[Silthara Palace — Emperor’s Office — The Sa Night]
Night had descended fully upon Silthara Palace.
Beyond the tall lattice windows of the Emperor’s office, the desert sky stretched wide and endless, its darkness pierced by a thousand cold stars. Oil lamps burned steadily along the carved stone walls, their flas trembling gently as the night wind slipped through the high arches.
Only the soft scratch of a quill broke the silence inside the chamber.
Zerat sat behind the vast cedar desk carved with ancient serpentine sigils of Zahryssar. Several parchnts lay open before him—reports from distant provinces, petitions from noble houses, and the troubling matter of the broken imperial barrier.
Across the desk stood Naburash.
Calm.
Composed.
He was reviewing a parchnt with careful attention, his long fingers resting lightly upon the page. Then Zerat suddenly stopped writing.
The quill froze above the parchnt, his golden eyes sharpened, not with anger, not with suspicion, but with sothing deeper.
Sothing warm.
For a single breath, he remained perfectly still, as though listening to a distant whisper only he could hear. Then he stood abruptly; the chair scraped softly against the marble floor.
Naburash looked up imdiately and asked, faintly confused, "Malik...? Did sothing—"
But Zerat did not answer, did not even hear him; he was already moving. Without another word, he strode past the desk and toward the chamber doors with startling urgency.
Naburash frowned.
"What happened...?" he murmured quietly.
Then he followed, but Zerat did not slow, nor did he glance back. His steps carried him swiftly through the corridors of Silthara Palace—past startled guards, past servants who hurriedly bowed as he passed.
Straight toward one place.
The Consort’s Wing.
The doors to Levin’s office stood closed; Zerat did not pause.
THUD!!
The doors slamd open beneath the force of his hand. Inside the chamber, Levin, Lady Arinaya, Iru, and Raevahn all flinched. Raevahn’s hand imdiately moved to the hilt of his sword, stepping forward instinctively, but the mont they recognized who had entered, they froze.
Zerat stood at the threshold; his presence filled the entire chamber.
"DISMISS."
The command thundered through the room like a royal decree. Everyone bowed instantly, "Yes, Malik."
Arinaya exchanged a quick glance with Raevahn before stepping back. Iru gathered the remaining parchnts swiftly as the room cleared within monts.
Soon only Levin and Zerat remained. The heavy doors closed behind them, and silence settled over the chamber.
Levin looked at him carefully.
"Zer...?" His voice carried quiet concern. "Did sothing happen?"
Zerat stood there for a mont, watching him; his golden eyes were bright.
Bright in a way Levin recognized—The sa brightness that appeared when Zerat entered rut, but this ti... There was no hunger in it.
Only warmth.
Levin took a few steps toward him slowly as he asked softly, "Are you alright? Is sothing troubling you—"
But Zerat did not answer. Instead, he pulled Levin into his arms suddenly, firmly, and tightly. Levin blinked in surprise as Zerat buried his face against his shoulder.
"Thank you..." His voice ca low, almost trembling. "Thank you, consort."
Levin frowned slightly in confusion, "Thank you for what?"
Zerat held him closer, "For bringing such joy into my life."
Levin blinked again, utterly confused. He leaned back slightly to look up at him, "You rushed here just to say that?"
Zerat looked down at him. The warmth in his gaze deepened; slowly, he lifted Levin gently into his arms.
Then he leaned down, and their lips t, not with the heated hunger of rut or desperate claiming, but with sothing far softer.
A quiet kiss.
Gentle.
Warm.
His lips lingered against Levin’s for a few breaths before slowly pulling away. Levin blinked at him in stunned confusion.
’What is wrong with him...?’
Before Levin could ask again, Zerat suddenly lowered himself; both knees touched the marble floor.
Levin’s eyes widened.
"Zer...?" His voice rose in alarm. "What are you doing?"
But Zerat did not answer imdiately; his eyes had filled with tears, and his gaze drifted slowly downward.
He lowered his gaze to Levin’s stomach and then, with extraordinary care, placed both hands against it, gentle and reverent.
"There..." His voice trembled faintly. "...two of them."
Levin froze, "...What?"
Zerat lifted his head; his golden eyes shimred with emotion. Levin’s heart began racing. He cupped Zerat’s face quickly with both hands.
"Zer—what’s wrong? Are you unwell? Why are you—"
But Zerat cut him off; he stood up and pulled Levin close again. His forehead resting softly against Levin’s stomach.
