attack. Take out the knees, go for the throat. If that failed, I’d have to try and crush his skull with bare feet. It didn’t take as much force as one would think. But…gross.
He took two more steps. I lagged, preparing for my speed run at his knees.
Stop.
I recognized the decorations on the walls, could hear the sounds of the club once more.
