Farrynelle cleared her throat as her arms folded tightly across her chest. Everyone turned. She jabbed a finger lightly in Adelasta's direction, her voice sharp but not hostile.
"Okay. I have to say something. She talks about not rushing love and pushing things but you got married."
Adelasta didn't even blink. In true Adelasta fashion, she crossed one leg over the other and gave a small, dignified scoff.
"I've been with Vastarael since he was seven. That's over a decade before we went to Erna Isles. I was in training back then and a brat with a bad attitude. Even before I understood what love really was, I knew I would stay with him."
She looked around, making eye contact with each person as she continued.
"When he came back from Erna Isles five years ago, we just picked up where we left off. So technically, I've been in love with him for more than fifteen years."
Her gaze flicked toward Farrynelle now.
"You've been in a relationship for what, seven years? And married for two?"
Farrynelle flushed slightly, biting the inside of her cheek. "Yeah. But—"
"That's not a comparison. It's context."
The room simmered with the quiet intensity of two powerful women airing long-dormant truths. And just as it could've gotten heavier, Vastarael stepped in.
"Farrynelle, you love Xander. I can see it. Everyone can. But love shouldn't be a prison. If you limit him, whether with jealousy, boundaries made from insecurity, or the assumption that you're enough to fulfill every part of him, you're setting both of you up to fall apart."
Farrynelle opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Xander remained silent at her side, looking at her from the corner of his eye with a mix of guilt and affection.
"If Adelasta had prevented me from ever loving anyone else, I'm a hundred percent sure I would have gone for Elyonari eventually despite what she says now. Be it decades or millennia later."
Elyonari didn't even flinch, her hair halfway done in a braid, his hands still weaving through.
"You know I'd let you. You're a lot of work but you're cute."
Vastarael chuckled. "See?"
He looked back to the group.
"When an immortal loves someone, that love is meant to last millennia. We're not mortals. We're not going to die after eighty or ninety years. We're going to live through epochs, generations and even planetary cycles. That's more responsibility. Not less. And if we rush too fast now like get married too early and draw lines we shouldn't cross, lock each other down, then we'll burn out. There will be nothing left to experience together later. That's why I do simple things. Braiding Elyonari's hair. Taking Narisva on a date. Filing documents with Adelasta in our study."
Adelasta actually smiled at that.
"Even in five years, Adelasta and I have only slept together once. Because special moments, real ones, fade faster when you're immortal. When you've got all the time in the world, the little things are what matter most."
Farrynelle and Peroncerea were quiet now, visibly digesting his words.
"And you know, having multiple partners isn't a curse. It's not chaos."
He waved a hand at himself.
"Look at me."
Xander gave a half-laugh. "We do. That's the problem."
Adelasta arched a brow, and Narisva actually snorted. That's when Natalis chimed in, smirking from the corner of the room with Denisia beside her.
"We do look at you, Vastarael. You're literally one of the best-looking men in Spheraphase."
"Objectively fine too," Denisia added, sipping from her wine glass. "Annoyingly so."
"I'm not fine because of my face. I'm fine because I understand the people I love."
He gestured subtly to each woman as he spoke.
"Elyonari doesn't want a clingy romance. She wants someone who hugs her, braids her hair, and says nothing sometimes. Adelasta is a conversationalist. She wants someone to talk politics with, discuss Divinity with. Her version of intimacy is intellectual. Narisva initiates. She's the chaos. She likes setting the pace. All I do is follow her lead. That's how she likes it. Love isn't all about conquering someone. It's about adapting to who they are. And if you can't do that with one partner, then how can you handle eternity?"
The two women were quiet. The silence didn't last long.
"Damn," Denisia said, kicking her legs. "You three look like someone just slapped wisdom across your faces."
Natalis burst into laughter. "Seriously. Did the Love Divinity give you all a reality check?"
Adelasta, now calm again, smiled faintly. "They needed to hear it."
Vastarael shrugged and leaned back, his other braid halfway finished. Elyonari didn't mind. She was glowing in his arms.
"You don't have to be me. You don't have to have multiple lovers. But if you do, learn how to love each one in the way they understand."
He locked eyes with Peroncerea this time.
"And if you're with someone like Eldrigan, be prepared. Because his destiny might not match what you want."
Peroncerea clenched her jaw, clearly hurting.
