Since Rudra’s return, the palace no longer felt as vast, as lonely, as it once had. He filled every corridor, every chamber, every breath of mine. His presence was like a protective cloak I had longed for during those months apart—sometimes heavy with his constant watchfulness, yet always warm, always reassuring.

He hardly allowed me a moment without him. The council now came to him rather than he to them. Scrolls and reports piled on our tables as he worked beside me, his quill scratching parchment while his eyes strayed to me every few heartbeats. At first, I laughed at it, teased him for his overbearing care. But his answer always silenced me, left me clutching my chest.