SEEING SERA AFTER SO many years was strange enough as it was. Hearing that she knew where the Grail was, however, made his head spin enough to make him stumble.

"How the hell do you know where it is?" he asked.

"Because I hid it." She motioned to the cave. "You're right, it was here before, but I put it somewhere else. Too many people started to figure it out."

"But if you were the one to hide it, you knew where it was in the first place. How?"

"Same as you," she answered, but she didn't look so sure. There was something she didn't want to tell them.

Kit crossed his arms. "Listen, Sera, I know you're really into keeping secrets but if you expect us to just believe you you're going to have to be honest about a few things so we know we can trust you. Don't lie to me."

If she would keep his own son a secret from him, he had no doubt in his mind that she would hide more, even if it was important.

"I can't tell you any more than this, Connor can't know," she said. "He can see you sometimes and I don't know how but I don't want him to hear more than this. I'm sorry but you'll just have to trust me."

Connor could see him? Of course he could. That would explain how he found him in the middle of the sea, and their stay in the Seelie dungeons surely stunted their pursuit.

Kit took a deep breath, searching his companions for an answer. Giselle and Selene looked hopeful, Chalice still looked confused, and Eurion... well, she just looked like she was checking Sera out. Lionel was attached to his mother's hip still, and Morgana was glaring at Kit with a fury he didn't understand. Why did he look so angry?

"Fine," he said. "I'm only trusting you because the kid gonna hate me if I don't."

His eyes settled on Lionel, watching Sera brush her fingers through his hair. It was becoming obvious that the boy was miserable without her, and Kit wished he knew how to fix it. He didn't expect the elusive woman to stick around for very long, and when she left, he didn't want his son to hurt again. But how the hell would he do that?

"Follow me, then. We need to leave these mountains before we get ambushed by someone else. This place is well-protected, and for good reason," Sera said. "We'll find somewhere to camp when we get out of here."

And so they did. Despite the pain in their legs and the exhaustion taking them over, they traveled well into the night. The sun was teasing the horizon when they found a small cluster of homes at the base of the mountains. They were oddly shaped and painfully quiet. It didn't take long to notice that it was completely empty.

"How long do you think they've been gone?" Selene asked, mouth agape as she studied the buildings. They were still strong enough to stand, but the beds were covered in dust and the wood was worn and splintered.

Eurion kicked her toe into a fire pit at the center of the village. "Only a few days," she said. "Someone's kill is still in this pit, and there is leftover meat on the bones. They haven't been gone too long."

"What happened here?" Kit breathed. There was something dark here, something that raised the hair on his neck. He didn't feel safe, so he clutched Excalibur and looked around for any sign that this was a trap.

Sera was just as dumbfounded, which came as a surprise. She acted like such a mysterious, all-knowing savior. Her confusion made him afraid.

Morgana sidled up beside him, to Kit's surprise, leaning against the stick he'd used as a cane since they began their journey. "Does this feel familiar to you?" he asked. "It doesn't feel human."

Kit furrowed his brow, trying to sense what Morgana did. It was true. There was something buzzing, that eeriness, a certain warmth he'd grown used to.

"Gifted or Sídhe?" he asked, finally turning to look at the Unseelie. His brow was knit, like he was trying to figure it out himself.

He closed his eyes and took in a breath, and Kit curiously watched his concentrated face change and shift with his thoughts.

"I didn't think it was possible," he told Kit. "I want to say Gifted because it's the South, but it's so unmistakably Sídhe. I didn't know they lived here."

"And they don't eat meat," Eurion noted, coming up to them. "Right?"

"Not often," said Morgana. "But there was meat in that fire pit."

The thief nodded. "Either these faeries were desperate or someone else was here."

Kit gulped. He had an idea who could've come here, but he tried not to think about it. His exhaustion was weakening his knees, and sleep was more important to him than this mystery.

"Whatever," he sighed. "We need to sleep and get a move on. The Grail is more important."

Morgana didn't seem like he was interested in moving on, but he weighed it in his mind and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let's pray we don't get cursed for sleeping in their beds."

"We're cursed enough, what's one more?" Kit teased, nudging the faery playfully and finding his way into a hut. This one had two beds, and he tried not to react when Morgana claimed the other one across from him. He raised a brow.

"Well, I don't want to sleep by myself in this bloody creepy place," Morgana said when he noticed him staring. "You have the sword, don't feel special."

Kit smiled anyways. "Nope, I'm gonna feel special. I have the scariest roommate now, I'd say I'm the lucky one."

Morgana laid down on his back, eyes scanning the ceiling. "You think I'm scary?"

"Well, I'm not afraid of you, but yes," he said. "You look a bit intimidating. Small children might run away from you."

"That's a good thing," Morgana laughed. "I don't like small children."

"Come on, not even Lionel?" he asked.

Morgana rolled his eyes. "Especially Lionel. The kid blew up an entire castle wall and he stares way too much. He gives me the creeps."

"He likes dragons and butterscotch candies and wants to be a Knight like me, Morgana, he's just a little guy."

The faery scoffed. "A little guy that's also a functioning weapon, yeah."

Kit laughed, and then his eyes fluttered shut, too tired to say anything else. He was asleep in no time, falling into long, strange dreams. He didn't remember them in the morning, but he woke up rested, sunlight creeping through the windows and hitting his skin.

