The Grand Empress cast a sweeping glance around the room before turning to her grandson.
"It's nothing, boy. Everything has been resolved," she said lightly, though her eyes remained sharp.
Xander exhaled, the tension in his shoulders momentarily loosening.
"I hadn't known you were coming, Grandmother. A message would have reached me swiftly and I would have made proper arrangements to receive you," he said, offering a faint, respectful bow.
"And where, my dear child, would be the fun in that?" she replied with a knowing smile, slipping her hand into his. "Come. We need to talk."
As she led him away, Xander glanced over his shoulder, his gaze searching for Lola. She stood motionless, her face turned away. She would not meet his eyes. He could see the tremble in her fingers even from a distance, and his jaw tightened.
"My lady, are you quite well?" Lady Alethea whispered gently, but Lola only nodded, swallowing hard as she gathered her composure.
"I need some air," Lola said softly. She dismissed the others with a graceful wave and walked out, her skirts trailing behind her like a shadow.
In a quieter wing of the palace, Xander sat at his grandmother's feet, his head resting against her lap like a boy once more.
"Grandmama," he murmured, "why are you truly here?"
The Grand Empress chuckled, running her fingers affectionately through his hair.
"Your mother sent for me. Claimed it was urgent. She's most displeased about the girl you've placed in the palace as acting queen, no less. You know how she detests having her plans disrupted."
Xander lifted his head, scowling.
"My mother is relentless," he muttered.
"She is," his grandmother agreed, amusement flickering in her eyes. "But I rather admire this girl's defiance. Tell me, when do you intend to marry her?"
"Grandmama!" Xander cried, startled, his cheeks colouring slightly.
"Oh, hush. I like her already. She's spirited, intelligent, and she disarms you in the most delightful way," she said, pinching his cheek. He swatted her hand gently, shaking his head.
"You're incorrigible."
"I saw the way you looked at her when you entered the room," she teased. "For a moment, I feared I'd been replaced."
Xander laughed quietly. "That could never happen. You'll always be my number one."
She smiled, then grew a shade more serious.
"I have no objections to her. If she makes you happy, that is all that matters to me. And I believe she does."
He hesitated, then admitted in a soft voice, "I don't know if she feels the same."
The Grand Empress laid a firm hand on his shoulder.
"You won't know until you try. Besides, she's my kind of woman, bold, honest, and impossible to intimidate. I want her in this family. No one else will do."
Xander let his head rest in her lap again, the weight of duty pressing upon him like a crown he never asked to wear.
"Being Emperor is... exhausting, Grandmama," he confessed.
She bent and kissed his temple.
"I know, my darling. But you were born for this and love will not make you weaker. It will make you stronger."
Her words settled in the silence between them like embers waiting to be stirred. And as the fire crackled in the hearth, neither of them heard the light footsteps just outside the door... or saw the shadow lingering in the hallway, listening.