(Liza's POV)
The wink was a punctuation mark at the end of a sentence I didn't understand. It was a flash of something playful, something dangerous, something so utterly unlike the Samantha Kisaragi I had grown up with that my brain felt like it was trying to solve an impossible equation. One second, she was my Sam-chan, the girl I was worried about. The next, she was this… creature of terrifying calm, her eyes like chips of obsidian.
"But, Sam-chan, why?" The words left my mouth before I could stop them, a small, pathetic squeak. I was supposed to be the brave one, the one who dragged her into things. But right now, I felt like a small child hiding behind her mother's skirt.
"Don't question me."
Her voice wasn't loud. It didn't have to be. It cut through the evening air like a shard of glass, devoid of warmth, devoid of doubt. It was pure, unadulterated command. "Just do it."
WTF. I'm supposed to be scared right now. Why am I thrilled?