"And Farrynelle, f you keep trying to restrict Xander to your image of him, then his truth will eventually rebel. And when it does, you'll be the one who breaks.".
The room was calm now. The earlier tension had softened into thoughtfulness. Vastarael leaned forward, still seated beside Elyonari, fingers deftly weaving the last braid into her silver strands. His voice, when it finally returned, was softer than before.
"I didn't learn any of this from a mentor, you know. Not from my parents, not from ancient books or wise monarchs. Everything I know about love, loss, desire, and companionship… I learned the hard way."
His hands stopped moving as he tied off the end of the braid, resting them gently on Elyonari's shoulders.
"I've watched people break apart because they rushed into things. I've seen warriors throw themselves into fire for lovers they barely understood. I've seen friends fall apart because of something as preventable as not talking about their feelings, or worse, hating themselves for loving someone they weren't supposed to. I don't want to see any of you lose what you have… just because no one told you it was okay to feel more than one thing. Or love more than one person. Or be confused by your own heart."
Elyonari's eyes flicked up toward him. She gave a light sigh before leaning back against his chest, her soft voice joining the space between them.
"You know, for elves, it's a little different."
Everyone looked her way.
"Elves can mostly truly love one person at a time. Our soul bonds are incredibly potent. It's why we're so loyal, why betrayal in elven culture is considered one of the worst crimes. But, if we live two or three centuries, which most of us do. we eventually develop space in our hearts again. A kind of... second resonance. It's not that we fall out of love. It's more like… our souls expand. And when that happens, we form Pods."
"Pods?" Farrynelle asked, frowning.
"Yes. Pods are our way of creating emotional balance over centuries. When an elven couple has been together for long enough, and if the bond remains healthy, they open their relationship, sometimes slowly, sometimes with ceremony. It allows both partners to have additional companions without breaking their core bond."
Natalis raised an eyebrow. "So... like shared polyamory?"
"Yes but much more spiritual. We don't just open the bond sexually. There's a recognition. Each new partner has to resonate with the original couple's emotional frequency."
Denisia blinked. "Wait, what?"
"It's like… a tuning fork. If the third or fourth person doesn't align with the harmony already present, the bond frays. The pod falls apart. It's all emotional chemistry."
There was a quiet fascination now in the room. Elyonari leaned her head against Vastarael's chest without shame, clearly enjoying the comfort.
"Pods usually begin with two or three members. The husband might have another wife. The wife might have another husband or two. Sometimes, the new partners become partners with each other too, especially if they're bisexual. That's actually quite common in elven society. Except in my case. I'm not bisexual."
"Nope, she's not," Vastarael echoed, a teasing smile playing on his lips.
"But Phaenora is," Adelasta said from across the room, stretching her arms lazily. "She's… very bisexual."
"Very," Vastarael confirmed with a chuckle.
Elyonari turned her head to look at the others again.
"The thing about Pods is… they support each other. We don't just tolerate our partners loving someone else. We help them love better."
"What do you mean?" Peroncerea asked slowly.
"I mean they step in. They tell them when they're overexerting. They remind each other to rest. They listen when their hearts hurt. They encourage each other when they fall behind. It's not competition. It's cooperation."
She gestured between herself, Adelasta, and Narisva.
"We want each other to be happy. That's how it works. That's how it should work. If you can't even hold hands in front of your friends, if you can't talk about your affection out loud, how can you possibly expect to handle it behind closed doors?"
There was silence again but it wasn't awkward. It was… the silence of understanding. Of seeing something clearly for the first time.
"Pods sound… beautiful," Farrynelle finally whispered.
"They are, but they're not easy. They take work, communication, emotional maturity, trust and a deep, deep understanding of yourself."
"I'm still working on that last one," Vastarael murmured, rubbing the back of his head.
"Obviously," Narisva said, her smirk sharp.
"You're doing fine," Adelasta said, her voice a little softer. "Better than most."
"I think you all are," Elyonari added. "The fact that we're even talking about this… that's already more than what most immortals do for the first few hundred years of their lives."
"I still think it's a little crazy," Peroncerea muttered. "Letting your partner love someone else."
"Maybe," Elyonari said, "but you don't really let someone love. They either do… or they don't. Love isn't permission. It's existence."
Vastarael's eyes glimmered with something soft at that. He leaned down and gently rested his chin on Elyonari's head.
"Exactly."