I slip silently through the shadows of the Jue Residence, my heart pounding with equal parts fear and anticipation. The familiar scent of Shangguan Qian's incense guides me to her bedchamber, where I know she waits for me. As I slide through the partially open window, she doesn't even turn from where she sits at her vanity, her back a study in elegant tension.

"You're late, jiejie," she says without looking up, her voice carrying the lazy confidence that never fails to stir something dangerous within me.

I close the window behind me, securing our privacy before responding. "You knew I'd come."

Finally, she turns, her eyes dark with desire and something else—something sharper, more dangerous. "Of course I did." She rises slowly, gliding toward me like a shadow herself. "You can't resist me any more than I can resist you."

Before I can respond, she's in front of me, her body pressing against mine as her hands slide into my hair, pulling me into a kiss that's all teeth and hunger. I find myself responding instinctively, my hands gripping her waist as I lose myself in the familiar taste of danger and desire. When we finally break apart, breathless, she smirks against my lips.

"Now," she murmurs, her fingers trailing down my throat to toy with the fastening of my robes, "what shall we do with our limited time together tonight?"