>>96493180
Normally, Annelid would never have allowed herself to be trussed up in such finery. But Her Excellency, Lord Captain Selindra Veyl, had insisted. The occasion? Some ball or other. A planetary governor or a sector commander; one of those swollen dignitaries whose vaults were as fat as their bellies. You need only know where to slip the knife to open them up.

She hated this. The broach at her throat felt like a pair of hands closing around her too-long neck. The corset pinched at areas she didn't even know existed. The heeled synthleather boots made every step a misstep, turning her awkward height into full ungainliness. She moved like a scarecrow wound too tight, her discomfort masked only by the promise that Veyl’s game was worth the humiliation.