“While insane and frightening,” Adrian stated, running a hand through his hair, “it is out of the scope of our mission. Our job is to find Shey and bring him home. That’s it. How much, or even if, Erya needs to get involved in this other nonsense is business between you and Cael.”
Vitor nodded. “Agreed. Unfortunately, you will need to wade in deeper if you are to find Shey.”
Haru was relieved that no one was adding the caveat that they were assuming Shey was still alive at this point. If these villains were searching for people who had magic, Shey had something they wanted, and it would keep him alive. The key thing was to find him first.
“Do you have any suggestions? Because we’ve hit a brick wall here.”
Vitor’s thin lips curled into a slow, wicked grin that left Haru clenching his teeth. Before the man even spoke a word, he was convinced whatever he was going to say would be a horrible idea.
“As you explained, you work in the slums and the poorer areas where it is easier to collect information through a bit of generosity. Unfortunately, these secrets are housed at the other end of the social spectrum.”
“The rich people,” Adrian grumbled.
“Exactly.”
“But how are we to infiltrate their ranks?” Haru inquired. “I have met some of them while I was in Stormbreak attending Rayne’s wedding. They’re very insular. If not for Cael and the novelty of my home, they wouldn’t have spoken to me.”
Adrian lurched forward. “You’re not suggesting that we admit to people that Haru is adragon?” He finished on a harsh whisper, sounding as if he thought Vitor had lost his mind.
“Absolutely not. Such secrets are far too valuable to toss about so cheaply.” Vitor stood and walked to the bed, where he picked up a manila folder. He brought it back to the seatingarea and handed it to Adrian. “As luck would have it, I have been corresponding with a very well-connected businessman here in Bellcairn. He’s deeply embedded in the political scene in Damardor and has many connections in New Rosanthe. We’ve done a few deals but never met in person.”
Haru peeked at the documents Adrian held in his hands. There was a complete dossier on this Matthys Drost with pictures of him and his associates, business, hobbies, and other interests. “You would like us to act as bodyguards when you meet this man?”
“No.”
Both Haru and Adrian looked up at the very firm answer. Not what Haru was expecting at all.
“I try to limit direct interactions with targets. My tasks are better handled from the shadows. You will need to go in, posing as my cover, Yujian Visconti.”
“Shit,” Adrian hissed. “I don’t know. I’ve had a lot more practice working through the seedy end of things. Rich and glitzy events make my palms sweat. I still get butterflies living in the royal towers.”
“You misunderstood. I want Haru to pose as Yujian Visconti,” Vitor corrected him.
Haru’s eyes widened and his lips parted, but he couldn’t find the words to respond. This was definitely not what he’d been expecting. Pose as an Erya businessman? How could he do that convincingly?
“You’ve lost your mind,” Adrian scoffed, and Haru had to agree with him.
“I haven’t.” Vitor stood and motioned for Haru to stand as well. With a wave of his hand, Haru followed Vitor’s direction to step away from Adrian and turn to face him. “Everything about Haru is graceful and elegant, but in a completely effortless way. His speech is interesting and cultured with just the right mix ofan exotic accent to keep people wanting to listen to him, even if he’s uttering pure nonsense.”
Adrian snorted. “He’s good at nonsense.”
“He carries the air of someone who is massively wealthy. There is no price tag too big. Nothing will stand in his way if he wants it.”
Haru nodded. “All these things you say are true.”
Vitor motioned to Haru and lifted his eyebrows at Adrian, as if to say, “See!”
“Okay, you’ve got a point,” Adrian mumbled.
“These are all things that I would need weeks to teach you, but Haru does them all naturally now.” Vitor folded his arms across his chest and shifted his weight from his left to his right foot as he stared at Haru. “We would need to give you a few talking points to help you if anyone were to ask about your business.” He then looked at Adrian. “And we would need to work on your character a bit.”
“My character? I’m going to pose as his bodyguard, right?”
“At a glamorous party? How many people do you think are going to have bodyguards trailing after them, waiting to chime in if their boss gets in too deep?” Vitor shook his head. “No, you’ll be posing as his lover. It would give you the freedom to cling to Haru as well as mingle with the other guests to pursue separate leads.”
“I don’t know…” Each word tumbled off Adrian’s tongue full of apprehension.
“No, this is a brilliant plan.” Haru walked to the chair where Adrian was and squatted so that he was almost at eye level. “You will cling to me and pretend to adore me while I convince them to give me all their secrets. We will drink champagne and locate Shey. It will work.”
