[Silthara Palace—Day of the Full Moon Night—Evening—before the sun sets]
The palace vibrated like a living heart.
Drums echoed from the lower terraces, servants hurried across marbled corridors carrying bolts of red silk and trays of incense, and the open imperial carriage—gilded in sun-gold—waited beneath the grand arch.
Inside the Emperor's dressing chamber, attendants circled Zeramet like planets around a sun.
They draped the enormous golden shawl over his shoulders, let it fall in majestic folds down his back, and fastened the heavy serpent-shaped ornament at his hips. His black trousers—embroidered with thin gold sigils—glistened under the sunlight spilling through the lattice windows.
Then, reverently, one attendant clasped an iridescent stone bracelet around his wrist—the gift Levin had given him.
A rare softness flickered in the emperor's eyes, but only for a breath.
When the attendants finished, they dropped to their knees in unison and left.
