Not in the throne robe. Not in heavy layers. He wore plain dark fabric loose at the throat. His hair was partly unbound falling over one shoulder. He sat not like a statue this time but like a person who had been leaning forward over work for too long. One hand pressed against his temple. His eyes were sharp even in shadow but there were lines there now that she had not seen earlier. Tired lines

When he looked up and saw her something in his shoulders eased

“Mia” he said

Just her name

Soft

Her chest tightened

She knelt and set the bowl down on the low table in front of him. “Your Majesty” she said quietly

He watched the steam rise. The silence there felt heavier than the silence in the hall. Not hostile. Just full

He picked up the spoon

He did not speak right away

He didn’t ask Did you make this the same way. He didn’t ask What is in it. He didn’t ask Can I trust it. He just took a slow sip and closed his eyes

Mia watched his face

His jaw unclenched first

Then his shoulders dropped

Then he let out a slow breath that sounded like it had been trapped in his ribs all day

After a moment he opened his eyes again. When he spoke his voice had changed. Less iron. More human

“You came fast” he said

He sounded almost surprised. Almost grateful

Mia answered honestly “Head Chef said fast was important”

That almost made a smile touch his mouth. Almost. It faded quick. “He is not wrong”

He took another spoonful. Ate in silence for a moment. Then he said “Today they fought over the southern border lines for six hours. Six hours. None of them care about the villages under the line. They only care about who holds the tax rights if the river moves during flood season. They say my judgment will decide the future of the empire. I am not allowed to be tired while I decide the future of the empire. Do you understand that Mia”

Her throat felt tight. “Yes Your Majesty”

“No” he said quietly “you do not”

He set the spoon down

He leaned back a little and looked at her more directly. His eyes were dark and steady on hers. Not cold. Not hungry. Focused

“Everyone in this palace wants something from me” he said. “They want land. Position. Marriage promises. Trade rights. A law written in their favor. A law erased in secret. Protection from one rival so they can quietly cut down another. Most of them speak in gentle words. They pretend it is about honor. It is never about honor. It is about hunger. Sometimes I think I am sitting in the middle of a circle of starving men who will eat each other if I do not feed them. Sometimes I think that is the point. Keep them hungry so they do not turn on me”

Mia stayed still. He was not asking her for answers. He was releasing something and she felt that

He let out a slow breath. “They all come with their faces arranged. They all come with careful speech. They come to tell me what is best for me. What I should want. What I should feel. What a good ruler would do. You came last night and said I am only kitchen”

Mia flushed. She hated that line. She hated how small it sounded. She hated what it meant. She hated that she had to use it to live

“I had to say that Your Majesty” she said softly

He studied her. “Yes. You did. And that is what made it honest”

She blinked

He continued. “You did not walk in here and pretend to know my mind. You did not bow and say I exist for your glory. You did not tell me I must be strong. You did not offer to fix me. You told me who you were. You told me what you could do. You did it. That is rare here. No one here says I am only anything. Everyone here says I am more”

She did not know what to say to that so she said nothing

He looked down at the bowl again. His thumb brushed the rim once like it was something valuable. He spoke quieter now. “My mother used to sit beside me at night when I could not sleep. Before they put weight on my shoulders. Before they told me Do not cry. Do not show strain. Do not show need. She used to hum. Not a song. Just sound. Like warm air. This tastes like that sound”

And then Mia felt it

Something in her cracked open so fast she almost swayed with it

Because she knew in that moment this was not just a ruler with a headache and a stomach knot. This was a man who had not been allowed to rest in longer than he could remember. This was a man whose whole life had been spent being useful to everyone else. This was a man who had been raised to be a weapon and was only now remembering that he was also a person

She swallowed. Her voice came out low. “Then I am glad I could help Your Majesty breathe”

He looked at her again and this time his gaze held

It was not romantic

It was not possessive

It was something closer to dangerous trust

“Mia” he said “Did anyone hurt you today because of me”

Her heart stopped for a second

She remembered Consort Lian’s gaze and her voice soft as silk A hand that forgets its place slips. She remembered the council runner demanding Rain Comfort for his delicate nerves. She remembered Zhu whispering The palace is a battlefield made of silk. She remembered the cut on her finger and Lin’s hand shaking and the way Zhu had to lie to keep her breathing. She remembered being told not to walk alone. Not to speak alone. Not to exist alone

He was waiting

Zhu’s voice came back in her head Do not lie to His Majesty. Do not play games with him. He has enough games

Mia lifted her chin just a little

She did not look away

“Yes Your Majesty” she said quietly. “Someone tried”

For a long moment he did not speak

The air in the room changed

Not colder

Sharper

His eyes darkened. Not with anger in the wild sense. With focus. With intent. With something like very deep patience finally wearing thin

“Who” he said

Just that word

Her heart jumped

This was the moment. She felt it

She could give him Consort Lian’s name. She could put that blade in motion. She could say It was her. She smiled at me and marked me. She threatened Chef. She wrapped it in sweetness so you could not call it threat. She could start a fire she did not understand

But Zhu’s words from the garden struck her again like a drum beat You cannot play their game. If you become another game piece he will step over you

If she gave a name now she would become that. A piece. A weapon. A lever

That was not what she wanted to be

So Mia did something no one in the palace would have done

She told the truth without turning it into a thrown knife

“They did not touch me” she said softly. “They only reminded me to stay small. Your Majesty”

He watched her. Silent

He understood her answer

He understood that she had chosen not to hand him a name

He also understood that someone had made her feel like she could vanish between breakfast and dinner and no one would ask where she went

