Serpent Emperor's Bride

Chapter 241: Only Us

[Sah’Rumeh Village — The Same Day — Healer’s Hut]

The afternoon sun hung low above the mountains. Golden light spilled through the windows of the healer’s hut; the pheromones of Zeramet lingered in the air, and for once...everything seemed peaceful.

Asha slept near the doorway; the enormous tiger occasionally flicked her tail. Lyresaph had somehow claimed half of Asha’s back as his personal bed; the small silver dragon snored shamelessly, completely unaware of the storms gathering around him.

Meanwhile, Zeramet remained coiled around the eggs; his massive silver body radiated warmth. Golden runes shimmered faintly beneath his scales, protective, ancient, and unyielding.

The Prime Alpha lowered his head slightly, watching the two eggs. For several moments...the terrifying ruler of Zahryssar simply stared like a father imagining the future.

Then the hut door opened, and a cold mountain breeze entered along with Levin. Immediately Zeramet looked up and immediately knew something had happened.

The serpent narrowed his eyes because Levin wore the expression he always wore when thinking too much.

A dangerous expression, the kind that usually ended with political problems or attempted murder. Sometimes both.

Zeramet sighed, "Consort."

Levin paused. "What?"

Zeramet’s golden eyes narrowed. "You have that expression."

Levin blinked. "What expression?"

"The expression that says someone has either offended you...or disappointed you or attempted something incredibly foolish."

Levin stared, then reluctantly admitted, "All three."

Zeramet immediately groaned; his head dropped onto the floor. "Of course."

The response made Levin laugh softly, then slowly he approached. Until he sat beside Zeramet, close enough to rest his hand against warm silver scales.

The laughter faded, silence returned, and Zeramet immediately noticed because this silence felt different.

Heavier.

Then quietly he asked, "What happened?"

Levin remained silent for a long moment, then finally said, "The beast attacks."

Immediately Zeramet became attentive. "What about them?"

Levin’s eyes lowered as he snuggled closer to Zeramet’s serpent body and then softly said, "The investigation is complete; they discovered why the attacks began. The Emperor of Qashmir hunted Ashkareth."

The temperature inside the hut seemed to drop, not dramatically, just enough to notice. Zeramet remained motionless, his golden eyes never left Levin, and then quietly asked, "When?"

"Eight months ago."

"Deliberately?"

Levin nodded. "Deliberately."

Zeramet closed his eyes very slowly, and for the first time... Levin saw disappointment. The disappointment of a ruler hearing another ruler failed his people.

Then Zeramet finally spoke. "That explains everything: the retaliation, the attacks, and the patterns."

Then Levin delivered the second truth. "The council wishes to hide this information."

The serpent’s gaze sharpened. "From whom?"

Levin laughed, a humorless laugh. "You and I."

The hut became still; outside, the mountain winds howled.

Then Zeramet chuckled, not amused, simply unsurprised. "They fear I will leave."

Levin nodded. "Yes, they fear you will refuse to fight."

Zeramet stared at Levin and then quietly asked, "And would I?"

"I don’t know."

Silence. Then Zeramet smiled faintly, a very small smile, and then he lowered his head until it rested beside him and quietly said, "I owe the wolf clan my life. I owe them a debt; they saved me when I should have died. They protected you when I could not."

His golden eyes drifted toward the sleeping eggs, toward their future, toward everything he refused to lose, and then his voice hardened. "But debt has limits."

Levin froze because those were almost the exact words he had spoken to Iru, and Zeramet continued. "I will repay kindness. I will repay loyalty. I will repay shelter."

Then his golden eyes narrowed dangerously. "But I will not allow anyone to spend my life as payment for another ruler’s mistakes."

Silence.

The words echoed through the hut, heavy, certain, and final. Then Levin smiled because once again...they had reached the same conclusion without discussing it, without planning it and without trying.

Then Zeramet glanced toward him and immediately noticed the smile. "My Moonflower."

Levin raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

The Prime Alpha’s eyes softened. "Why are you smiling?"

Levin rested his head against warm silver scales and quietly answered, "Because I married the right serpent."

Silence.

Then a violent choking sound came from the corner; both turned immediately. Iru had apparently entered at some point during the conversation and was now desperately pretending he had heard absolutely nothing; he looked at the ceiling, the wall, and the floor anywhere except them.

"I heard nothing. I am deaf, completely deaf."

Meanwhile, Zeramet looked entirely unimpressed.

"It is good that you are deaf, Iru."

Iru immediately bowed. "Yes, Malik."

Zeramet slowly turned toward the sleeping pair near the fireplace, his golden eyes narrowed.

"Now."

Asha immediately opened one eye. Lyresaph lifted his head suspiciously. "Take those lazy creatures outside because..." Zeramet looked at Levin with his eyes full of love. "...I need quality time with my consort, and do not enter until I say so."

Asha looked offended...very offended. Meanwhile, Lyresaph immediately hid behind Asha; unfortunately for him, Iru was faster. "We shall leave immediately."

Before either creature could protest Asha found herself being pushed toward the exit. Lyresaph found himself tucked under Iru’s arm; the tiny dragon immediately began protesting. The door closed behind them.

Silence.

Then—

CLICK.

Levin blinked as he saw Zeramet’s silver tail wrapped around the handle and locked the door. Levin turned toward Zeramet.

"What are you doing?"

Zeramet looked entirely innocent, which immediately made him suspicious. "A husband requires time with his consort."

