Peroncerea woke earlier than usual on the seventy-first day of the Second Epoch Cycle. Under normal circumstances, waking up had never been a problem for her but the last seventy days have not been normal. She was in the honeymoon phase and even thinking about it made her sigh quietly.
Her body shifted beneath the sheets, still carrying the lingering warmth of the night before. Her hand moved instinctively across the space beside her. That single realization heightened her awareness immediately.
Peroncerea turned her head, He wasn't there and that was enough to bother her. It wasn't because she doubted him, but because even absence started to feel wrong.
When the door opened, Eldrigan stepped in without urgency, as composed as ever, holding a tray with both hands as if this was something he had already done countless times.
"Breakfast time."
Peroncerea exhaled quietly, pulling the sheets up over herself out of instinct. After everything that had happened between them the previous night, modesty was almost meaningless, but habits like that didn't disappear overnight.
"Thank you."
Her voice was softer than it used to be. That alone would have been enough to unsettle anyone who knew her before.
Eldrigan placed the tray carefully in front of her and she adjusted herself slightly, keeping the sheets wrapped around her as she began to eat. The first bite made her pause, just for a second.
It wasn't perfect but it was enough. Peroncerea already knew where he had learned.
Eldrigan didn't always know how to cook. That much was obvious. His skill wasn't something he carried from the past but something he had picked up more recently, shaped by a very specific influence.
During their one-year stay on Nyramith Island, Eldrigan had spent a significant amount of time with Veneri. It wasn't just training, though that had been a major part of it. It was proximity and exposure to someone who operated on an entirely different level. Veneri simply did things and people learned by surviving around him.
Cooking had been one of those things.
Somewhere between training sessions, battles and everything else that came with that year, Eldrigan had picked it up slowly at first, then with growing consistency, until he could manage something like this.
It wasn't the best but it was better than before. Peroncerea took another bite before speaking.
"It's been seventy days. It doesn't feel like it."
Eldrigan didn't hesitate.
"That's because it isn't. Well, not to us anymore. We're at the Seventh Enlightenment now. Immortality is settling in. Time feels shorter now."
Peroncerea lowered her gaze slightly, considering that. She could feel the way time had started behaving differently without the same resistance it used to have.
She exhaled softly before looking back at him.
"What are we doing today?"
"We're investigating the Krepsuna activity around Asphodel."
Peroncerea nodded once before glancing back at the tray, then at him.
"You're not eating?"
"I'm fine."
Her eyes narrowed slightly at that.
"You still need to."
He didn't respond immediately.
"Like Veneri said, eating isn't about necessity anymore. It's about feeling normal. It fosters care and emotion."
"You really remember everything he says."
Peroncerea didn't deny it.
"If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here."
There was no exaggeration in that statement.
"He endured things most wouldn't survive and he still stands above it. He helped you reach the next Enlightenment and trained you for a year. We watched you survive a Sixth Enlightenment Divine. He's done more than enough. He's a good person."
That wasn't said lightly. Peroncerea didn't praise people without reason.
"It might be strange to say this but I idolize him."
Eldrigan watched her for a moment before speaking.
"That so?"
Peroncerea let out a quiet chuckle.
"It doesn't change anything. You're the one I chose. I'm not going to forget that."
"And you think I'd let you?"
Peroncerea's fingers shifted slightly against the sheets, not pulling away as his hand reached out, brushing gently against hers. The contact was light but it carried more weight than anything else.
"You idolize him too."
Eldrigan paused, then nodded once.
"I do."
His thumb moved slightly against her hand. Peroncerea didn't move away. Instead, she leaned forward as she closed the distance between them. Her free hand came to rest lightly against his arm. Her forehead brushed faintly against his shoulder. Eldrigan was still for a moment before his other hand rested gently against her back, pulling her just a little closer without force.
Peroncerea let out a soft breath as she spoke again.
"You should eat."
"You're not letting that go, are you?"
"No."
That earned a faint smile from him as he finally reached for the tray, taking a small portion for himself. That seemed to satisfy her.
The quiet didn't last.
