[Silthara Palace — Malik's Office — Early Morning]
Morning had barely settled over Silthara when Arkhazunn entered the Malik's office.
Zeramet stood by the western window with one hand clasped behind his back and the other resting against the stone ledge, his golden eyes fixed on the waking palace below.
Arkhazunn did not waste time on formalities. "I found something."
Zeramet turned at once, not sharply and not dramatically.
But Arkhazunn had known him long enough to recognize the tension hidden beneath that stillness. One sleepless night, perhaps two. A mind already too full. A temper balanced on the edge of restraint.
"What is it?" Zeramet asked.
"I searched every sealed record my family kept from Malik Saqira's reign," he said. "Every scroll related to celestial stones, time-linked relics, royal gifts, restricted artifacts, and old enchantment records."
Zeramet's eyes narrowed. "And?"
"And there is almost nothing."
Silence.
Zeramet stared at him. "Nothing?"
