Xue's eyes flicked between the two women in the dark uniforms. They wore the Lan lackeys' cut, but their faces were blank, neutral, like masks carved for business. The corridor light painted them in cold look. Xue forced her voice to be sharp.
"Who the fuck do you work for?" she snapped. "Is this a rival family? Some businesswoman who paid you to take me out? Say so and I will double whatever they offered. I am a Lan. You will be well paid to walk away."
One of the women tilted her head a fraction, then both exchanged a single, small nod. No answer. No hesitation. The silence smelled worse than blood.
A tiny spark crawled along the knuckles of the left woman. It burst into flame, blue and hungry, licking the air without heat. The right woman flexed her fingers and bone slid like metal, forming a blade that fit her palm. The blade was not forged. It was part of her.
Xue's smile fell. She felt sweat bead at her hairline.
