Serpent Emperor's Bride

Chapter 178: When Death Has Chosen it’s Next Target

[Silthara Palace — The Emperor’s Chamber — Same Night]

The chamber glowed softly beneath silver lantern light.

Outside the balcony, the desert winds whispered against the towering walls of Silthara Palace, carrying with them the distant scent of warm sand and night-blooming jasmine.

Inside everything felt quieter and softer.

Levin rested comfortably against Zeramet’s shoulder while the Malik’s enormous silver serpent tail coiled beneath him like living silk, warm, protective, and possessive in the gentlest way possible.

A small bronze bowl filled with scented oil rested nearby while Zeramet carefully rubbed the oil across Levin’s abdomen with slow circular motions, not rushed, not sensual...only attentive. The quiet tenderness of a husband trying to reassure himself that what remained precious was still safe within his hands.

Levin relaxed visibly beneath the touch, his eyes half-lowered and his fingers lazily tracing along silver scales beneath him. A faint smile touched his lips, he murmured softly after a long silence.

"...I do not know why...but I feel strangely excited to visit Sah’qir Village."

Zeramet’s hand paused immediately. "...visit?"

Levin blinked once before tilting his head upward slightly toward him.

"Yes?"

The Malik stared at him for several moments as though trying to decide whether Levin had genuinely forgotten their previous conversation, and his voice lowered carefully as he said, "Consort...I never agreed to let you travel there."

Levin’s brows furrowed faintly as he shifted slightly atop the silver coils. "What are you talking about? Did we not agree we should personally inspect the eastern villages once the reports arrive?"

"Yes."

Zeramet answered immediately and then quieter—far more seriously. "But that was before I remembered you are carrying our child."

The warmth inside the chamber dimmed slightly. Zeramet’s hand remained resting protectively over Levin’s abdomen now, still and guarding.

"We already lost one." His voice softened, lower than before, and beneath that calmness, fear lingered quietly. "I will not risk losing another because I allowed danger near you again."

Levin’s fingers flinched faintly at those words, only slightly, but Zeramet noticed immediately. Silence settled between them, not hostile, only fragile.

Then Levin finally spoke quietly as his gaze lowered towards his slightly swollen abdomen. "I understand... I truly do but..."

Slowly he leaned back more comfortably against Zeramet’s chest, and his voice grew softer and almost tired now. "I want to leave the palace for a while. I want to breathe somewhere that does not smell like grief."

And that struck Zeramet far deeper than argument ever could because, suddenly, he understood. Levin was not asking as a ruler, nor as a Malika, nor even as a strategist. He was asking as someone trying desperately not to drown inside memories.

Zeramet’s expression softened almost instantly; slowly his large hand moved upward, gently holding Levin’s cheeks between his palms, warm and careful. Then he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against the tip of Levin’s nose.

"You truly wish to go?"

Levin nodded immediately, a little too quickly. That earned the faintest smile from Zeramet.

"Then you shall go."

Levin blinked in surprise. "But—"

"No arguments." Zeramet interrupted smoothly, though amusement now lingered beneath his voice. "You may travel with me, but under conditions."

Levin narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What conditions?"

Zeramet immediately tightened one silver coil around Levin’s waist possessively, and his coil shifted lazily beneath him.

"You remain near me at all times; you do not wander, you do not fight and if anything feels dangerous..." His golden serpent eyes narrowed slightly. "...you obey me immediately."

Levin stared at him for several seconds, then sighed dramatically. "You speak as though I am troublesome."

Zeramet looked genuinely offended. "Consort."

Levin immediately avoided his eyes; the silence lasted exactly two seconds before Zeramet laughed softly beneath his breath, low, warm, and rare enough that even the chamber itself seemed gentler for hearing it.

Then slowly his forehead rested lightly against Levin’s.

"Stay close to me there." His voice lowered again, quietly sincere now. "Just...stay close."

Levin’s expression softened, and this time when he smiled, it looked peaceful. His fingers curled lightly around Zeramet’s wrist.

"Yes...I will."

Outside the desert winds continued whispering beneath moonlight, and far across the eastern sands something monstrous had already begun waiting for their arrival.

***

[House Karzath — Same Night]

Night had fully swallowed House Karzath by the time Lady Arinaya returned. The estate stood unusually silent.

Only lantern light stretched long shadows across polished corridors while desert winds whispered softly through carved stone arches.

Lady Arinaya stepped through the grand hall calmly despite the tension curling beneath her ribs. Her expression remained composed, elegant, and controlled. But her mind—her mind had not stopped calculating since leaving House Varoth.

Because somewhere inside this mansion something was wearing another man’s face. The servants bowed immediately as she passed.

None dared speak and none dared linger. Then from the shadows near the inner staircase a familiar voice drifted softly.

"Oh..." A pause, then warmer, almost fond. "...my Lady."

Lady Arinaya stopped walking. Slowly...very slowly she turned. There stood Azhrakaal, or rather, the thing wearing Serath Min’s appearance.

He leaned lazily against the carved pillar, dark robes loose around his figure while lantern light flickered softly across features that no longer looked entirely serpent to her.

Not after what she knew, and yet his smile remained perfect, too perfect.

"You returned late tonight." His voice carried smooth amusement. "Was the work at the palace too much, my lady?"

Lady Arinaya did not react outwardly. Instead, she removed her gloves calmly, one finger at a time. "Must I report my movements now?"

Azhrakaal’s smile widened slightly. "No, my lady. Though curiosity is difficult to kill."

His eyes remained fixed entirely upon her now, watching, studying, and measuring. "Where did you go, my Lady?"

