[Silthara Palace — Emperor's Chambers — Dawn]
Dawn arrived slowly across Silthara Palace, not with brightness but with soft gold spreading carefully across marble balconies and sleeping courtyards while the desert sky shifted from deep indigo into pale amber.
The palace still rested in silence; most lanterns remained dim and most corridors still empty, but inside the emperor's chambers, someone was already awake.
Levin stood quietly before the wide balcony doors, silver robes loose around him while dawn winds moved softly through his hair. One hand rested unconsciously against his abdomen, protective and habitual.
Behind him, Zeramet still slept or at least pretended to, because despite keeping his eyes closed, his enormous long silver serpent tail had remained tightly wrapped around Levin's ankle the entire time.
As if even asleep, he distrusted distance. Levin glanced downward toward the tail and then sighed softly. "…possessive serpent."
