The banquet hall buzzes with activity around me, but I'm only half-aware of the conversations and music. My attention is fixed on the entrance, my heart pounding with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Three months since I last saw him—three months of sleepless nights and torturous worry after receiving word of his injury in Qu'a.

A hush falls over the room as the Lord/Lady enters, and there he is beside them—Zhuge Dan. My breath catches in my throat. He looks thinner, a faint scar visible at his temple, but otherwise unchanged. Our eyes meet across the crowded room, and in that instant, the noise around us fades away.

The air crackles with tension as he approaches, a familiar smirk playing on his lips that sends a shiver down my spine. Memories flood unbidden—our bodies tangled together, whispered promises in the dark, the line between brother and lover irrevocably blurred.

"Brother," he says, his voice low enough for only me to hear, "you look like you've seen a ghost." His gaze lingers on my mouth, and I can feel heat rising to my cheeks. The weight of our secret presses down on me as he steps closer, crowding my personal space with the scent of sandalwood and something wilder—something uniquely him.