The question sounded casual, but beneath it something sharp waited quietly. Lady Arinaya noticed immediately, and that alone confirmed enough. So instead of answering directly, she smiled faintly, not warmly, only elegantly. "You seem unusually interested tonight."

Azhrakaal tilted his head slightly. He pushed himself away from the pillar slowly.

"Should I not be?"

He pushed himself away from the pillar slowly. "The only lady of the house arrived late; I should be concerned for...safety purposes."

Lady Arinaya watched him approach carefully. Every movement is graceful, controlled, and dangerous like a serpent pretending to move like a man.

Then finally she answered. "You’re right...for safety concerns...I should inform you, and I can assure you that I was safe since...I visited House Varoth."

For the first time, Azhrakaal’s hand twitched barely. A tiny movement, but Lady Arinaya noticed.

’Hmm...interesting...’ Lady Arinaya thought as she smirked faintly.

And Azhrakaal? His smile remained, yet something colder entered his gaze instantly.

"...House Varoth?" His tone remained smooth, almost careless. "But why visit them so suddenly?"

Lady Arinaya stepped closer now, not intimidated, only observing. "There were matters requiring clarification."

Azhrakaal hummed softly. "And were they clarified?"

"A few things were." She paused deliberately, then added, "Though some mysteries still remain difficult to identify."

Silence stretched between them, heavy and breathing sharply. Azhrakaal smiled again, but now it looked thinner somehow and less like serath-min.

"Mysteries are dangerous things, my lady." His voice lowered slightly. "Some truths are kinder when buried."

Lady Arinaya met his gaze directly, unflinching. "And yet buried things have a habit of rotting."

That made him still. For one brief moment the warmth vanished from his face entirely, and something ancient looked back at her through stolen eyes.

Then just as quickly the smile returned. "You speak strangely tonight."

Lady Arinaya’s own smile softened, faintly controlled and precise. "And you listen too carefully."

Another silence followed, and this one was far more dangerous than before because now both of them understood the truth.

Neither trusted the other anymore.

Azhrakaal finally stepped aside gracefully. Allowing her passage deeper into the estate.

"Well then..." His voice drifted softly behind her. "...I do hope House Varoth offered satisfactory answers."

Lady Arinaya paused only briefly and and then answered without turning around. "Oh, they did. Especially regarding dead men."

The hallway went still. Even the lantern flames flickered uneasily behind her. Azhrakaal’s smile slowly disappeared, and somewhere beneath Serath Min’s stolen face, something monstrous finally realized: Lady Arinaya was no longer merely suspicious.

She knew.

The hallway remained silent long after Lady Arinaya disappeared beyond the carved arches; only the lantern flames moved. Flickering softly against obsidian walls And standing alone beneath that trembling gold light was Azhrakaal.

For several moments he did not move at all. His expression remained calm, Perfect and controlled. Then slowly...very slowly...the smile vanished from his face completely.

The warmth disappeared first and then the charm.

And what remained afterward was something ancient and something wrong.

"...did she discover it?" The whisper slipped from his lips softly and dangerously.

The lantern flames nearest to him suddenly dimmed. As though the darkness itself had leaned closer to listen.

Azhrakaal’s eyes darkened gradually beneath the shadows, not metaphorically literally. The eyes slowly drowned beneath spreading black until only thin rings of molten color remained around slit serpent pupils.

Silence stretched through the corridor, heavy and suffocating. Then he laughed quietly.

"She noticed the twitch." His voice lowered further now. "She watched my reaction when House Varoth was mentioned..."

A pause then softer almost admiring.

"Clever woman."

The air inside the hallway changed instantly. The servants nearby suddenly froze not understanding why their instincts had begun screaming at them to run because Black Serpent pheromones had begun leaking silently into the corridor.

Not seductive, not warm but predatory.

The nearest lantern glass cracked softly. Azhrakaal finally began walking slowly through the hallway, each step was calm and measured like a creature no longer bothering to imitate.

"She knows." His voice echoed quietly through the empty hall. "And once suspicion blooms inside intelligent minds...it never dies quietly."

The black aura around him thickened faintly not visible like smoke but felt. A pressure pressing against walls, against lungs and against instinct itself.

One servant who passed by suddenly dropped the silver tray she carried. The metal shattered loudly across the marble floor.

Azhrakaal’s eyes shifted toward her instantly and the poor woman immediately collapsed to her knees trembling violently. Unable to breathe properly beneath his presence.

For one terrible moment he simply stared at her expressionless. Then he smiled again cruelly this time.

"Leave."

The servant practically crawled away in panic. Azhrakaal continued walking afterward, dark robes trailing behind him like spreading shadow.

"Lady Arinaya..." He murmured her name almost fondly almost regretfully. "You should have remained uncertain."

His fingers brushed lightly against the corridor wall as he passed and immediately black serpent markings spread briefly across the marble before fading again.

Ancient symbols, forbidden and wrong as his voice deepened lower. "Curiosity is a beautiful trait...until it begins digging near graves meant to stay buried."

The darkness around him thickened further now and beneath his stolen skin something monstrous slowly awakened. Something that had worn another serpent faces for far too long, then finally—he stopped before the grand window overlooking the moonlit estate below.

His reflection stared back at him through the glass.

Serath Min’s face, serath Min’s eyes and serath Min’s smile but none of it belonged to him.

Azhrakaal slowly lifted his hand and touched the reflection gently. "...what a troublesome woman. If she truly knows..."

His eyes narrowed into thin black slits.

"...then Lady Arinaya no longer deserves to live."

Outside the desert wind howled violently across House Karzath and somewhere within the sleeping empire of Zahryssar—death had finally chosen its next target.