Lan Yue awoke with a start, her heart pounding from a dream she couldn't remember, filled only with a sense of absence and the faint, ghostly scent of peaches. The eternal twilight of the Netherworld meant she judged the hour by the palace's rhythms, not the sun. It was early. The halls outside were still silent.
She rose, her movements automatic. The first thing she did, as she had every morning since the library revelation, was to try and reach for the vast well of her power. And as always, she met the cool, unyielding barrier of the obsidian collar, the energy within her a sluggish trickle. The frustration was a dull, familiar ache.
She walked to the door, intending to perhaps request hot water for washing, and stopped.
There, on the floor just in front of the threshold, were two objects.
Not placed by a servant on a tray. They were simply there, as if someone had left them in the night. A small, ornate box made of dark wood, and next to it, a smooth, palm sized stone.
Her first instinct was suspicion. A trick? A test? She knelt, her senses extended as far as the collar would allow, probing the items. She felt no malice, no hidden traps. Only… benign energy.
Cautiously, she picked up the stone first. It was cool and heavy in her hand, a deep, celestial blue that seemed to hold depths within it. Then she turned it, and the light from her room caught it. Veins of silver sparked within the blue, shimmering like a river of stars under a moonless sky. It was breathtakingly beautiful. And the energy it hummed with was calm, serene. Soothing.
She set it down, her fingers tingling, and opened the wooden box. Inside, nestled on a bed of black velvet, were a dozen perfectly formed confections. They weren't like any pastry she'd seen before. They were dark, almost black, but dusted with a fine, iridescent powder that glittered. A subtle, sweet and slightly exotic scent wafted up.
No note. No explanation.
But she knew. With a certainty that settled deep in her bones, she knew who had left them.
The Empress was back.
And she had brought her gifts.
The simple, silent gesture undid her more completely than any grand declaration or cunning argument could have. It was personal. It was thoughtful. It was… kind. The most dangerous weapon in Xue Lian's arsenal.
Lan Yue carried the stone and the box to the table by the window, placing them side by side. She sat there for a long time, just looking at them. The stone reminded her of the night sky above the Azure Cloud Sect, a memory that now felt both fond and strangely distant. The candies were purely, utterly of this place a testament to its strange and hidden beauties.
She picked up one of the candies and brought it to her lips. The flavor was complex and unexpected: a rich, dark sweetness that gave way to a subtle, floral tartness, followed by a faint, pleasant coolness, like mint but not quite. It was delicious.
She ate it slowly, savoring it, the strange confection a stark contrast to the simple, austere foods of her sect. It was an experience. Just like everything here was an experience.
The entire morning passed in a quiet haze. She found herself holding the blue stone as she tried to read, its cool, calming weight a comfort in her hand. Her focus was even worse than the day before. Now, her thoughts weren't just filled with the Empress's absence, but with her return.
What would she say? Would she mention the gifts? Would Lan Yue?
When the afternoon came, the anticipation was a physical knot in her stomach. She listened for footsteps, her heart leaping at every sound. But the hours crept by, and the Empress did not come.
A different servant brought her lunch. Lan Yue almost asked after the Empress, but stopped herself. She would not give the palace staff the satisfaction of seeing her ask.
The disappointment was sharp and bitter, like a failed cultivation attempt. Had the gifts just been a passing whim? A casual kindness, forgotten as soon as it was done?
It was well into the evening when a soft knock finally came at her door. It wasn't the bold, announcing presence of before. It was quieter. Almost hesitant.
Lan Yue's breath caught. "Enter."
The door opened and Xue Lian stood there. She looked tired. There was a faint smudge of ash near her temple that she'd missed, and her magnificent white hair was pulled back in a simple, practical style rather than its usual elaborate arrangement. She was still in her traveling clothes, though the worst of the ash had been brushed away.
She didn't step fully into the room, just leaned against the doorframe, much like she had on that very first day. But her energy was different. The usual electric confidence was muted, replaced by a weary calm.
"Disciple Lan," she said, her voice softer than usual. "I hear you haven't attempted to escape in my absence. I'm almost disappointed. The east corridor wards need a proper stress test."
Lan Yue's gaze flickered to the table where the stone and the now open box of candies sat. Xue Lian's eyes followed the glance. A faint, almost shy smile touched her lips before she could hide it.
"I see you found some trinkets from the market," she said, her tone deliberately light, casual. "The Ashfall markets have their charms. The blue flecked obsidian is said to aid meditation. The candies are… an acquired taste."
Trinkets. An acquired taste. She was downplaying it, offering Lan Yue an easy out, a way to ignore the significance of the gesture.
Lan Yue looked from the gifts back to the tired, ash smudged Empress who had clearly come straight from her journey to her door. The careful distance, the casual words it was all a performance. But the gifts were not. The weariness was not.
"They are… thoughtful," Lan Yue said, the words feeling inadequate. "Thank you."
The simple acknowledgment seemed to surprise Xue Lian. Her posture relaxed a fraction. "It was nothing." She pushed off from the doorframe. "I just wanted to… check in. The reports said you were well, but reports are often wrong."
She was leaving. She'd only just arrived.
"You look tired," Lan Yue said, the observation slipping out without her permission.
Xue Lian paused, looking back at her. That same complex emotion flickered in her amber eyes surprise, warmth, vulnerability. "Governing is a relentless business," she said with a wry twist of her mouth. "Full of stubborn old demons who think fertilizer is a philosophical debate."
She didn't elaborate. She didn't launch into a funny story. She just offered the briefest glimpse of her burden and then retreated behind her walls.
"I will see you tomorrow," Xue Lian said. It wasn't a question or a command. It sounded like a promise. "For tea."
And then she was gone, closing the door softly behind her.
Lan Yue was left alone with the cooling stone, the half empty box of candies, and a heart that felt far too full for a prisoner in a demon's palace. The slow burn was no longer just a spark. It was a gentle, persistent warmth, and she was no longer sure she wanted to put it out.