The white silk curtains trembled in the embrace of a biting winter wind, their delicate folds dancing like specters against the dim glow of candlelight. A hush draped over the chamber, thick with anticipation, as the gathered officials stood rigid at the threshold, their breaths held in unspoken reverence.
'You have been asleep for three days,'
Noah's words repeated in Cathain's mind. The scent of crushed herbs lingered in the air, intertwined with the sharp bite of winter, and the rhythmic crackling of burning wood in the corner did little to warm the cold tension suffocating the room.
Whispers threatened to unravel at the lips of courtiers, hands folded before them—some in worry, others in calculation as the emperor broke their hug and kissed Cathain's forehead.
The emperor's world had unraveled the instant he watched Cathain suddenly crumple to the ground, his body limp, his breath stolen by some unseen force— he wouldn't wake up no matter how many times he called him.
