Emma
Sleep and I were not on speaking terms.
I lay in that ridiculous fairytale bed, staring at the canopy while my brain replayed the day on a loop—the Lantern Walk, Lucian’s hands around mine, the way he’d said I didn’t have to be fine all the time. Every time I shut my eyes, his face was there, too close, too warm, too much.
After what felt like hours, I gave up.
I pulled on a soft sweater and the soft robe from the foot of the bed, slipped into the hallway, and let my feet carry me. The palace was quiet at night, all the usual noise softened into distant murmurs and the occasional creak. Garlands glowed low along the walls, their white lights dimmed to a gentle shimmer.
I knew exactly where I was going long before I admitted it.
The drawing room between our bedrooms glowed at the
