“I do not trust guards.” His eyes blazed. “I trust me. And I was not leaving you.”
The words hit somewhere deep. Made my chest tight in a way that had nothing to do with broken ribs.
“Okay,” I said softly. “But I'm awake now. And I'm starving. So we're getting breakfast.”
“Noah said bed rest?—”
“Noah can say whatever he wants. I'm going to the kitchen. You're coming with me. We're eating real food like real people instead of hiding in here like we're still in danger.” I paused. “Unless you want me to go alone.”
His expression said exactly what he thought of that idea.
“Fine.” He stood. Helped me stand. Caught me when my legs decided they weren't quite ready yet. “But slow. And if you fall, I am carrying you back.”
“Deal.”
The kitchen was warm.Always had been. Stone floors and copper pots and the smell of bread baking that made everything feel safer.
Staff froze when we walked in. Not in fear. In shock. The crown prince and his bodyguard, both wrapped in bandages, looking like they'd fought a war and barely won.
“Your Highness.” Mrs. Chen, the head cook, recovered first. “You should be in bed?—”
“I should be eating breakfast.” I aimed for one of the stools by the prep counter. Viktor helped me sit. Took the stool beside me without being asked. “Whatever you're making smells amazing.”
She looked at me. At Viktor. At the way we sat close enough thatour shoulders touched. At the way his hand hovered near my back, ready to catch me if I swayed.
Something softened in her expression.
“Eggs,” she said. “Toast. Bacon. Proper food for people who need their strength.” She was already moving, pulling ingredients. “And tea. Lots of tea.”
The other staff resumed their work. Slower. Quieter. Stealing glances but trying not to be obvious about it.
We weren't hiding anymore.
The thought settled warm in my chest. We'd survived. We'd nearly died. And we were sitting in the palace kitchen eating breakfast like normal people who had nothing to hide.
Because we didn't. Not anymore.
Mrs. Chen set plates in front of us. Loaded. More food than two people should eat. But she looked satisfied when we started eating like we'd been starving.
Which, honestly, we had been.
“The palace has been talking,” she said casually. Pouring tea. “About what happened. About you two.”
I tensed. Viktor went still.
“Good things,” she added quickly. “About how Mr. Volkov tore through hell to find you. About how you protected each other. About how you're...” She trailed off. Smiled. “Well. The palace isn't blind, Your Highness. We've known for weeks.”
“Known what?” But my voice came out too careful.
“That you love each other.” She said it simply. “And that you're good for each other. Which is all that matters.”
Viktor's hand found mine under the counter. Squeezed.
“Thank you,” I managed.
She nodded. Went back to her cooking. Left us to our breakfast and our quiet and the slowly dawning realization that maybe, possibly, we didn't have to keep pretending.
We ate in comfortable silence. Viktor finishing his plate for the first time in days. Me trying not to wince every time I moved wrong.