He didn't feel the weight on his side until he saw it, and his heart stuttered to find Morgana with his head on his shoulder, tentatively curled up against him. His limp hand rested on his chest, entirely relaxed against his exposed skin. For once, he looked at peace. Kit wanted to brush his hair away from his face to get a better look, but he didn't dare risk waking him up, not when it felt so nice to have him here.

It was like this for a long time. Morgana stirred into consciousness after what felt like forever, freezing when he realized where he was. He sat up abruptly, but he didn't leave. Instead, he watched Kit with a judgmental eye as if he was the one that started it.

"All you, Morgana."

"I was paranoid. Don't get used to it."

"You're cute when you sleep."

Morgana stood, turning his back to Kit, but he could still tell he was blushing. He got angry whenever he said things like that, did his best to hide the fact that it flustered him.

The faery placed his hand on the door and pushed it open, cringing at the squeal it made. Kit followed behind him, though he didn't get too close.

Everyone else was already awake, getting ready to leave again. They still had leftovers from their last meal, and it wasn't very filling, but it satisfied them enough.

"Is the Grail far?" Giselle asked in a raspy voice. "It's getting hard to walk."

Sera pulled out a small map from her satchel, rolling it open. "We can't go across the main sea without our own ship, but if we go to the East Continent, we could swim if we had to. Or we could make a raft, I'd assume that's preferred. Then we'll reach the North of the island, and it'll be a day of travel when we reach the Grail."

"This would all be so much easier if we had a horse," Kit groaned.

"Or a dragon!" Lionel exclaimed. "I wish we had a dragon."

Sera ruffled his hair. "I bet you do." She stood up and returned the map to her pocket. "We should hurry now. The sooner we get there, the better."

With that, they left the strange little village and all its mysteries and unsettling quirks, without an answer about what drove the people from their home. It was strange enough, Kit wished they had time to stay and solve it. But the longer they took to find the Grail, the more Sídhe were dying and mourning.

He took up the rear, while Sera and Lionel took the lead. Morgana joined his side, but he figured it was so he could hold him up if he had to.

"So," the Unseelie began. "That's the woman you knocked up."

Kit's face went red. "I guess so."

Morgana nudged his shoulder. "I'm surprised you could convince someone like her to sleep with you."

"Says the man who's never convinced anyone to sleep with him ever," he teased, but the moment it left his mouth, he realized how bad it sounded.

"How the bloody hell did you know that?" His voice was angry, like he'd just struck a nerve or startled him.

"It was just an observation," Kit told him, holding up his hands in surrender. "You're too easy to fluster. I can tell. Thanks for the confirmation, though."

Morgana opened his mouth to protest, but he clamped it shut again when he couldn't think of anything to say. "What's it matter to you, anyways?"

Kit grinned, gently tickling the back of the faery's neck with his fingertips. "You know the answer to that."

He shrugged his hand away. "Fine. But I'm still curious about her."

His eyes settled on his son ahead of them, clearly brightened by his mother's presence. He was rambling on about something he couldn't hear, holding Sera's hand and walking with more confidence.

"She's gonna leave him again," he whispered. "And then I'll have to go back to being his parent. But you've been here, you've seen how bad I am at that. He'll be miserable, and I don't know what to do."

Morgana looked at him. "You've been busy saving the world. And you didn't ask for this, she was the one who dumped him on you. Don't beat yourself up for being a shit father."

"Gee, thanks." Kit pinched the bridge of his nose. "He's my son, though. I was the irresponsible one, and I owe them both for it. I never wanted kids, and I still don't, but this was my mistake and I have to live with it."

"I have a feeling there is no place that boy could be and still be happy anymore, Kit," Morgana said. "We're keeping him safe. That's all Sera wanted you to do. And he's still alive, which means we're doing our job."

Kit took a deep breath. "I guess you're right," he murmured. "I'm sorry for springing this on you."

"No, I'm glad you did," he replied, and Kit gave him a look of surprise. "You're annoying when there's something you need to get off your chest."

He laughed, a real, honest laugh. "I shouldn't expect any different from you, huh?"

Morgana elbowed him, but he, too, had a grin on his face.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky by the time the man found the bodies. Two suffered from a long fall, and one other was killed by his overseer, a cruel, gruesome execution. They were still fresh, they couldn't have died earlier than the last afternoon. He didn't smell the death on them yet.

"A shame," he murmured. "I didn't give him that spell for this. You two deserved it, but not you. He had no right to take you."

He moved away from the throatless man he was observing, staring at the men over the cliff. "You're still useful, though. Wake up."

It took a second, but soon the sounds of cracking bones and clanging armor echoed over the mountains, and the dead men stood.

"Excellent," he purred. "You're with me. As are you. Wake up, Reilly."

The bloody cavern in the man's neck was replaced by a mess of shadows, and his eyes flew open. He gasped, but he couldn't breathe the way he wanted to, and his face grew pained and etched with panic.

The man knelt beside him to cradle his head. "You're all right," he told him. "You don't need to breathe. You're fine, you're with me now."

Reilly settled, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. When he told himself not to breathe, he could relax, and he looked up at the stranger.

"I'm with you," he croaked.

"Yes. You are mine now. And I have a job for you."