was as welcome as a disease. ‘Perhaps you should speak quickly, Governor,’ she said.
Her challenge brought back the Gao Shiming she had feared all those years ago. He shed all civility and charm and fixed his attention intently on Li Tao. She became nothing. She was below nothing. An instinctive shudder slid down her spine.
She held her breath and prayed.
The earth stood still. The heavens revolved around it and he was nothing but a speck beneath the sky. Suyin’s fingers twined gently over his.
He knew. He knew deep in his flesh and blood what she was telling him. On the heels of the knowledge came true fear.
Across the table, Old Gao stared at them with a shrewd look. Li Tao never felt anything when he was asked to kill, but this time—this one time, he wanted nothing more than to remove this smiling demon from the world. A quick sword through the tangled weeds and Gao would no longer be able to threaten them. Now that he had the crafty warlord before him, Li Tao could sense the truth of the Old Man’s taunt.
It would be easy. One knife, one death. This was what he was meant to do.
‘You and me,’ Gao proposed.
‘Why would I even consider it?’
Li Tao removed his hand from Suyin. She was trembling, though her expression showed nothing but cool tranquillity.
‘You and I want the same thing,’ Gao continued.
‘Which is?’
‘To honour the memory of the August Emperor. The true imperial line. The only claim Shen holds over the empire is the strength of his army. He’s a usurper and a barbarian.’
‘I’m surprised that you’ve decided to act so openly,’ Li Tao countered. ‘A man who usually thrives on rules and laws and petitions before the court.’
‘Times are changing.’
He regarded Gao sceptically. ‘Who will rule, then? You?’
‘No.’ Suyin’s response startled everyone. She faced her old enemy with all the poise the years in the court had given her. ‘The revered governor never acts directly. He’s found some puppet. Some distant relation with a blood tie to Emperor Li Ming. Your family claims imperial blood, does it not?’
Gao wanted to use Li Tao’s army to face Emperor Shen on the battlefield, while Gao would continue to fight political battles in the capital. This was shu gun: endgame. A time for bold moves and decisive measures.
Li Tao had come here committed to action. The bitter taste of death hovered on his tongue. After years of scheming and politics, he welcomed the quick efficiency of this solution. This was familiar. Certain.
He looked to Suyin. Grace and beauty, even now. Her poise never broke in the face of her longtime enemy. She hadn’t faltered before Lao Sou either, not until he’d been threatened. He wanted to embrace her for it. Hold her fiercely to him. Hide her away from all this. He could never have peace, but she could. Their child could.
He had decided.
‘You spoke of loyalty to our August Emperor and to the dynasty.’ Li Tao folded his hands thoughtfully before him, the daggers beneath his sleeve easily within reach. He had a clear line to both of the guardsmen should it come to that. ‘Laughable, considering that you owe Emperor Li a debt of blood.’
Gao’s focus darted to Suyin.
‘Don’t,’ Li Tao warned.
The sharp reprimand brought the older man’s gaze back to him. No one was smiling now, feigned or otherwise.
‘I would advise you not to look at Lady Ling. Do not do anything to convince me you have any intention of harming her. We will talk now, like civilised men as you so desired. But if I think for a moment that she’s in danger, I will stop talking.’
The guards tensed, but Gao wisely held them back with a raised hand. The coldness of his gaze showed that he, too, could show no fear in the face of death.
‘There was a list given to me by the August Emperor,’ Li Tao began. ‘The names of the men who had conspired against him. I recently learned that there was one name left off the list.’
‘You’re jiedushi now,’ Gao replied smoothly. He was skilled at the art of confrontation. ‘You command thousands upon thousands. I would think you would look beyond revenge.’
‘It was never for revenge.’ Out of the corner of his eye, he saw how Suyin shuddered at his cold words. She should know what was required to become who he was now. ‘There was never any emotion to it, for me or for you. You supported the August Emperor,