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full night out, and the buildings spread out before them sparkled like thousands of gems.
    “These are my people,” he said simply, gesturing toward the city with a sweep of his arm. “My family has ruled this system for a thousand years. Our family has been in power longer than the current imperial dynasty.”
    What could she say to that? Dani wondered. She was a courtesan, trained to deal with men of power. But somehow, spouting out one of the light-hearted remarks she usually affected, seemed so inappropriate to the moment. They were alone in his room, she realized, the most private place in his palace. Yet not a single personal item seemed to be kept here. It was lovely, but completely devoid of personality.
    There were no other people around, either. No guards and no sign of a spouse or children. She hadn’t heard of any other family members, she realized with a start. Usually ruling families were surrounded by courtiers, hangers-on and distant relatives. This palace seemed all but empty.
    “Where is your family?” she asked before she had time to think better of the question.
    “I don’t have any family,” he said, looking at her with amusement. “Didn’t Guildmistress Karya give you any background on me before sending you to spy on me?”
    Her breath caught.
    “You were monitoring our conversation?” she asked tightly, fear filling her. What would he do to a woman he’d caught spying?
    “Of course,” he said, his tone mocking. “I have to be very careful, you know. I find myself in a delicate position dynastically. My brother is dead, killed in the war against the Saurellians. I was his only heir, and now I’m alone. He served on the front, at the Emperor’s personal request.” He paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in.
    “If I were killed now, this entire system would be forfeit to the Emperor,” he added.
    She had no idea what to say in response to this revelation. Surely Karya had known that, but they hadn’t had time to discuss the situation in depth. After all, she was a courier and courtesan, not a spy. Her only experience was bringing pleasure to others she thought frantically.
    “I see,” she said, stalling for time. He turned away from her again, and her eyes flew around the chamber, looking for an escape route, or something to use as a weapon.
    “I doubt very much that you do see,” he said, his face dimly lit by the lights of the city. There was bleakness in his voice that made her heart twinge. He looked so alone, standing there above his home.
    “These people are utterly dependent on me,” he said quietly. “There are more than 40 billion of them living in my territory, between the various planets, moons and stations. It’s not a large system, but we’ve always enjoyed a high quality of life. There’s no slavery here. My people are happy and healthy—hardly any choose to emigrate to other worlds. We were even spared the worst of the war. My brother and his men paid a high price to keep our young men out of the hands of Imperial recruiters.”
    She nodded, starting to understand.
    “You’re afraid that if something happens to you, your people will suffer,” she said softly.
    “Afraid?” he asked, laughing with a harsh, barking sound. “Afraid doesn’t begin to express how I feel about the Emperor taking control of this system. If I die, it passes into his hands directly. Then he can start slowly milking my people of everything we’ve worked so hard to accomplish. Of course, if he decides I've committed treason, things will get far worse. He has the option of liquidating the entire population, you know.”
    “No,” she whispered a wave of nausea washing over her. “He wouldn’t do that.”
    “Oh really?” Drake turned back to her, and for the first time that night she could see some real emotion in his face. “You don’t know what he’s capable of doing. I am. I was raised with him, attended school with him in the Imperial Capitol, Tyre. He counts