[Empire of Qashmar — Imperial Palace — Council Chamber]

The Council Chamber of Vaelthor was unlike anything found in Zahryssar, no gold, no jewels and no elaborate decorations.

Only stone, steel, and power. Massive wolf banners hung between towering pillars. Ancient mountain maps covered the walls and at the center of the chamber a table carved from a single black cedar tree stretched across the room.

Emperor Tharzek sat comfortably at its head. Lord Lior stood beside him, and several advisors remained nearby, silent, observing, and directly opposite them sat Zeramet.

The atmosphere inside the chamber felt dangerous because everyone present understood something. If this meeting failed two empires might eventually go to war. Servants poured wine into silver cups.

Tharzek immediately lifted his, then took a drink. Zeramet did not touch his, and the Wolf Emperor blinked.

"You think it’s poisoned?"

Zeramet glanced at him coldly and dangerously, saying, "I think trusting strangers is foolish."

Everything went silent as other council members offended, but Tharzek grinned. "I definitely like him."

Lord Lior sighed. "You have repeated that statement seven times."

"Eight." Tharzek corrected.

Zeramet looked increasingly irritated. "Can we proceed? I don’t have all day for you."

Immediately the Wolf Emperor placed his cup down, and for the first time since they met, the amusement left his face, and the room became serious as his amber eyes sharpened.

"Very well, then let us discuss why Qashmar saved the Emperor of Zahryssar."

Silence filled the chamber, and Zeramet’s gaze remained fixed upon him, cold and unmoving. "Speak."

The Wolf Emperor nodded, then slowly unfolded a map upon the table. The entire continent appeared, empires, kingdoms, trade routes, and borders, mountain passes, and then—Tharzek pointed toward a massive dark region in the northern mountains.

Immediately everyone became silent, even Lord Lior and even the advisors.

Zeramet noticed it immediately, the fear. The room feared something and then Tharzek spoke.

"Ashkareth."

Silence because the name itself felt heavy, ancient, and wrong. The Wolf Emperor’s expression darkened.

"You have likely heard rumors about the beast roaming our lands."

Zeramet remembered Varesh’s reports months ago before Slyvarakh appeared. That time Zeramet didn’t give importance to it because it wasn’t his matter to interfere.

Ashkareth, the monster terrorizing Qashmar.

Then Tharzek continued as his voice lowered, as his fist slowly tightened, "For two years, we have hunted it, for a whole two years, we have failed to hunt the beast, but we only failed. That beast is so dangerous that...not even we wolf clan could protect our clan."

Lord Lior added quietly, "It destroys villages, and the entire knight battalions disappear, and all our strongest warriors return broken and some dead. Because of that, our wolf clan population has reduced too much. All we have now is...widowed mothers and wives."

The chamber remained silent. Then Tharzek looked directly toward Zeramet and finally revealed the truth. "We did not save you merely because you are an emperor; we saved you because you are a Silver Serpent and a Prime Alpha."

The room froze and the Wolf Emperor’s eyes sharpened.

"The strongest serpent alive and the only ruler on this continent who might stand against Ashkareth."

Silence.

Then finally Zeramet leaned back slightly and understood. At last now he understood the price, the reason, and the bargain of his life savings.

Tharzek folded his hands as his voice echoed throughout the chamber.

"We help you reclaim Zahryssar; we help you find your consort, and we help you reclaim everything and let our army stand beside you."

Then his amber eyes narrowed.

"And in return...we wanted you to stand with us and free the wolf clan from that beast."

The mountain winds roared faintly beyond the windows, and the fate of kingdoms was beginning to move around them.

Then Tharzek finally spoke as his voice became deadly serious.

"When the time comes...I want you standing beside Qashmar and when Ashkareth appears, fight with us."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The council chamber became still. The advisors watched carefully. The wolf knights remained motionless, and even Lord Lior said nothing, and for the first time since entering Qashmar, Zeramet smiled.

A dangerous smile, the kind of smile that once made enemy kings abandon battle plans and the kind of smile that appeared moments before entire armies disappeared.

Because unlike politics, this was simple: a monster, a hunt and a battlefield. Things he understood perfectly yet moments later the smile disappeared.

Immediately his golden eyes narrowed. "Then explain something."

Tharzek leaned back. "I am listening."

Zeramet folded his arms. "If this beast is truly as powerful as you claim... if entire battalions vanish. If kingdoms fear its name, then why is Qashmar still standing?"

The chamber became quiet. Several advisors exchanged glances, and then Lord Lior answered first. "The Mage Tower."

Zeramet looked toward him. Lior continued. "Our Tower Master has woven barriers across the kingdom. Villages. Cities. Trade routes and Military outposts."

His expression darkened. "The barriers still stand but not forever."

Tharzek’s fingers slowly tapped the table as his voice lowered. "The beast grows stronger, and every month the barriers weaken, and now we are running out of time."

The chamber fell silent once more. Zeramet understood immediately; this was not a kingdom preparing for victory; this was a kingdom preparing for survival.

Then quietly he nodded. "I can help."

Several advisors visibly relaxed, only for Zeramet’s next words to freeze the room again. "But why should I trust strangers?"

The black lotus pheromones slowly spread through the chamber, dark, ancient, and dangerous.

"What if Qashmar abandons its promises? What if I help you kill Ashkareth..." His golden eyes darkened. "...and afterward you decide Zahryssar’s problems are no longer your concern?"

