“Wise.” He smiled.
We walked back through the palace. Through corridors I'd run as a child. Past portraits of ancestors who'd made their own impossible choices. Toward chambers that felt like home instead of a cage.
Staff nodded as we passed. Smiled. Whispered. But not with judgment. With approval. With relief that we'd survived.
At my door, my father stopped.
“I'll leave you two,” he said. “You need rest. Both of you.”
“Thank you.” I hugged him. “For everything. For understanding. For loving me anyway.”
“Always.” He pulled back. Looked at Viktor. “Take care of him.”
“With my life.” Viktor's voice was steady. “Always.”
My father nodded. Walked away. Left us standing in the corridor.
Viktor opened my door. We stepped inside. Apollo bounded over immediately. Tail wagging. Nosing at both of us like he'd been worried.
“Hey, boy.” I knelt carefully. Scratched his ears. “I'm okay. We're both okay.”
He licked my face. Viktor's too. Made us both laugh despite everything.
“Come on.” Viktor helped me up. Guided me to the bed. “Rest. Real rest this time.”
“Will you stay?”
“Where else would I go?”
We lay down. Carefully. Both of us broken in different ways but whole enough together.
Viktor's arm came around me. Gentle. Secure.
“It's over,” I whispered.
“Da. It is over.”
“Marcel's in a cell. Élodie's in a cell. My father knows about us. The palace knows about us. We're not hiding anymore.”
“Is that okay?” He asked it carefully. “Are you okay with everyone knowing?”
“Yeah.” I pressed closer. “I'm tired of hiding. Tired of pretending. I just want to be with you. Openly. Honestly. No more secrets.”
“No more secrets,” he agreed.
We lay there in comfortable silence. Apollo curled up at the foot of the bed. Sunlight streaming through the windows. The palace humming with life around us.
“What happens next?” I asked eventually.
“You heal. We rebuild. We figure out how to live in a world where Marcel and Élodie don't exist anymore.” He paused. “And we stop running from what we are.”
“What are we?”
“Yours and mine.” Simple. Final. “Together. Whatever that looks like.”
“I like that.” I turned my head. Found his eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He kissed me. Soft. Careful. Real. “Now sleep. When you wake up, we start figuring out what comes next.”
