Chapter 277: When Fate Returned Too Late
[Silthara Palace — Eastern Hallway — Continuation]
Silence.
The corridor seemed to lose all sound; even the distant footsteps of the palace servants had disappeared. Only one name remained suspended between them.
Naburash.
Raviel stood utterly motionless; his eyes had widened, not with recognition...not yet but with something far more dangerous.
Hope, and then his voice came out almost inaudibly. "...Did you...just say...Naburash?"
Arkhazunn froze. Varesh slowly looked from Raviel and then to the High Mage. Neither of them understood why Raviel’s expression had changed so completely.
Raviel took one slow step forward; his voice remained controlled...too controlled. "...High Mage. Where...did you hear that name?"
Arkhazunn frowned slightly. "...You know someone called Naburash?"
Silence.
Raviel’s fingers slowly curled beneath his sleeves. For a long moment...he simply stared at Arkhazunn. Then...very quietly...he answered, and his voice had become almost fragile. "...Yes. I knew someone by that name."
Varesh frowned. "...A childhood friend?"
Silence.
A faint...almost painfully gentle smile appeared upon Raviel’s face; he slowly lowered his eyes. "No...he was my mate, the mate I have been searching for."
The corridor froze.
Arkhazunn’s eyes widened. Varesh looked sharply toward Raviel. "...Your mate?"
Raviel nodded; there was no bitterness in his eyes, only years...years of waiting, years of searching, and years of hoping.
"I searched every caravan, every border, every temple. I asked merchants... I asked soldiers... I even questioned pilgrims crossing the desert."
He smiled weakly.
"...No one had ever heard his name." His breathing became uneven. "So...tell me. Is it truly him? Is...is that serpent...my Naburash?"
Silence.
Arkhazunn slowly closed his eyes. For perhaps the first time in decades...he wished he had never learned the truth. Varesh quietly looked away.
Neither of them knew how to answer; finally...Arkhazunn spoke.
"...Yes."
One word, nothing more. Raviel stopped breathing for several heartbeats...he simply stood there. Then...a smile slowly appeared, small and disbelieving. His eyes immediately filled with tears as he laughed softly through those tears.
"He...he’s alive...My mate, he’s alive."
His hands trembled; he covered his mouth. As though trying to stop himself from smiling too much. "I...Lord Urzan...you finally answered me."
The smile upon Arkhazunn’s face never came. Instead...he quietly lowered his gaze. "...Raviel."
The happiness immediately faded. "...There is something else."
Silence.
Raviel slowly looked back at him. "...What is it?"
Arkhazunn struggled to find the words. "He is...currently imprisoned within the Imperial Dungeon."
Raviel frowned. "...Imprisoned? Why?"
Neither Arkhazunn...nor Varesh answered. Raviel looked between them; his heartbeat slowly quickened.
"...What happened?"
Another unbearable silence, finally...Varesh spoke quietly. "...He was convicted of treason against the Crown."
Everything stopped. Raviel’s smile disappeared. "...No, that...that cannot be. My Naburash...he would never...he..."
He stopped, because the truth was...he did not know. They had only shared one night, and he marked him. The next morning...everything has changed.
Raviel had spent years loving a memory...not a man. Silence. His breathing became uneven.
Then...very quietly...
"May I..." He swallowed. "...May I see him?"
Arkhazunn looked toward Varesh. Varesh nodded once. "...Come."
Arkhazunn stared at them disappearing towards the imperial dungeon when Arkhazunn mumbled, "You’ve finally found your husband, Naburash...I hope it’s not too late to be with him. I hope Malika forgives your sins."
***
[Imperial Dungeon — Later]
The air beneath Silthara Palace remained cold and heavy. The scent of damp stone and rust lingered throughout the endless corridors. Iron doors stretched into darkness. Ancient sealing arrays glowed faintly beneath the floor.
Varesh walked ahead carrying a lantern; behind him...Raviel followed in silence. Neither spoke. The only sound was the echo of their footsteps.
Eventually...they stopped. Varesh quietly unlocked one final iron gate.
Creeeeeeak...
The door slowly opened. Inside...a lone figure sat against the cold stone wall; he had become painfully thin. Far thinner than any serpent should ever be. His hair had lost its shine, his lips had turned pale, and old scars crossed his arms.
Fresh lashes still marked his back beneath the torn prison robes. Chains rested around both wrists.
Yet...his posture remained strangely calm as the prisoner slowly lifted his head.
"...Captain." His voice had grown hoarse. "I was wondering...when someone would finally remember I was still alive."
His eyes drifted past Varesh, toward the unfamiliar serpent standing behind him, and he frowned slightly.
"...And who...might this be?"
Raviel forgot how to breathe. Years.
Years of searching, years of empty roads, and years of unanswered prayers. All ended...within this single prison cell.
He stared, unable to move and unable to speak. The face had changed; time...pain...and imprisonment had stolen much from the serpent before him.
Yet...Raviel recognized him immediately.
"...Naburash..."
The name escaped like a prayer. Naburash blinked as confusion crossed his face; he slowly studied Raviel, searching and trying to remember. For some reason...his heart suddenly tightened; he did not know this serpent, and he was certain he did not.
And yet...looking into those eyes...he felt something ancient stir deep within his soul, a pull, a warmth, and an ache he could not explain.
"...Have..." Naburash frowned. "...Have we met before?"
Silence.
Raviel’s eyes overflowed; he smiled through tears that refused to stop falling. "...Yes, only once when we were just married."
Naburash’s breathing stopped; his pale eyes slowly widened.
"...Raviel..." The name escaped his lips like a forgotten prayer; his chained hands trembled violently. "...My...my mate..."
