Ash didn't sleep again.
He lay in his massive bed—really, who needed this much bed for one person—and replayed the evening in excruciating detail. The way Ignis's jaw had tightened when Ash mentioned his own father. The flicker of something in those golden eyes when Ash said you're not most rulers. The way Ignis had stood so abruptly, like the chair had suddenly caught fire.
He felt it too.
The thought was dangerous. Ash knew it was dangerous. He'd spent his entire transmigrated life being careful, calculating, playing the long game. He'd survived three weeks of dragon court by never making a move he hadn't thought through from every angle.
But this—whatever this was—didn't fit into angles.
He'd kissed Ignis under the influence of an aphrodisiac. That was the story. That was the excuse they were both using to pretend the night never happened. Except Ash remembered every second of it with perfect clarity, and none of those seconds had felt like the incense talking.
The incense had amplified. It hadn't invented.
When Ash had looked at Ignis, in that moment before the knock came—he'd seen someone who wanted him back. Not because of magic. Because of something older and more terrifying than magic.
And now Ignis was walking away, and Ash was supposed to marry his daughter, and the whole situation was so absurdly novel that Ash would have laughed if it didn't hurt.
He sat up, reached for the lamp, and pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment.
Things That Are True (Revised Edition):
1. The alliance is still the priority. Nothing changes that.
2. Seraphina deserves happiness. I can give her that, even if it's not the kind she might want from a husband.
3. Ignis is not going to acknowledge what happened. He's made that very clear.
4. I cannot stop thinking about him anyway.
5. This is a terrible idea.
Ash stared at point five for a long moment. Then he crossed it out, wrote it again in larger letters, and underlined it three times.
****
The next three days passed in a blur of negotiations, meals, and carefully managed interactions.
Ash saw Ignis at council sessions. Saw him at formal dinners. Saw him across crowded rooms and empty corridors and once, memorably, from the window of his own chamber as the Dragon Lord crossed the courtyard below with that fluid, predatory grace that made Ash's stomach do things it had no business doing.
Each time, Ignis acknowledged him with perfect courtesy. Each time, the acknowledgment went no further than courtesy required.
It was maddening.
****
On the morning of the fourth day, the final clauses of the trade agreement were signed with solemn ceremony in the Grand Hall. The delegations' work was officially complete. Treaties had been sealed, routes established, and promises of future cooperation exchanged with all the appropriate pomp.
The human delegation would depart for Seiena at dawn the following day.
Ash found Seraphina in the gardens that afternoon, feeding her three-eyed creature bits of candied fruit. She looked up as he approached, her expression shifting from contentment to something softer, almost hopeful.
"So… this is it?" she asked, tail curling behind her. "You're really leaving tomorrow?"
Ash sat beside her on the bench, close enough to be companionable. "The delegation is. But I was thinking…" He offered her the smile he knew worked best on her—warm, a little mischievous, sincere enough to feel real.
"You could come with us. To Seiena. Just for a visit. You've never seen the human capital, and it would be the perfect chance to continue strengthening ties between our peoples. Personally."
Seraphina's eyes widened, golden and bright. "You want me to come with you?"
"I do," Ash said, and the words felt only half like a lie. "You've been nothing but kind and generous since I arrived. It's only right that I return the hospitality. The palace gardens in Seiena aren't as dramatic as yours, but the night markets are incredible, and there's a floating lantern festival next week that I think you'd love."
She bit her lip, clearly tempted, her tail swaying with barely contained excitement.
"Father would have to approve, of course. And I'd need an escort…"
"I'm sure Lord Ignis would agree if it's framed as diplomatic goodwill," Ash said smoothly.
"It would show both our peoples that this alliance is more than ink on paper. That it's built on real connection."
Seraphina leaned into his side, resting her head briefly against his shoulder. "I'd like that. Very much."
Ash wrapped an arm around her shoulders, letting the gesture linger. She was warm and trusting, and being near her felt… nice. Safe. The kind of future he could live with, even if part of him screamed that "nice" wasn't enough anymore.
"I'll speak with your father this evening," he promised. "Before the farewell banquet."