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I shot him the rebel hand sign, but part of me wondered if he was really in the rebellion. He’d been avoiding me, and that put me on edge.
But I had bigger things to worry about right now. “I need your help,” I said, leveling with him and waiting to see how he responded.
Kadir’s eyes widened, but he recovered quickly. “And what makes you think I can help you?”
“I know you have connections,” I replied, crossing my arms.
“Tailors hear things. Words are all I offer, though.”
Fuck. He was one of the spies we had that traded information, nothing more. I’d thought with the armored outfits and hair needles that he’d be willing to help me more.
“Please help me.”
He stared at me a moment, taking measures breaths as he looked over his shoulder at the door before moving closer, his voice hushed. “Fine. Let’s talk. But you can’t implicate me. Teodosija needs me here to listen in.”
I nod, relieved that he’s prepared to help. “I’m here to kill the Beast.”
Kadir’s face drained of color and he stepped back, his eyes wide. “You’re mad,” he whispered urgently. “That’s suicide.”
I gritted my teeth and squared my shoulders. “It has to be done. There’s no other way to stop his reign of terror.”
He shook his head, exasperated. “And you think one person can do it? You haven’t seen what he can do. I—I can’t be part of this.”
“Wait,” I said, grabbing his hand before he could grab his clothes and leave. “My codename in the rebellion is Striker. You know that name, right?”
Kadir’s eyes widened as he stared at me, understanding dawning on his face.
“Striker could pull something like this off, right?” I pressed, using my reputation to my advantage. I knew it was exaggerated, part of Teodosija’s plan to give the other slaves hope, but if it gave him the confidence to help me, then I’d use everything I had. He nodded in agreement, but he still looked wary.
“What’s your plan?” He asked, and I had to hide my sigh of relief.
“I’d planned on joining his harem and killing him, but that didn’t work out so well.”
He laughed, running a hand down his face. “I’d say not. The Marshal won’t let you out of his sight.”
“Exactly.” I blew out a breath, putting my hands on my hips. “I just need a few minutes when the Beast is by himself.”
Kadir shook his head. “He’s seldom alone. That pack of concubines trail him all the time.”
“But not when the emperor is near...” I said, remembering Zija’s accusations from earlier.
“You can’t possibly be contemplating killing him when he’s with the emperor?” He asked, his eyes flying open. “You are as insane as they say.”
I sighed in exasperation. “I’m not crazy.”
“You are. All of this is madness. I can’t help with this.”
“Wait.” I held up my hands. “What about if you just tell me if you hear about any opportunities? I need more eyes and ears around here. I feel like I’m just being taken from event to event, and I can’t plan anything.
He nodded cautiously, still eyeing me as if I might snap at any moment. “That I can do. I’ll keep bringing you new clothes to share information.”
“My brother, Gavril, is in the city waiting for me. Can you pass him a message, telling him I’m alright and that I need more time?”
“Of course.”
“And can you put in a place for my knife in the outfits? I want to be armed and ready for any opportunities.”
He snorted. “That’s going to be a challenge given what you’re wearing. But I’ll try.” He pulled out a skimpy outfit that was barely more than strings of pearls, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. “You’ll need this for the party tonight,” he said with a knowing grin.
