Chapter 116: Hungry
Reid finished laying out the last of it — the entity’s retreat, the fragile, uncertain calm that had settled over the capital since, the ongoing reconstruction efforts still consuming most of the Empire’s resources — and the room fell quiet, all four men watching Julian carefully for his reaction.
Julian absorbed it all with the same calm, unhurried patience he’d carried since waking, expression giving little away even as the weight of six missed weeks settled properly into place. He asked careful, pointed questions throughout — how many lives lost, how the capital’s defenses had held, what precautions had been put in place should the entity actually return the way it promised.
Nobody mentioned Xavier or Ian by name beyond confirming they’d vanished from the field alongside the entity that final night. Nobody in the room knew anything more than that — not the horror the entity had carved into both brothers afterward, not the hollow, weaponized things they’d been transformed into. That truth belonged only to Julian’s memory of the illusion’s cryptic threats and the entity’s own cold promises, fragments he hadn’t yet fully pieced together himself.
When Reid finally finished, the room settled into expectant quiet, all three of them watching Julian’s face carefully for whatever came next — grief, fury, exhaustion, some proper reaction to six weeks of catastrophic history finally laid bare.
Julian looked at each of them in turn, calm and considering, and then said, "I’m hungry."
The silence that followed was almost comedic in its confusion.
"you’re—" Jayden started, blinking.
"hungry," Julian said again, entirely unbothered, as though he hadn’t just absorbed an entire war’s worth of grim, devastating news in the span of twenty minutes. "six weeks unconscious tends to do that to a person. is there food somewhere in this building, or do I need to go find it myself."
Reid let out a short, disbelieving laugh, some of the tension finally breaking loose from his shoulders. "of course," he said. "of course that’s what you say after everything I just told you."
"what did you want me to say," Julian asked mildly. "I heard it. I’ll process it properly once I’m not running on six weeks of nothing but whatever fluids they were feeding me through a tube. right now, I’d very much like something solid."
"I’ll get the kitchens sending something up," Reid said, already moving toward the door, something warm and relieved threading through his exhaustion despite everything. "actually, I should get back to the training grounds regardless. there’s a squad rotation I need to oversee."
"go," Julian said. "I’m not going anywhere. apparently my legs still work, but I’m not eager to test their limits beyond walking to a chair right now."
Reid nodded, lingering a moment longer at the doorway, something soft and unguarded crossing his exhausted features before he finally, reluctantly left, footsteps fading down the corridor.
Jayden shifted where he stood, glancing toward Logan. "I should check on the rest of the eastern district’s reconstruction," he admitted, something reluctant threading through the words despite the necessity behind them. "there’s a council meeting later I need to prepare for as well."
"go," Julian said again, something faintly amused settling behind his tired eyes. "I promise I’ll still be here when you get back. probably eating something, if the kitchens actually manage to send anything up."
Jayden huffed a quiet, relieved laugh, squeezing Julian’s hand once more before finally releasing it, rising slowly from his chair. "I’ll be back," he said. "later today, if I can manage it."
Logan lingered a moment longer than the others, something uncertain crossing his exhausted features. "do you want me to stay," he asked quietly, "or would you rather rest properly."
Julian studied him a moment, calm and considering. "go," he said finally, not unkindly. "you’ve got things to do too, I’m sure. and honestly, I could use a little quiet before the next round of visitors starts."
Logan nodded slowly, something complicated but not unhappy settling across his features as he rose. "I’ll see you soon," he said, and left without further ceremony, footsteps fading after Jayden’s down the corridor.
That left only the Emperor, still seated in his chair, watching Julian with careful, quiet attention.
"you should rest," the Emperor said finally, though he made no immediate move to leave himself. "properly. six weeks unconscious isn’t the same as six weeks of proper recovery."
"I know," Julian said. "I intend to. once I’ve actually eaten something."
The Emperor studied him a moment longer, something warm and hesitant flickering behind his composed exterior. "I should let you have that quiet you mentioned," he said finally, rising slowly from his chair. "I have my own matters requiring attention regardless — the council’s been restless since the assault, and there are decisions that can’t wait much longer."
"go," Julian said, echoing the same word he’d offered everyone else, though something slightly warmer crept into his tone this time. "I meant what I said earlier. I’m not writing you off. but I do actually need rest, and apparently food, before I’m fit for anything resembling a proper conversation about where things stand between us."
The Emperor nodded, something grateful and careful settling behind his exhausted eyes. "then I’ll leave you to it," he said. "rest well, Julian. truly."
He lingered a moment at the doorway, the same way Reid had, something unspoken passing behind his composed expression before he finally, reluctantly turned and left, footsteps fading soft down the corridor after the others.
The room fell quiet, and Julian let out a long, slow breath, some of the careful composure he’d been holding since waking finally easing now that he was alone, the fox slipping out from wherever it had been hiding through the entire parade of visitors.
"that was a lot," the fox said, settling close against him.
"it was," Julian agreed, leaning back against the pillows, exhaustion finally catching up properly now that the room had emptied. "six weeks. an entity that wants to test me into oblivion. an Empire barely holding itself together." He let out a slow breath. "and somehow, I’m still stuck thinking about food."
"that’s probably healthy, actually," the fox said. "focusing on something small and manageable instead of trying to process everything all at once."
Julian hummed, closing his eyes briefly, letting the quiet settle properly around him for the first time since waking. "Xavier," he said quietly, after a moment. "Ian. nobody said what actually happened to them. just that they vanished with it."
"I don’t know either," the fox admitted. "my monitoring capability was limited during your unconscious state. whatever’s happened to them since, it’s not something I can confirm."
Julian’s jaw tightened faintly, something old and complicated settling behind his exhausted features. "the entity said this was only the beginning," he said slowly. "and it’s still got them, whatever’s left of them. that’s not nothing."
"no," the fox agreed quietly. "it’s not."
The door creaked open a moment later, a kitchen attendant arriving with a tray of food, and Julian let the heavier thoughts settle back for now, accepting the meal with quiet, grateful focus, the fox curling close beside him as the room finally, properly settled into peace for the first time in six long, unconscious weeks.