The door opened again without warning and hesitation. Whoever it was didn't knock, didn't announce themselves and didn't care about the atmosphere that had been carefully built in the room just moments ago.
"Mind if I have some?"
Peroncerea didn't even need to turn her head. A slow, irritated breath left her as she glanced toward the source to show exactly how she felt about this interruption.
"Qalis."
Before Peroncerea could even respond, Qalis had already crossed the room, already reached the tray and taken a portion of the food like it belonged to her. Peroncerea groaned softly, letting her head tilt back slightly against the pillow.
"Why are you always like this?"
Qalis shrugged mid-bite, completely unfazed.
"I'm his wife too. And I've been the one actually working. Tracking Krepsunas isn't exactly easy. I need to eat."
Eldrigan didn't look surprised. If anything, he looked used to it. He reached out without much thought and placed his hand on Qalis' head, giving her a light pat.
"Good work."
Qalis paused for half a second, then clicked her tongue softly.
"I'm not a child you know. But I'll accept it."
Peroncerea watched the interaction in silence, She didn't hate Qalis but she didn't like her either. Qalis had been there first. She was the original wife, the one who had already built something with Eldrigan long before Peroncerea entered the picture. By all logical standards, this should have been her space and yet, she accepted the structure of what they were.
A polycule relationship wasn't foreign to her. If anything, it was familiar territory. Demonic relationships rarely followed rigid structures and as a Succubus, Peroncerea's understanding of intimacy had always leaned more toward desire and more physical romance than emotional.
Romance, in the traditional sense, had never been her priority. It still wasn't and yet her gaze lingered for a second too long on the way Eldrigan's hand rested on Qalis' head and how she leaned into it before pulling back like it didn't matter.
Qalis was was blunt and unapologetic in how she expressed what she felt. There was no restraint in her affection or any hesitation in the way she moved around Eldrigan. Watching them now, there was a quiet, inconvenient thought that slipped through her mind that she didn't bother voicing.
Qalis reminded her of Phaenora.
She knew Veneri is in a polyamory relationship with multiple women and that wasn't anything unusual. But the difference was so painfully obvious to anyone who paid attention, even for a moment. He treasured Phaenora more and he didn't hide it. It was not in a way that diminished the others but in a way that made it clear she held a different kind of place in his existence. Qalis had that same energy and Eldrigan responded to it.
Peroncerea's fingers tightened slightly against the sheets before relaxing again. She took another bite of her food, slower this time, grounding herself back into the moment.
Eldrigan loved both of them. There was no doubt in that. However, love didn't always look the same and that was fine. Still .a small, quiet part of her wondered what it would feel like if he treated her like that too.
Qalis swallowed her food and leaned back slightly, stretching like she hadn't just inserted herself into the moment at all.
"I found it, by the way."
That pulled Peroncerea's attention back immediately.
"The Krepsuna hideout is hidden underground."
"Location?"
"I can guide you. It's not far from the lower sectors of Asphodel. They've been masking their presence well but they're there. We could wipe them out now before it escalates. We can save time before the Second Krepsuna War even starts properly. I've mapped entry points, weak zones and patrol rotations. If we strike fast and clean, they won't have time to respond."
Peroncerea listened, then set her utensil down.
"That's good and all, but we're not doing that yet. We need to talk to the Reniatsus first. This is their realm. If we move without acknowledgment, it'll look like we're working with the Krepsunas instead of against them."
Qalis clicked her tongue softly.
"The ruler might be hostile."
Peroncerea didn't flinch.
"We're at the Seventh Enlightenment. We can handle hostility."
Qalis shook her head slightly.
"This isn't about power, Peroncerea. If we don't strike now, more forces will come. We will lose the advantage."
Eldrigan spoke before Peroncerea could respond.
"It's better to talk to the Reniatsus first."
Qalis turned to him immediately.
"Why are you always on her side?"
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"I'm really not."
The denial was calm, but it didn't soften anything. Qalis stared at him for a second longer before exhaling sharply.
"Whatever."
She vanished. The room fell quiet again, but it wasn't the same kind of quiet as before. Eldrigan sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I'll talk to her. Get ready to see the Reniatsus."