"Hold your steps, Disciple Lin," Ye Chen said, his voice cutting through the whistling draft that rattled the wooden beams.
Lin Xi paused at the threshold of the blasted doorway, her white boots resting on the scorched stone sill. She turned her head slightly, her silver lotus hairpin catching the dim sunlight as she looked back over her shoulder.
"You dropped a jade slip on the table and expected me to march into the inner ring like an obedient hound," Ye Chen continued, resting the rusted flat of his broadsword against the timber. "You want Zhao Feng’s monopoly broken, and you want his candidate humiliated in front of the Grand Elders, but I do not fight blind battles for the Sword Pavilion."
Lin Xi turned her body fully to face him, crossing her arms within the wide sleeves of her si