For several long moments...he simply stared. As though afraid that if he blinked...the man standing before him would disappear like every dream he had chased for years, his lips quivered.
"...You’re...You’re truly alive..." His knees weakened beneath him. "I knew...I knew fate would not be so cruel. I knew my husband had not abandoned me. I knew..."
His eyes overflowed.
"...I would find you one day."
Outside the cell...Varesh quietly lowered his gaze; without another word, he turned away. "I shall leave now."
The captain’s footsteps gradually disappeared into the corridor, leaving only a husband and the mate he had spent half his life searching for.
Silence embraced the dungeon.
Naburash slowly approached the iron bars; every movement looked painful. His body had become frighteningly thin. Old lash marks crossed his wrists; fresh bruises stained his neck.
Yet...none of those wounds compared to the ache within his eyes.
"...Raviel..." He smiled weakly. "I dreamed of this day so many times. I thought...perhaps I had forgotten your face, but...the soul never forgets its mate."
He slowly reached toward the bars; his fingertips stopped just short of Raviel’s hand, almost afraid...afraid he had no right to touch him anymore.
Then—
"...Why? Why are you in this state?"
Raviel asked quietly; the single word cut deeper than any sword.
Silence.
Naburash lowered his eyes, and the smile disappeared, and Raveil repeated, "...Why did you commit treason?"
The dungeon became unbearably quiet; only the distant dripping of water echoed through the darkness. Naburash slowly leaned his forehead against the cold iron bars.
"...Because..." His voice sounded hollow. "...I was a fool. The previous Malik promised me. If I served the Crown faithfully...If I became useful...If I proved my loyalty...he would help me find you."
A bitter laugh escaped him.
"I believed him. I waited, but he was killed by Malik Zeramet, and I could find nothing, no news and no answers. But I never gave up; I searched alone."
His breathing became uneven; his expression darkened with regret.
"Then...the Black Serpent Emperor found me. He knew everything; he knew your name, he knew we had been separated, and he looked into my eyes...and said the words I had spent years praying to hear."
Naburash slowly opened his eyes.
"’Your mate is alive.’" Raviel’s heart tightened. "’Serve me...and I shall reunite you with him.’"
Silence.
"I believed him." His shoulders trembled. "I believed every lie. I convinced myself...that if staining my own hands would allow me to see you again...then perhaps Lord Urzan would forgive me afterward."
He laughed once; the sound carried no happiness, only despair.
"But by the time I realized I had been deceived..." His gaze slowly drifted toward his own shackled wrists. "...my hands were already covered in unforgivable sins."
Silence.
Raviel stared at him, not at the prisoner, not at the traitor only...at the serpent who had destroyed himself chasing the promise of one reunion. Slowly his hand reached through the iron bars, and his trembling fingers gently cupped Naburash’s cheek.
The skin felt cold...too cold.
"...I apologize," Raviel whispered. "Please forgive this husband of yours, Naburash. It happened all because I wasn’t with you."
Naburash looked up, confused. "You...should never apologize."
But Raviel slowly shook his head. "I left. I should have searched for you sooner. I should have questioned every kingdom. I should have refused to believe everyone who told me...that my mate had abandoned me."
A tear escaped him.
"I left you alone."
Naburash immediately covered Raviel’s hand with both of his chained ones; his smile returned, gentle and warm. "No. You gave me something...that carried me through every lonely night."
Raviel frowned. Naburash’s eyes softened.
"Hope." He rested his forehead against Raviel’s hand. "As long as I believed you were alive...I could endure anything."
Another silence settled between them.
Then...Naburash smiled once more. "...Lord Urzan has been merciful. I found you...before my final day."
The words struck like lightning. Raviel stiffened as his voice barely emerged. "Final...What do you mean..."
Naburash looked away.
"My body cannot take more. Death will not be delayed forever. I harmed the Malika...I endangered the child he carried...I became the reason innocent lives were lost."
His smile became painfully peaceful.
"I deserve whatever judgment awaits me."
Raviel’s eyes widened. "No."
"I do."
"No."
"I do, Raviel." He gently squeezed Raviel’s hand as his eyes shone with gratitude. "But...I can finally die knowing my mate never abandoned me."
Silence.
Raviel slowly pulled his hand free; his expression changed. The grief disappeared; determination replaced it.
"...What about me?"
Naburash blinked. Raviel stepped closer until only the bars separated them. "What am I supposed to do...after finding you? Spend another lifetime mourning? Stand before your grave...knowing I found you only to lose you again?"
He shook his head firmly as his eyes burned with resolve. "No...never. I searched for you for half my life. I shall not lose you...the very day I found you."
Naburash smiled sadly. "...The Malika...will never forgive me."
Raviel interrupted immediately. "Then I shall beg. If begging is not enough...I shall kneel. If kneeling is not enough...I shall remain before the throne until my knees break."
He placed one hand over his own heart.
"I will ask for mercy, not because your sins are small...but because I refuse to spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been."
Naburash slowly closed his eyes; fresh tears escaped despite himself. "...You are...far kinder than I deserve."
Raviel smiled through tears. "Perhaps, but I am still...your husband."
He turned without another word, and without another hesitation, he ran. His footsteps echoed through the endless dungeon, toward the palace, toward the Malika’s residence and toward the only human who now held his mate’s fate within his hands.
Behind him...Naburash remained kneeling before the iron bars, watching until the footsteps faded. Then...for the first time since entering the dungeon...he allowed himself to cry.
"I do not deserve him...I do not wish him to spend his life with me. Please...Lord Urzan, take my breath away; let my mate be free of me. I beg you, Lord Urzan...please...."
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