Li Lan felt his sharp intake of breath as her muffled words settled on him. He eased his embrace just enough to look down at her, the dark of the night and the soft light of the garden lanterns illuminating the naked emotion on his face.
"My heart?" Prince Wang Cheng repeated, the term leaving his lips as if it were a fragile, precious thing he'd only just discovered. A slow, warm smile, unlike any Li Lan had ever seen him wear, spread across his features. It was a smile of pure, unguarded joy. "I... I confess I thought my affections were an imposition, a simple duty you tolerated. To hear you speak such words..." He shook his head, momentarily speechless.
He gently cupped her face between his hands, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. "If you are my destiny, Li Lan, then I am yours. And if you feel this power, this calling to stand by me, then I will listen. I will trust you. But tell me," his voice dropped to a low, serious rumble, a flicker of the political reality returning to his eyes, "what does this mean for us? For the throne? I have told you, I have no desire for that gilded cage."
Li Lan leaned into his touch, finding courage in the sincerity of his gaze. "It means, my heart," she said, her voice steady now, "that we will redefine what that cage is. You are a good man, Wang Cheng, a just one. You do not desire power for its own sake, and that is precisely why the kingdom needs you. The throne is a poisoned seat only for those who crave it selfishly."
She pulled back slightly, looking him straight in the eye. "My power... my awakened self... will guide us to the people who need you, and away from the dangers that will seek to stop us. We will walk this path together. Your destiny is mine, and mine is to ensure you fulfill it."
Prince Wang Cheng looked at her for a long moment, the warmth of love battling the gravity of her pronouncement. He drew his hands away from her face and looked out into the darkness of the garden, contemplating the weight of her words.
"What you speak of is treason to some, and a terrifying burden to me," he said, his voice measured and low. "To pursue the Dragon Throne... it would mean war, deceit, and sacrificing the quiet life we might still salvage." He turned back to her, his gaze intense. "I believe you, Li Lan. I believe in your loyalty and your love, my heart. But this decision is too immense to make rashly."
He took her hands in his, a final, earnest squeeze. "I need time to think. I need to consider what it would cost us, what it would cost the kingdom. Give me one night, and I will give you my answer tomorrow."