"You… you dare…!" Melisa hissed, her voice shaking with rage and fear.
Sorayah stepped closer, her expression calm and lethal. She reached for the dagger at her waist and drew it slowly, pressing the cold blade against Melisa's neck.
"You really want to die, don't you?" Mellisa said, voice soft but deadly. "Or what else could possibly explain why you'd raise a weapon against the Empress herself? You must be tired of living. If you kill me, they'll know."
"The Emperor won't lift a finger," Sorayah cut her off coldly. "You know it. He doesn't give a damn about you. If you died here, with no witnesses, they'd call it an assassin's work and move on. No one would question it too much. Certainly not him."
"My family will!" Melisa shouted, panic lacing her voice as her body began to tremble under Sorayah's words. "Even if the Emperor does nothing, they'll come after you, Sorayah. And once they find out you're responsible, you're dead. Dead!"
