The Empress had requested a charm to soothe her restless sleep, and since the palace priests were delayed, Emperor Goka sent Zanka to deliver it. A simple errand. A quick drop-off. No lingering.
Zanka slid the door open, voice polite and controlled.
โForgive the intrusion. Iโve broughtโโ
His words died.
Kneeling beside the Empressโs couch, arranging fresh camellias into a shallow bronze bowl. Her movements quiet, patient, impossibly graceful. Her expression serene โ simply existing in soft devotion.
Zanka froze.
Her beauty was the kind that consumed you before you understood why. The kind that made the world slow down. She looked up at him. Calm eyes. A faint question in her gaze, unafraid, unflustered.
The Empress smiled faintly from her cushions. โZankaโฆ this is her. The lady I told you about.โ
Her. Her.
The only one the Empress wanted near during these delicate months.
The lady bowed, palms flat to the floor, voice soft but sure. โYour Highness. Forgive my appearance. I did not know you would come.โ
โItโs fine,โ Zanka said too quicklyโtoo sharplyโlike someone tripping over his own tongue. He cleared his throat, trying to reclaim dignity. โYouโreโฆ fine. Itโs fine.โ
She blinked, a tiny flicker of amusement warming her eyes.
He handed the charm to her, their fingers almost touched. Almost.
Zankaโs heartbeat stuttered.
She accepted the charm with reverence, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she rose.
He shouldnโt have stared. He absolutely stared.
The Empress caught it. Of course she did. Her knowing smile nearly made Zanka choke.
He forced himself to bow and leave before he embarrassed himself further, sliding the door closed with stiff, princely precision.
But once the door clicked shut, he leaned against the wooden frame, exhaling shakily.
โThatโs it,โ he muttered under his breath. โThatโsโฆ it. Itโs over for me.โ
And for the first time in years, Prince Zanka prayed.
Not to the gods.
But that sheโd look at him again โ exactly the way she had in that quiet room, with camellias blooming at her knees.