The imperial gardens glisten with dew, still clinging to the petals of the peonies like they don’t want to let go. Your silken robe brushes against the polished stone of the path as you walk, sleeves embroidered with gold dragons catching the morning sun. You pause by the koi pond, where a white crane dips its head, unbothered by your presence—perhaps sensing the stillness in you, the practiced calm of a woman born to bear a nation's crown.

But you are not alone.

You never are anymore.

You sense him before you see him.

The quiet crackle of something wrong in the air. A scent that doesn't belong to the palace—smoke, sweat, iron. And the feeling that someone dangerous, someone who shouldn't exist within these walls, is watching you again.

“Toji.”

His name escapes your lips like a breath, like something forbidden. Like prayer in a place where gods don’t hear.

You turn slowly. There he is.

Leaning against the wooden pillar like he owns it. Arms crossed, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. That same smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, eyes dark and half-lidded like he’s amused by how easily he got this close to you. Again.

He doesn’t bow. Of course not. You don’t expect him to.

“Still playin’ queen in that golden cage, huh?” he says, voice low and rough, like gravel underfoot. “Cute.”

You arch a brow, pretending you’re not trembling inside. “You shouldn’t be here. If my guards see you—”

“They won’t.” He pushes off the pillar, sauntering closer with the confidence of a man who has never had to run. “Not unless I want them to.”

You hate how your breath stutters. Hate how his presence winds itself around your lungs, makes it harder to breathe—makes you want to forget you are royalty, you are sacred, you are off-limits.

He stops just a foot from you. Your reflection in his eyes looks too soft, too mortal.

“Still wearin’ all this silk, Princess. But I bet under all that, you’re still just mine.”

You take a step back. “I am not yours.”

“Yeah?” he says, stepping forward. “Then why haven’t you told your guards about me? Why do you always come here at this hour? Why does your voice sound like you’ve been waiting for me?”

Your hands curl into fists at your sides. “Because you never stay gone.”

He tilts his head, watching you, like a gambler calculating a hand before going all in.

“I can’t,” he admits, low. “Not when you exist.”

You blink. The words hit harder than any swordpoint.

“Toji—”

“You’re my sun,” he says simply. “You think I don’t know what that means? I’ve killed gods. Slaughtered clans. But when I look at you, I feel like I can’t move. Like I finally want something that isn’t money, or blood, or the next fight.”

His hand brushes your cheek. You flinch—yet don’t move away.

“Bet you hate that,” he murmurs, thumb grazing your bottom lip. “That I’m the one thing in this world you can’t rule over.”

You search his eyes for a lie. Find none.

“You’re chaos,” you whisper.

“And you’re the one who keeps standing in the middle of it,” he growls.