Night had fallen, but it wasn't like the kind that cloaked the world in oppressive blackness. Instead, it was a celestial canvas painted with soft strokes of violet and blue auroras, swaying and shifting across the night sky. The three moons cut through the air with a silver clarity that made the ocean shimmer like starlight itself had fallen onto the waves. Eldrigan sat cross-legged at the edge of the deck as his eyes scanned the horizon without much movement. He wasn't particularly tense but he still took his role seriously. After everything they'd been through these past two days, it felt like resting was a gift he didn't quite have the right to indulge in yet.
That's when he heard the soft footsteps behind him.
"I assume you're awake."
Eldrigan didn't turn immediately, but the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"If I wasn't, you'd have scared me into enlightenment."
Peroncerea gave a small laugh and stepped closer, her boots silent against the wood of the deck. She lowered herself down next to him, stretching her legs forward and leaning back on her hands, eyes fixed upward. They sat in silence for a moment, both watching the sky above them.
"The sky doesn't look like this in Wisterix," she said finally, her voice quieter now. "Too many storms. Too much... war. You forget how quiet the world can be until you leave it."
Eldrigan nodded once. "Hanabas doesn't have much sky to look at either. It's always raining, cloudy or too misty to see anything clearly. But out here, you start to realize the stars were always watching. We just didn't look up enough."
Peroncerea hummed in agreement, then glanced sideways at him.
"So tell me more about this 'Eldritch bride' your mother apparently found for you. You never really explained."
Eldrigan exhaled with a half-smirk, finally turning to meet her gaze.
"Well, my mother's been in a cosmic debt for a few millennia. Something about saving herself from absolute corruption. The Outer God saved her. And in return, they asked for something in exchange and that something turned out to be me."
"You? As in you, the Dynasty Monarch of Hanabas?"
"Unfortunately. Apparently, I'm good trade value. So, they arranged a pact for me to marry a daughter from the Outer side. Very polite. We've exchanged maybe four words and now we're engaged."
"Let me guess. Your mother expects you to just go along with it."
Eldrigan tilted his head, not in complaint, but with that quiet resignation he wore so well.
"I mean, can I really say no to someone who's willing to marry me even after knowing what I am? I'm not exactly the most emotionally available person. And she's... beautiful in a horrifying, 'I might eat your soul accidentally' kind of way."
Peroncerea burst into a soft laugh, not mocking, but more amused than anything else.
"That's... quite the love story."
He looked at her then, and his voice turned quieter.
"But to be honest, Vastarael was right. We do need to work on us. I've been acting like I'm doing you a favor being in this relationship, when in truth, I've been too scared to admit how important it is to me. You've been patient, always sharp, always understanding but I've been... hesitant. I let my duty consume me. Being a Monarch means everything has to be perfect. But you're chaos, Peroncerea. Not in a bad way... just in the kind that reminds me I'm alive."
She stared at him for a long moment. Her eyes softened with an almost misty quality to them.
"A Demoness and an Outer Demigod sounds like the beginning of a cosmic joke."
"And that's coming from someone who has three different races wrapped around Vastarael's finger. I mean the guy's married to an Aeterium, dates a Celestial descendant and probably shares emotional romantic time with an elf who talks to trees."
Peroncerea laughed again, gently bumping his shoulder with hers.
"I guess if he can juggle that and not combust from overload, we'll be fine."
"Yeah. I'll hang out with him more. I will let him coach me through this polyamory mess. Might as well get advice from someone who's keeping up with three literal powerhouses and still has enough energy to fight ocean monsters."
There was another pause, a comfortable one, and then he glanced at her with just the faintest smirk.
"So uh... will you accept the Eldritch bride? Or should I start writing my will?"
Peroncerea stretched her arms over her head, letting the wind blow through her dark hair, before resting her hands back on the deck. She then grinned, her fangs glinting.
"You'll die if you refuse her, Eldrigan. I'm not even being dramatic. If she doesn't kill you, your mother will. And if they don't, her godfather might erase your name from every existence you've ever stepped into. So no. I won't kill you. But if she hurts you, I'll do a lot more than kill her."
Their lips met. She leaned into him, one hand curling lightly against his chest, his fingers brushing the back of her neck. The kiss deepened with every second. It was warm, electrifying, and utterly consuming. They didn't speak for a while. Words were no longer necessary.
Before long, they found themselves on the deck, their limbs tangled and their breaths uneven. Her back hit the wooden planks and he hovered above her, his long dark hair falling forward. But before things could go further, she placed her palm gently on his chest, her eyes locking onto his with a teasing glint.
"If we keep going, we're going to wake up half the ship."
Eldrigan groaned lightly, pulling back just enough to catch his breath, his forehead resting against hers.
"Yeah… good point. Controlling ourselves might be a good idea."
He sat up slowly, brushing a hand through his hair, still flushed from the heat between them.
"Honestly, I don't know how Vastarael managed to live with Adelasta for five years without losing his mind. That woman's... well, you know."
Peroncerea agreed, a wicked smile pulling at her lips. She sat up too, hugging her knees to her chest, her voice lowering into something darker and more playful.
"Adelasta is terrifyingly beautiful, yes. Cold, composed, a bit too calm, but let's not pretend she isn't basically a walking fantasy. Honestly, even I think she's hot. And don't get me started on Narisva and Elyonari. I mean, really? Elyonari's got that quiet, divine mother-of-nature thing going on and those hips? Please. Narisva's even worse. That confidence? That apathy? She'd tell you to shut up and then ruin your entire bloodline just to prove she could."
Eldrigan stared at her. "You've thought about this a lot."
"What, you think I haven't fantasized? I'm a Royal Succubus, darling. If anyone's got an overactive imagination paired with zero filter, it's me."
"You're insane."
"Hey you chose me. You knew what you were getting into."
He shook his head slowly, his lips curling upward. "You're a demon, alright."
"We're driven by instincts. Evil thoughts usually come first. It's how we're made. But I've been trying to be better and be more than what my kind is known for."
Eldrigan placed an arm around her, pulling her in close, resting his cheek against the crown of her head.
"You're already more. You didn't need to change for me. I just needed to catch up."
She didn't respond right away, just exhaled quietly. They sat there, together in silence for a while. Ten minutes passed and before they knew it, the gentle sway of the ship and the warmth of each other's presence lulled them into a peaceful sleep.