Slowly he nodded once

“I see” he said

His tone had changed again. This time it was steel wrapped in silk. Calm and absolute

“Then listen to me Mia Torres” he said. “You will not vanish. You will not be erased. No one in this palace will touch you without my permission. If anyone makes you feel unsafe you will tell me. Directly. You will not carry that alone. Do you understand”

Her throat felt tight “Yes Your Majesty”

“Say it” he said

“I will tell you” Mia whispered

“Good” he said

Something inside her loosened in a way she had not let herself feel since she woke in this world. It felt like someone had just put a wall at her back where there had been open air and drop

He lifted the spoon again and ate in silence for a moment more. When he spoke again his voice had gone softer again. “After you leave this room you will walk back with the night runner. You will sleep. You will eat in the morning. You will continue working under Head Chef Zhu. You will not go anywhere alone unless I ask you to”

Mia blinked. “That is already the rule Your Majesty”

He almost smiled “Good. Then it will not be hard to obey”

She let out a slow breath. “May I ask one thing Your Majesty”

His eyebrow lifted just a little. “You may”

Her voice dropped “Am I keeping you safe. Or am I putting you in danger”

His gaze held hers for a long moment. The lantern light flickered in his eyes. He did not answer right away and she understood why. It was not an easy question

Finally he said “You are keeping me human. That is more dangerous than anything”

Her stomach turned at that

“I am sorry” she whispered

“No” he said. “Do not be sorry for that”

He set the spoon down

“And Mia”

“Yes Your Majesty”

“When we are alone you may look at me”

Her breath caught “Your Majesty”

He tilted his head a little. “Everyone else looks at a title. You look at me. I want that”

Heat rose in her face again before she could stop it. She felt pulled in two directions at once. The instinct to bow lower to protect herself like Zhu taught her. And something else she did not have a name for yet that made her want to lift her head and meet his gaze and stand like a person

Slowly she lifted her eyes

His expression had softened in a way she had not seen before. He looked tired yes. He looked weighed down yes. But under that there was something like relief. Like for one small moment he did not have to pretend to be made of stone

He held her gaze and then nodded once. “Good” he said quietly. “Thank you”

She swallowed “You are welcome”

He leaned back then and picked up the spoon again. The signal was clear. The moment was done. He had what he needed. He would eat the rest while it was still warm. He would let his shoulders drop. He would breathe. He would go into dawn looking like strength instead of exhaustion

Her job was done

Mia bowed her head once more. Not low. Not crushed. Respectful. Honest

“Rest well Your Majesty” she said softly

He made a low sound that almost could have been a laugh. “We will see”

She stood. Turned. Slid the door open with her shoulder again because both hands were still cupped as if she held a bowl even though it was empty now

The guards in the hall straightened when she stepped out. The air in the corridor felt colder than his room. She realized she had been in there longer than she thought. Her legs felt strange. Her chest felt strange. Her face felt hot and cool at the same time

The plain robed man was waiting at the far end. He nodded once. “Come. I will walk you back. No one will bother you”

Mia followed him down the lantern hall. Her steps were silent on the polished stone. Her hands still remembered the shape of the bowl. Her mind still replayed his words You will not vanish

Lin is going to explode when she hears this Mia thought

Halfway down the corridor she looked down at her wrist again

The ribbon glowed softly in the lantern light

She had hated it an hour ago. She still hated what it meant. But for the first time it felt like more than a mark that painted a target on her. It felt like a promise

Do not vanish

She almost smiled

Only almost

She was still in the palace after all

When they reached the back kitchen door and the plain robed man knocked the coded knock Mia let out a long breath she did not know she was holding

The door opened fast

Lin was right there waiting barefoot hair wild eyes huge. She grabbed Mia by both shoulders “You are alive are you alive tell me you are alive because if you are not alive I am going to pass out right here and Chef will yell at me for fainting in the doorway”

Mia let out a tired sound that was half laugh half exhale “I am alive”

Lin threw both arms around her and hugged her so hard Mia almost dropped to her knees

Head Chef Zhu stood behind Lin arms crossed face set in stone again but his eyes told the truth. Relief. Sharp and clear relief

“Well” he said “Did you break anything”

Mia shook her head. “No Chef”

“Did you insult anyone with rank higher than me”

“No Chef”

“Did you promise anything that will get us killed tomorrow morning”

Mia hesitated “He said I cannot walk alone anymore”

Zhu snorted. “That was already true. If that is the worst of it then we live another day”

Lin pulled back but kept her hands on Mia’s arms like she was afraid Mia might vanish if she let go. “So what happened. Tell me everything. Wait no not everything. Tell me the important everything. Did he yell. Did he cry. Did he say your name again. Did you look at his face too long. Did you flirt by accident with your eyes again because I warned you about that”

Mia let out a breath and leaned a little against Lin because her knees had started to shake now that it was over

“He was tired” she said softly. “I helped him breathe”

Lin stared at her for a long second

Then Lin smiled in a slow way Mia had not seen on her before. Soft. Proud. Almost protective

“That” Lin said “is power”

Mia shook her head. “No. That is not power. That is just soup”

Lin lifted one eyebrow “Chef. Please throw a spoon at her. She called it soup again”

Zhu groaned and covered his face with one hand “You two are going to kill me”

Mia finally laughed for real then quiet and tired and shaking

And for the first time since waking in this world she did not feel like she was only falling

She felt like she was landing