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“Oleander?” Her voice brushed across his skin like a falling petal, barely there and impossibly tender, soothing him in a way nothing else ever had. The sound of it seemed to find every restless place inside him, wrapping him in a quiet, aching warmth. In that single word, spoken so gently, there was comfort and devotion, a softness that made the world feel distant and safe all at once.

He moved towards her and she held up her covers for him to crawl in next to her. Perine wrapped herself around him, pulling him so close to her that he could feel her heartbeat next to his. The places where their skin touched should have felt electrifying, but only filled him with deep worry at how cold she was.

“Actually,” she said into his neck. “We might need to switch sides. Today has been particularly filled with vomiting and my bucket is next to the bed.”

He rolled her over until she was aligned with the edge and asked, “Have you eaten anything? Can I get you some tea to warm you up?”

“Yes, in a moment.” She nuzzled deeper into him. “First, I just need you to hold me.”

He let out a deep, bone-weary sigh and felt himself relax into her. “How are you so ill?”

“Oh! I was—look you’re not going to be happy when I tell you, so just know the gorgons have reprimanded me enough for a lifetime. But I created the potion you and I had been working on—”

“You created it?” he cut in. “By yourself?”

“Yes, now be quiet and let me finish. I then combined it with—yes, I know!—another potion and well… I took them both until my body crashed and then now it appears I’m going through something like magical poisoning of sorts.”

“Perine Wilder!” He huffed out a small, incredulous laugh. “I can’t believe you, the most cautious demoness I’ve ever met, would—”

“I just told you not to judge me,” she murmured grumpily.

“Fine,” he said with a grin, pulling her somehow even tighter to himself. “But you’re alright now?”

“Now that you’re here I’m perfect,” she said grinning back at him.

Then, to prove her point, she leaned over the edge of the bed and retched into the bucket nearby. He rubbed her back and held her curls away from her face until she was done. She grabbed a towel from a nearby pile and cleaned herself with it. “The best thing the gorgons ever did was enchant this bucket to empty the moment it’s filled. Then I have these steamed towels to clean myself. I haven’t had to leave this bed for more than a bath or the toilet.”

“Do you want to bathe now?” he asked, ready to sweep her up into a bathtub at that very instant.

She’d lain back onto her pillow with her eyes closed, but a wry grin pulled at her lips. “Are you saying I stink?”

“Never!” he promised with a laugh.

She cracked an eye open. “I think I might need to eat, actually.”

The words had barely left her mouth before Oleander was bounding out of her room, running to the kitchen to help the gorgons prepare a tray filled with all the foods Perine might be able to keep down. He returned with Moe who followed him, carrying a teapot with ginger honey tea steeping in it alongside two magenta teacups.

He sipped his tea and made sure she got down most of her broth before he glanced sidelong at her, indulging in a bit of needling. “So…” he began jovially. “I heard a rumour that you gouged an eye out.”

“That might be true.” A soft grin pulled at her lips.

“Fuck me, when did you grow so vicious?”

“He’ll be fine.” Perine said primly between spoonfuls of broth. “The other one is still fully intact.”

He turned towards her, and the last trace of humour slipped from his face like a mask gently set aside. What remained was quieter, heavier—an honesty that seemed to draw the air closer between them. His eyes searched hers, no longer dancing, but steady now, as if he had reached the edge of something he could no longer joke his way around. “Are you—did he hurt you?”

Her spoon was halfway to her mouth as she froze. Closing her eyes, she gently laid it back in the bowl. She gave a brief nod, before taking in a shaky breath. Her eyes opened and landed on him with such weighted pain it was like being pulled underwater. “Yes,” she whispered, “And then I had to leave my family. I don’t know if I’ll ever see Sia again and I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

Tears filled her eyes and she fought very hard not to let them slip out. Her lips trembled and he gently took the bowl from her, setting it on the table nearby. “I can’t imagine how awful that must have been.”

“I’m—” She choked back a sob and he pulled her onto his lap. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“I don’t want to be alone either,” he said into her curls.

“Then let’s stay together,” she said, her voice rough with feeling, as if the words had been pulled straight from her chest. She leaned into him, tucking her face into the warm hollow of his neck, breathing him in like something she needed to survive.

“You should know,” she murmured softly, the edge of a vow in her tone. “I think you belong to me. You’re mine, Oleander, and I’m never letting you go.”