Deadly Game
I growled, the raw, savage dominance of my bloodline taking over.
"No," Aria said, her hand coming down to rest on my right shoulder, her fingers digging deep into my muscle, grounding me. "Death is too clean for a traitor, Malakai. If we kill him now, the board panics, and the meeting is postponed. Victoria slips away. We use him. We let him think his play is working, and then we crush him in front of the entire executive committee."
I looked up at her, amazed by the sheer, beautiful coldness of her mind. She was not just a killer; she was a tactician. She understood the chess board of high society just as well as I did, but she played with pieces made of glass and razor blades.