The silence in the stasis chamber had grown too heavy.
Harun and Iruna, tethered to Zaliyah by the Empress's magic and their own intuition, felt the sudden, drop in his life force.
They burst through the heavy doors just as Zaliyah's body slumped against the ice.
He was deathly pale, his skin translucent like wax. Dark, oily liquid leaked from the corners of his eyes and beneath his fingernails-the signature of the Night-Stalker's venom.
"Your Royal Highness!" Iruna screamed, her voice echoing off the frozen walls.
Harun didn't hesitate. He scooped Zaliyah's limp body into his arms, noting with horror how light the boy felt, as if his soul were already drifting away.
They raced back to the consort's quarters, laying him upon the silken bed. Iruna's fingers flew to his pulse, then to his throat.
Her face drained of color.
"Brother... I can't feel anything. There is no heartbeat."
Harun grabbed Zaliyah's hand, his warrior's eyes searching for the source. He spotted it-the minute, bruised smudge beneath the nail. Without a word, he drew his dagger.
Iruna, knowing his thoughts, grabbed the blade and sliced her own palm deep. She was poison-resistant; her blood was the only thing that could act as a bridge back to life.
She forced Zaliyah's stiff lips open and pressed her bleeding palm against them.
"Drink," she whispered, her eyes burning with tears. "Please, don't leave us yet."
For a long, terrifying minute, there was nothing.
Then, Zaliyah's chest heaved with a violent gasp for air. He choked, his eyes fluttering before he slipped back into a deep, natural unconsciousness.
"That was a close one," Iruna exhaled, the tension leaving her shoulders in a shuddering wave.
"Too close," Harun growled. "How did this happen? He is always in the stasis chamber. Did someone tamper with the Empress's gifts?"
"The Empress favors him," Iruna murmured, her gaze fixated on Zaliyah's face as she began to gently strip away his soiled silks to wash him. "It was the concubines... or Lady Ailla. That bitch doesn't know when to give up."
As she bathed him, Iruna's movements slowed. She stared at the curve of Zaliyah's jaw, almost hypnotized by his ethereal beauty.
"Focus, Runa," Harun warned from the corner.
"Brother... I want to protect him," she said softly.
"That is already your job, Runa."
"No," she countered, looking up with fierce intensity. "I want to protect him because it is a wish from my heart to him. Not just a bond of magic."
Harun patted her hair, a rare gesture of softness. "Don't go having silly ideas, Runa. He is the King's moon. We are just the stars that keep him from the dark."
The night stretched in a blur , the twins didn't sleep all night, they were seated on Zaliyah's bed , guarding him from any unforseen danger
The next morning, the gates of the capital groaned open. Malachi returned not as a husband, but as a god of slaughter.
He was a bloody mess, his armor shredded, but in his right hand, he carried the severed, dripping head of the Serpent of Carnage-a beast that had eluded demon kings for centuries.
The realm erupted in cheers, but Malachi didn't stop to bask in the glory.
He bypassed the Empress's wing and stumbled straight into Ailla's chambers.
He collapsed at her feet, his strength finally failing him as he went unconscious in her arms.
Ailla caught him, her eyes softening in a way they never did for anyone else.
They had grown up together, two wolves in a den of monsters. She had been there when his mother took her own life; she had been there when his father cast him aside; and she had held the blade when he finally claimed the throne.
"I knew you could do it," she whispered, pulling his blood-matted head to her chest.
The royal physician was summoned in a panic. After a tense hour, he turned to Ailla.
"The Emperor has sustained heavy wounds, and his demon core is slightly damaged. It will take weeks to heal fully, but he will survive."
"Will he be able to attend the celebration?" Ailla asked, her eyes already flickering with a new plan.
"Of course, My Lady. He is too stubborn to miss his own triumph."
Across the palace, Empress Kizari was surrounded by heaps of shimmering silk and dozens of maids.
Ryuna stood watch, her bat-like teeth bared at anyone who tripped.
Kizari was a creature of the highest pedigree-born from the most powerful clan in the realm, a family that had provided Empresses for generations.
Though she was brutal when crossed, Kizari loved the lavish life. She lived for entertainment, and she had a hidden soft spot for the broken; her personal retinue was filled with orphans she had "collected" and raised as lethal loyalists.
"Make the celebration grand," Kizari commanded, tossing a roll of gold thread aside. "I want the subjects and the nobles to be blinded by our wealth. If the King is going to play with his new toy, he should do it on a stage worthy of my name."
Meanwhile
In the consort's quarters, Zaliyah's eyes finally opened. The twins were at his side in an instant.
"What happened?" Zaliyah rasped, his throat feeling like he'd swallowed glass.
"You were poisoned," Harun replied.
"And you saved me?"
"We were just doing our job," Iruna said quickly, looking down.
Zaliyah signaled with two fingers for her to come forward. Harun's heart skipped; he feared a punishment for their failure to detect the venom earlier. But when Iruna knelt, Zaliyah simply patted her head. "You did a great job," he said softly.
Iruna's face lit up with a smile so bright it made her dark skin glow. She impulsively grabbed his hand, but Zaliyah immediately pulled back.
Harun growled, "RUNA!" and the girl began to apologize frantically, her face falling back into the dull, traumatized look of the bullied child she once was.
"Silly girl," Zaliyah sighed, patting her head again. "I pulled my hands back because I don't like being touched, not because you look like burned potatoes."
Iruna blinked, her eyes wide. "Really? What are pos-sta-toes, Your Royal Highness?"
"It's po-ta-toes," Zaliyah corrected with a small, rare smile. "It's a food from the human realm. I used to eat them all the time."
"Does Your Royal Highness want to eat potatoes now?" Harun asked, his voice respectful.
"I would be eating them tomorrow," Zaliyah replied, his gaze turning toward the window.
Iruna gasped. "Your Highness plans to escape?"
"The King is injured. The Empress is busy with her ceremony. The nobles and royals will all be in attendance and his Majesty is in no condition to chase you," Harun admitted. "The celebration is indeed the perfect time."
" is the only opportunity I'll ever have, Would you guys help me?" Zaliyah asked, searching their eyes.
"Your Highness would be saved, so why not?" Iruna replied immediately.
Zaliyah reached out and caressed Iruna's face. "Beautiful girl with a beautiful heart."
Iruna closed her eyes, leaning into the touch of his smooth, scarless hand.
Harun watched in half-embarrassment, half-relief. His sister was finally finding something to love in this cold hell, even if it was a fleeing consort.
Deep in the shadows of the Council Hall, Mephisa was in a frenzy of rage.
The Serpent of Carnage-the monster the council had secretly funded and released specifically to kill Malachi-was dead. Their plan had failed.
"He returns a hero! Again!" Mephisa shrieked, throwing a goblet against the wall.
"Calm yourself," a senior member muttered, his eyes narrowing. "If we cannot kill the King with a beast, we will kill him with his heart. The consort is his weakness. We will use the boy as a pawn. If Malachi dies protecting a human, the people will not mourn him-they will spit on his grave."
The council nodded in dark agreement. The celebration was coming, and everyone had a plan for the "White Lotus."