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There were advantages to walking one's own feast rather than watching it from afar.

Shēnléi had spent much of the evening moving between clusters of guests, accepting congratulations, offering welcome, and quietly committing unfamiliar scents and faces to memory. Verdant's Grace seemed alive beneath the celebration. Song rolled through the gathering in uneven waves, laughter following close behind; the scent of warm prey, crushed herbs, sweet fruit, and fermented berries clung heavily to the night air.

It was a good evening.

One meant for merriment rather than suspicion.

Still, an Emperor did not cease being an Emperor merely because he had taken another wife.

Elysium.

The name caught his attention before the wolves themselves did.

His pace slowed.

Shēnléi knew little of the northern pack beyond what had reached his ears through others. During the long journey he and Yuè had once made beyond Tianlong's borders, Elysium had occasionally surfaced in conversation—a name carried between travelers and neighboring packs, spoken often enough to be remembered but never closely enough to be understood.

They had never gone there.

More importantly, Shēnléi distinctly remembered that no invitation bearing Tianlong's welcome had been sent northward to them.

His bronze gaze found the pair soon enough.

The smaller woman was difficult to miss despite her stature, bright with laughter and enthusiasm, her muzzle already stained by fermented berries. Beside her stood a much taller male who appeared as though he wished the earth might open beneath his paws and spare him whatever conversation his mother intended to inflict upon him.

You will represent Elysium one day.

That earned the younger wolf a second look.

Interesting.

Shēnléi lingered for another heartbeat, listening without making his scrutiny obvious. A presumptuous arrival did not necessarily make an enemy. Perhaps they were merely bold. Perhaps foolish. Perhaps northern hospitality operated differently than Tianlong's own.

Character revealed itself quickly when a wolf believed no one important was watching.

Then came the younger male's whisper.

Do you think the Emperor was displeased that we showed up to his wedding uninvited?

Shēnléi's ear turned.

At least one of them understood the impropriety.

If I were displeased, came the low voice behind them, calm as distant thunder, you would not be left wondering.

He stepped into their company then.

There was no hostility in the Emperor's posture. His shoulders remained loose beneath his dark coat, tail resting easily behind him, and the bronze of his eyes carried measured curiosity rather than rebuke.

Today was not a day he intended to sour over breached etiquette.

His gaze passed between them once.

You have caught me somewhat unawares.

A faint pause.

I have heard Elysium's name carried upon many tongues. When my Empress and I traveled beyond Tianlong, your lands were spoken of more than once.

His muzzle tipped slightly in acknowledgement.

Though I confess, I do not recall extending an invitation so far north. It was not stated as an accusation, but merely fact.

The silence that followed was brief, allowed just long enough to make clear that Shēnléi had noticed their... peculiar arrival.

Shēnléi inclined his head formally to the pair.

So perhaps we begin properly by exchangingones name?

His bronze eyes settled first upon the smaller woman, then the younger male beside her.

I am Emperor Shēnléi of Tianlong. Whom do I have the lovely pleasure of meeting?

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