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in the morning. I’ll finish the job.”
    â€œThen Haveeda is as good as dead. Your track record is impeccable, dear Laderna—in fact, we might as well celebrate our success tonight.”
    She smiled back at him and began to unbutton her blouse.

 
    5
    Exiled. Fallen from grace. But at least she was still alive. Enva Tazaar tried to comfort herself with that, but didn’t quite manage to convince herself. The injustice of how far she had sunk simmered within her, but she was helpless—for now. She had been cheated, sentenced to death, and forced to flee from the Crown Jewels to save her life. Diadem Michella had made a spectacle of her, stripping Enva of her noble titles and holdings, her family prestige and wealth.
    The Tazaars had built a grand empire on Orsini for centuries; her father had been a great lord whose power and personality had been a match for even Selik Riomini—until Lord Tazaar was murdered by an unknown assassin, leaving Enva with the wealth and power.
    But she’d lost it all and now found herself on this worthless frontier planet of Tehila. Everything had been torn from her, like an infant stolen from its mother’s arms. If only Enva had moved more swiftly and consolidated her noble alliances, she could have been Diadem herself by now, replacing the vile old leader. She had arranged a cooperative pact with General Adolphus on condition that he help her remove the spiteful crone from power. Enva was sure the General had not betrayed her—no, it was someone else.
    By now, if Michella had her way, Enva would have been executed—painfully and slowly, before a large audience. But she had frustrated the old bitch’s plans in that, at least. Enva could cling to this as a small victory. She had been locked in a high-security Sonjeera prison without any real reason to hope, but someone—she had no idea who—had given her a chance to escape, smuggling her away on a secret transport aboard a stringline hauler heading off into the Deep Zone, as far away as conceivable.
    Now she was safe enough, although forgotten and powerless. But she was still Enva Tazaar. She had the skills and ambition to change her situation. One step at a time.
    Ready to go to work, she clipped on her ID badge before entering the Tehila administrator’s mansion. The badge identified her as “Enva Lien” and the picture showed a woman who was still unfamiliar to her. Beautiful—nothing could hide that—but her blonde hair was now close-cropped and dyed a muddy brown. She wore no makeup on her pale face—giving her the appearance of a clerk, a civil servant, someone beneath notice. Enva felt a knot of resentment whenever she looked at herself, but it had to be this way … for now.
    Having run the government on Orsini, Enva had a talent for details; she understood the minutiae as well as the broad strokes and implications. When she’d arrived on Tehila, her mysterious benefactor had left her a small stipend with which to establish herself. She had a tiny apartment and was forced to rely on the kindness of Deep Zone strangers. Enva Tazaar was unfamiliar with the concept of charity. She had been a hard-edged planetary ruler, with little patience for those who could not take care of themselves. The people of Tehila, pioneers accustomed to helping one another for the survival of the colony, gave Enva what she needed, once she demonstrated her willingness to work.
    With her skill set, she pursued and easily obtained employment with the Tehila government offices. The job was dull, but easy for her, and she worked her way up quickly, although she was careful not to draw attention to herself. Until old Michella was deposed, or simply died from old age or too much spite, Enva was in danger. Her death sentence remained in place.
    Someday, she would make her way to General Adolphus on Hellhole, reveal her identity, and help him overthrow the Constellation. For now, Enva