Nobody answered immediately because it was a fair question. Then finally Tharzek smirked, a sharp and amused smirk.

"What does the Silver Serpent want from us?"

And the atmosphere changed. The black lotus scent became heavier, more possessive, and more dangerous but not suffocating.

Zeramet’s expression remained unreadable, but everyone in the room felt that the answer mattered more than the throne, more than war, and more than politics.

Then quietly he spoke.

"My consort."

Tharzek blinked once, then looked toward Lord Lior, and suddenly both wolf nobles understood because for Zeramet the throne could wait, the empire could wait, and even revenge could wait.

But not Levin and Zeramet, he continued as his voice lowered. "I need to know where he is. I need confirmation of whether he remains in Zahryssar...or whether he escaped."

Lord Lior exchanged a glance with Tharzek and then finally said, "You shall have your answer by tomorrow morning."

Zeramet stared at him and studying him. Measuring the truth behind his words, then slowly he nodded.

"Good."

Immediately afterward he reached toward the table, then calmly said. "Bring parchment."

The advisors blinked. Tharzek raised an eyebrow. Zeramet’s expression remained completely serious.

"If Qashmar desires my strength...and if Zahryssar is expected to honor this agreement..." His gaze swept across the room. "Then we write it."

Silence.

Absolute silence. Then suddenly Tharzek laughed, aloud, a genuine, wolf-like laugh. "I knew I liked you."

Lord Lior sighed. "You keep saying that."

"Because he keeps proving me right," Tharzek replied.

The servants immediately hurried forward, bringing parchment, ink, and seals. The council chamber watched silently because what was happening was not a friendship or an alliance but a bargain.

One forged between a Wolf Emperor and a Serpent Emperor, and as ink touched parchment far beyond mountains and kingdoms, Levin sat beside two enormous eggs, completely unaware.

That empires had begun moving for him and that bargains were being forged for him and that somewhere his mate was already preparing to cross kingdoms to find him not knowing that they both are in same empire....just different places.

***

[Village of Sah’Rumeh — Later That Afternoon]

Warm sunlight filtered through the small, and the desert winds moved gently through the village.

And inside peace remained.

Levin sat beside the nest, one hand resting upon the silver egg and the other upon the golden one. The eggs had become strangely active today as if aware of everything around them.

A faint smile appeared on Levin’s face. Then suddenly—

KNOCK.

KNOCK.

Immediately his attention shifted toward the door. "Come in."

The wooden door opened, and Iru stepped inside; dust covered his boots, and his breathing was slightly uneven, then he immediately lowered himself into a respectful bow.

"Malika."

Levin straightened slightly. Immediately noticing the urgency. "What did you find?"

Iru raised his head as his voice lowered. "I traveled across several villages and two nearby cities. According to local merchants and guards...the Imperial Palace of Qashmar is approximately two nights away from Sah’Rumeh."

Levin slowly nodded as his gaze dropped toward the eggs. "Two nights—that is closer than I expected and yet too far."

For several moments he fell into thought. Pieces slowly fitting together inside his mind. "When Captain Kael accidentally revealed the truth...and if the silver-haired outsider truly exists...then that man must be my Zer."

Iru nodded because deep down he believed the same thing.

Who else could it possibly be?

Iru hesitated briefly and then finally asked as his eyes shifted towards the egg. "But Malika...is it truly safe? If we travel now...the eggs could be placed in danger."

Levin looked toward them. The silver shell. The golden shell. His children, and slowly he nodded.

"You are right, which is exactly why...I am not moving."

Iru blinked. "...Malika?"

Levin looked toward the distant mountains visible through the window. "If I suddenly disappear from the village...Captain Kael will become suspicious, and right now..."

His hand gently touched the eggs.

"My children are more important than my impatience." Then Levin slowly lifted his gaze toward Iru and immediately his expression became serious.

"You will go instead."

Iru straightened instantly. "Me?"

Levin nodded. "Fly to the Imperial City, search quietly and once you arrive...do not begin with the palace."

Iru frowned, immediately confused. "...Why?"

Levin leaned back slightly because, unlike warriors, he understood politics, and politics followed patterns.

"The information is being hidden; that alone tells me everything." Iru listened carefully as Levin continued. "If the silver-haired outsider is truly important...then the Emperor of Qashmar will not leave him exposed; the palace is the most dangerous place in every empire."

His gaze sharpened.

"Everyone watches the palace: nobles, spies, merchants, and even foreign kingdoms. Rumors spread there faster than fire."

Understanding slowly appeared upon Iru’s face, then Levin finished, "If I were an emperor...I would hide him somewhere important but away from public eyes, maybe a noble estate. So, search noble estates, search mountain manors, and search houses directly tied to the imperial family, but avoid drawing attention."

Then quietly he added:

"If that truly is Zer..." His voice trembled slightly. "...then I cannot afford to lose him again."

Silence filled the room.

A painful silence because both of them knew what those words meant. Iru immediately dropped to one knee. "Shall I leave at once, Malika?"

Levin looked toward the eggs again. "The faster we find Zer...the faster these two can meet their father."

Immediately, Iru bowed deeply. "As you command, Malika."

And without another word he departed; the wooden door closed behind him. Leaving Levin alone once more, alone.

Yet not truly alone because beside him two tiny hearts waited, and somewhere beyond the mountains another heart was desperately searching for him.

Though neither yet realized it, they were now closer than ever before.