Song's lips pressed into a thin line. "You intend to confront him directly?"
Her gaze flickered with ice. "No. Not yet. Confrontation would be too easy. What I intend is to draw him and his hidden intentions out. To let him think he's pulling the strings, while I carve away at the truth beneath his silk robes."
She leaned forward, her eyes gleaming in the dim lamplight. "That's why you need to keep the others hidden. No matter what happens to me tonight, don't reveal yourselves, and don't act rashly. Understood?"
Song was silent for a long moment. His hand, resting on the table, curled into a fist. "Understood."
But the storm in his eyes betrayed him. Ling Yu reached across the table, placing her hand lightly over his. The gesture was rare between them, intimate not in romance, but in trust.
"Song," she said softly, "you've always been by my side even when I was at my lowest. But this… this is my fight. You cannot take it from me."