"You are carrying them...our children."
Levin stopped breathing for a mont—he could not understand the words, and then Zerat whispered, "You are with child, consort; we are going to be parents."
Levin’s mind went blank, and his lips parted.
"...I..."
He stared at him in stunned disbelief.
"I... am...?"
His voice trembled.
"...I am bearing a child?"
Zerat nodded slowly, and a soft laugh escaped him through the tears. "Yes, my moonflower...There are two."
Levin stared at him, frozen. Every thought in his mind collapsed into silence.
’Two...?’
His fingers moved slowly toward his stomach; he touched it lightly. He was still struggling to comprehend what he had just heard.
Zerat’s hands lifted Levin’s face gently between his palms, then he pressed a tender kiss to his forehead.
"Congratulations, my consort." His voice was warm, full of wonder. "You are carrying the future of Zahryssar."
***
[Silthara Palace — The Malika’s Office — Later That Night]
The chamber had grown quiet again.
The lamps along the carved walls burned low, their flas trembling softly as night winds slipped through the high lattice windows. The scent of warm oil and desert flowers lingered faintly in the air.
The imperial desk stood abandoned for the mont.
Instead, Zerat sat upon Levin’s chair. The great serpent emperor, ruler of Zahryssar, leaned back against the carved cedar throne of the consort as though the world itself had finally loosened its grip upon him.
And in his arms, Levin sat across his lap.
His body leaned into Zerat’s chest, his head resting quietly against the emperor’s shoulder. One of Zerat’s arms wrapped securely around his waist, holding him with protective warmth.
Levin’s hands remained where they had been for several minutes now. His hands rested gently against his stomach.
It was almost as if his body were still deciding whether to believe what he had just learned. For a long mont neither of them spoke, then Levin’s voice broke the silence, "How... did you know?"
Zerat lowered his head slightly and pressed a slow kiss against Levin’s hair, and he murmured softly, "We serpents can feel the life growing inside our mates."
His hand moved slowly, resting over Levin’s where it lay upon his stomach, "It is not sothing the mind hears... but sothing the body knows."
Levin listened quietly.
"If anything happens to you during this ti," Zerat continued, his voice low and protective, "if your body suffers pain... if your strength weakens..."
His fingers tightened slightly around Levin.
"...I will feel it as well."
Levin nodded faintly, "I see..."
His voice grew softer as the words drifted away; silence returned. Levin’s gaze lowered toward his own hands. His hands continued to rest against his stomach, still unmoving, still trying to understand.
’So...an Alpha like can truly bear a child.’ The thought lingered in his mind strangely.
For all his knowledge, for all the traditions of Zahryssar, so part of him had never believed the possibility could belong to him.
And yet here he was. Levin shifted slightly, pressing closer against Zerat’s chest, "...it feels strange."
His voice carried a quiet honesty now, strangely. Not unpleasant, not frightening, but unfamiliar. His fingers moved slowly against the fabric of his robes, tracing the place where Zerat had placed his hands earlier.
Inside him—Life had begun.
Two lives.
Zerat’s arms tightened around him instinctively as he said, softly, "You are quiet, my moonflower."
His golden eyes studied Levin’s face carefully.
"Are you unhappy?"
Levin blinked slowly as his voice softened, "No. I am not unhappy... I simply do not know what I feel yet."
He paused.
"It is difficult to believe that sothing so small..." His fingers rested again against his stomach. "...is already growing inside ."
Zerat watched him carefully.
Then Levin spoke again, more quietly.
"But..." A faint warmth touched his expression. "...I think I am happy."
The words were uncertain but sincere. As Zerat exhaled slowly, relief softened his gaze. He pressed another gentle kiss to Levin’s temple.
"Good."
His voice carried quiet satisfaction. Levin leaned deeper into him, allowing himself to relax against the steady warmth of Zerat’s body.
For a mont, neither of them moved. The empire outside those walls still held its dangers.
The broken barrier, the serpent hidden within the palace. The silent gas unfolding in shadow.
But here, for this brief mont, sothing else had begun, sothing fragile and sothing precious.
Zerat’s hand moved slowly over Levin’s stomach once more, saying, "I will summon the imperial physician."
Levin nodded faintly, "Yes."
Outside the chamber, the night winds drifted through the palace gardens, stirring the blossoms beneath the moonlight. And within the quiet office of the Malika, the future of Zahryssar had already begun to grow.
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