Lena returned to the maids' quarters long after the palace had settled into uneasy sleep.
The corridor lamps burned low, their light stretching thin shadows across the stone floor. Her body ached—not from wounds this time, but from holding herself together. The Shadow Groove still clung to her thoughts, Fate's riddle looping endlessly in her mind like an unfinished song.
She pushed the door open softly.
Warm light spilled out.
Velvet was sitting on the floor beside Lena's bed, her legs tucked neatly beneath her. Ashikai lay sprawled across the blanket, smaller than usual, his golden markings faint but steady. Velvet's hand moved gently through his fur, slow and careful, like she feared he might break.
Lena froze in the doorway.
For half a heartbeat, fear surged—sharp and irrational.
Then she saw it.
Ashikai wasn't tense.
He wasn't growling.
He was… relaxed.
His tail flicked lazily as Velvet scratched behind his ear.
Lena blinked. "Huh."
Velvet looked up, startled, then smiled brightly. "Oh! You're back."
Lena stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "He likes you already?"
Velvet laughed softly. "I think he just needed company. He kept twitching in his sleep, so I stayed."
Ashikai cracked one eye open.
He saw Lena.
And immediately—immediately—he shifted.
A soft sound escaped his throat, something between a chirr and a purr, as he rolled clumsily across the blanket and pressed himself against her side. His head nudged her thigh insistently.
Lena's shoulders loosened.
"There you are," she murmured, sitting down beside them.
She ran her fingers through his orange fur, slower this time, careful of the places where his magic had dimmed. His purring deepened, vibrating faintly against her skin.
Velvet's eyes widened slightly. "Wow. He really prefers you."
Ashikai flicked his tail smugly.
Lena snorted. "He's dramatic."
Excuse you, his voice slipped into her mind, faint but warm. I nearly died.
She smiled without looking at him.
And you're milking it, she replied silently.
Obviously.
Velvet stood, brushing off her dress. "I'll let you two rest. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't alone."
Lena glanced up at her, studying her face—open, earnest, worried.
"Thanks," Lena said finally.
Velvet beamed. "Anytime." She hesitated at the door. "He's lucky. Most animals don't get this attached."
Ashikai's ears twitched.
The door closed.
The room fell quiet again.
Lena leaned back against the bedframe, exhaling slowly. Ashikai climbed fully into her lap with a soft huff, curling there like he'd always belonged.
You didn't growl at her, Lena noted.
He shifted, tail wrapping loosely around her wrist. I didn't hate her.
She raised a brow. That's not the same as liking someone.
A pause.
…I don't trust her, he admitted. But she wasn't a threat.
Lena's fingers stilled for a moment. "You trust your instincts more than mine, huh?"
I trust yours when you're not trying to see the good in knives, he replied dryly.
She laughed under her breath.
Then her expression softened.
You scared me, she said.
His purring faltered.
I know.
She rested her forehead lightly against his. They hurt you.
A flicker of memory rippled between them—chains, heat, Esmeralda's voice. His body tensed briefly before he forced himself to relax.
She bound something old, he said. Not fully. But enough to remind me what I am to them.
Lena's jaw clenched. A weapon.
A leash, he corrected quietly.
Her hand curled into his fur.
Not to me, she said.
He let out a small breath. I know. That's why it worked.
She closed her eyes.
Fate spoke to me, she told him.
His ears perked. And lived? Impressive.
It turned into a bird and talked in riddles, she added.
Ah. Classic.
She smiled faintly, then sobered. It said not to look for the mark on my skin. It said it wakes when I choose to stand.
Ashikai was silent for a long moment.
Then whatever you are, he said slowly, it isn't something they can chain.
She opened her eyes. Neither are you.
He looked up at her, golden eyes softer than she'd ever seen them.
You know, he murmured, for someone with no magic, you're incredibly inconvenient to destiny.
She smirked. Someone has to be.
They sat there like that—girl and fox, quiet and breathing—while the night deepened outside the window.
For the first time since he collapsed, Ashikai slept without pain.
And for the first time since Fate spoke, Lena felt something like certainty settle in her chest.
Whatever was coming—
They would face it together.