Levin folded his arms. "That sounds dangerous."

"It is."

The answer came immediately, and Levin stared. Zeramet stared back, and then a smile appeared, slow, warm, and dangerously charming. The kind that had caused problems since the day they met.

The Prime Alpha moved away from the eggs, golden eyes never leaving Levin.

"The children are sleeping. The village is peaceful, and for the first time in days..." His voice softened. "...nobody is trying to kill us."

Levin couldn’t argue with that, and then Zeramet turned into his human form and stood in front of Levin fully naked. He grabbed Levin’s waist and pulled him closer to his chest ... warm fingers intertwined with his. The gesture was simple, yet somehow it made his heart skip and slowly brought Levin’s hand toward his lips.

Pressing a gentle kiss against his knuckles like a devotion. The kind of affection that belonged more to vows than passion.

"You worry too much, Moonflower."

Levin looked away immediately, which only made Zeramet smile.

"Qashmir, the beasts, and Slyvarakh." His thumb brushed gently against Levin’s hand. "You carry every burden as though it belongs solely to you."

Outside, the mountain winds continued their endless song, and then Zeramet pulled Levin closer. Close enough that Levin could hear his heartbeat and not even an inch of a gap was left between them.

"Just for today, put them down and focus on this desperate husband who is hungry for his consort."

Levin’s cheeks went pink as he looked up, meeting golden eyes. Eyes that had crossed deserts survived death and fought kingdoms. Yet somehow they always softened whenever they looked at him.

Then Zeramet gently rested his forehead against Levin’s, one that needed no grand words. "Let’s forget everything today, no politics, no emperors, and no wars, only us."

The hut fell silent, peaceful, warm, and safe. And for the first time in a very long while... Levin allowed himself to relax, simply as a consort.

Outside the hut...Iru sat with Asha and Lyresaph beneath a tree. The old eagle stared at the door, then at the sky, and then at the door again.

Finally, he sighed. "Looks like we’re not going back inside anytime soon."

Asha nodded wisely. Lyresaph immediately grabbed a snack and went somewhere inside the healer’s hut...the world and all its troubles were forgotten.

Inside the healer’s hut...the world had become very quiet. The fire crackled softly, golden sunlight filtered through the windows, and for a brief moment...there were only two people who had spent far too long apart.

Zeramet’s golden eyes remained fixed on Levin, unmoving and unwavering. As though he feared looking away would somehow make him disappear again.

Slowly...his hand lifted; warm fingers brushed against Levin’s cheek, then traced downward until his thumb rested gently against Levin’s lips.

The touch was soft, almost reverent, as though touching something precious, something irreplaceable, and something he had nearly lost.

A faint smile appeared on the Zeramet’s face as his voice lowered, warm, deep, and dangerously gentle. "Do you know how much I have held myself since I have seen you again? I cannot explain myself."

Levin immediately looked away, and the serpent king slowly brushed his thumb across Levin’s lips, then softly murmured, "I find myself both thirsty...and starved."

Levin’s face immediately warmed; his hands instinctively rested against Zeramet’s chest. Feeling the steady heartbeat beneath. A heartbeat he had once feared would never beat again.

The realization made something tighten painfully inside him, and then Zeramet stepped closer. Close enough that their breaths mingled and close enough that Levin could feel the warmth surrounding him.

"I am not letting you escape today, Moonflower."

Levin immediately protested weakly, very weakly. "It is daylight."

The argument sounded ridiculous even to his own ears. Zeramet raised an eyebrow. "Is it?"

Levin stared; Zeramet looked completely serious, then slowly a beautiful, dangerous, and unfairly handsome smile appeared.

"There is no day, no night, and no seasons." His forehead gently touched Levin’s; golden eyes softened. "There is only my consort."

Levin’s breath caught; the words were simple, yet somehow they struck harder than any grand declaration.

For a moment...neither moved and neither spoke. The world outside seemed impossibly distant, then Zeramet gently tilted Levin’s chin upward. Not demanding, not possessive, simply asking, and Levin answered by closing the remaining distance himself as their lips finally touched.

The kiss was soft and tender—the kind born not from desire alone, but from longing. Months of separation. Months of worry. Months spent wondering whether they would ever find each other again.

Every unspoken fear seemed to dissolve within that single moment. Levin felt Zeramet’s hand rise to his cheek, as though he needed to reassure himself that he was truly there. That this wasn’t another cruel dream waiting to shatter.

The second kiss lingered longer, and then longer still.

Something shifted; the restraint Zeramet had carried for so long began to crack.

His fingers slid into Levin’s hair as he drew him closer, the distance between them becoming unbearable. The tenderness remained, but beneath it was something deeper—a desperate hunger born from loss, from sleepless nights, from the unbearable possibility that he might never have seen him again.

Months of longing poured into every touch and every kiss seemed to say what words never could.

I missed you... I searched for you... I thought I had lost you.

Zeramet’s composure, so carefully maintained before the world, unraveled piece by piece. He kissed Levin as though he were a serpent finally finding water after wandering a desert for far too long.

Desperate to make up for every stolen day and every empty night. When they finally pulled apart...they both breathed heavily.

Foreheads were still touching, and the silence between them felt comfortable and safe. Then Zeramet smiled.

"There you are."

Levin blinked. "What?"

Zeramet brushed a strand of hair behind Levin’s ear, then quietly answered, "My home and...I am not letting you go off easily today."

Levin looked at him; his cheeks were pink as he said, "As my malik wants."