SELENE WENT TO BED alone. It stung like whiskey to a cut but she knew she had it coming. She should've thought about it before she came charging at Morgana like that, right there in front of Giselle. She got after Kit for being impulsive and getting into fights, but she was just like him, as much as she loathed to admit it.

The fire crackled with a warm, orange glow in front of her, hot against her sunburnt cheeks. Normally, Giselle healed the red away each night, because her skin was pale and sensitive and the slightest bit of sun scorched it. But this time, she would have to let it burn.

She couldn't sleep, but she wasn't the only one. Morgana was up, sat across the other side of the fire as her and watching it flicker. The reflection of the flames in his eyes felt like a window into his furious heart, but windows didn't only show the other side. Selene could see herself there, a faint mirror looking back at her and showing her everything she didn't want to see.

Morgana noticed her staring, she was certain, but he said nothing.

If she could sleep, she would've. But the guilt in her chest wouldn't leave her alone unless she made it right.

Her bones cracked when she pushed herself up into a sitting position, catching Morgana's attention. He tried to look away before she caught his eye, but she was too quick.

The only one sleeping nearby was Kit, and she knew he wouldn't wake up easily. A quiet conversation wouldn't rouse anyone from their much-needed rest.

Selene took a breath.

"I'm sorry," she told Morgana. "About earlier."

He was quiet for several moments, but she could wait.

"What do you want?"

She furrowed her brow. "Sorry?"

"What do you want? You never apologize, so I'm assuming you want something from me."

"I don't want anything from you," she said. "I want to say sorry."

"You want Giselle to forgive you."

Her mouth clamped shut. She opened it again, but she didn't know what to say, so she pressed her lips back together.

"It's okay," Morgana said, voice calmer now. "I want her to forgive me, too."

"She's not gonna want me to apologize to her, she--"

"I know. She's gonna forgive you once you forgive me," he says. "I know her. She's gonna want me to forgive you back."

The two of them went quiet, sitting across the fire from each other with blank faces.

"I guess we have a start," said Selene. "We both want her to forgive us and we both know how we need to do that."

"I kissed Kit."

Selene froze. It was such a strange thing for him to say, but an even stranger thing to do. She could sense the tension between the two, but she didn't think either of them would ever actually do anything about it, especially not Morgana.

"What?"

He ran his hands over his face. "At the castle. I kissed him. And he can't stop thinking about it and I can't either, and my people are in danger and none of us know what to do and if Camelot comes back more will die, but not bringing it back will also kill people, and there's something wrong with my magic but I don't know what and--"

He only stopped talking when he'd run out of air, and he took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he breathed. "That's why I... that's why I snapped. There's just... so much. I shouldn't have taken it out on Eurion and I shouldn't have fought with you about Giselle. And you're right, I was only thinking of myself. I'm just so... angry. At everything."

Selene swallowed. She never thought in her life she'd ever witness Morgana say what he was feeling without it coming out in violence. He wasn't impulsive in battle, but he was impulsive with his emotions, and he was spilling them all out now in the least angry manner she'd ever seen. And he was talking to her.

She didn't know what to say. So she said what she knew she was supposed to. "I forgive you."

"Do you forgive me or do you want Giselle to think you forgive me?"

"I forgive you," she said, and she meant it. "I know what you're going through. My friend is dead and my girlfriend is worried about her people and Kit is paranoid about everything and I feel like I have to be the one to be okay. I have to be the sensible one, the responsible one with all the plans. Everyone else gets to be angry and sad and upset and I just have to be... fine."

Morgana watched her, fiddling with a knob on his prosthetic. It wasn't moving as smoothly as before.

"That's why I snapped. I don't take back what I said but I'm sorry for my delivery. I should've just told you how I felt in private instead of chastising you in front of everyone," she continued with a shaky breath. "I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven." He looked down at his lap. "I... forgive you. Because I want to."

It was the strangest thing she'd ever done, having a heart-to-heart with a stubborn Unseelie, but there was a first time for everything.

Her lips began to curl upwards, and she couldn't help a quiet giggle. Morgana caught her eye, and she watched him fight with his mouth before he burst out into gentle laughter. Real, genuine laughter. It sounded like bells, perhaps a choir of angels, and suddenly she understood what made Giselle so fond of him, and why Kit looked at him like he hung the moon when he thought no one was watching.

"I've never seen you laugh," she told him.

"I've never seen you laugh, Selene," he said back.

She began to sober up, but her smile lingered. "You're a good fighter. Where'd you learn?"

His mouth turned upwards. "I was a Knight. Somehow, they let me join the Autumn Guard, and I got so close to getting a really good position."

"What happened?"

He motioned to his face, the dark cracks in his skin like a porcelain dish barely holding together.

"Childhood illness got mixed with something else. It ruined my entire left side. I was only sort of friends with Giselle by now, but she insisted every healer she knew helped me get better. And I guess I sort of did. But I couldn't... I got demoted to a diplomat. I don't even know what that's supposed to mean, they just respect me because Giselle likes me."

Selene ran her thumb over her palm. "I had to fight twice as hard to get a place at the Table. Out there, they won't respect a woman until she can show up every man and threaten them into letting her in. They tried to take every opportunity to demote me. I'd been stabbed ten times before they finally realized it wasn't a good reason to let me go. But now that's all... gone."

"Anyone would be a fool to kick you off their team," he murmured. "You don't have an ounce of magic in you and you can take down an army by yourself. Any man with a brain wouldn't want you as an enemy."

"I could say the same for you," she replied with a laugh. "I've seen you come back from the dead at least four times with full force. You're always sick and yet you continue to fight. And you're clever, Morgana. I don't know if you realize how powerful you are."

The faery smiled bashfully down at the ground. For the first time, she felt fully safe with him. And she didn't feel so angry. She didn't think he was going to be a threat to them anymore, at least not for now.

"I have the key," she said after a moment, catching Morgana's attention. "To your cuffs."

"It's okay. If I wanted to get out, I would've ditched these chains ages ago." He turned his head to Kit, who was sleeping as hard as a log. "I'm happy to wear them as long as it means he'll stop being a nuisance."

She laughed. It was true, Kit got annoying when he was nervous. But there was nothing Morgana could do, really, so she didn't know what he was so afraid of.

"That's understandable." She let out a long, heavy yawn. "I think I should sleep. Good chat."

Morgana bowed his head to her. "Rest well. I'll stay up and watch out for... bears. Or something."

Selene laid back down, feeling a bit lighter than before. It still felt empty there without Giselle in her arms, but it eased her mind to know that she was on the right track to getting the princess to forgive her.

She drifted off to sleep. When she awoke, the sun was just over the horizon, and she felt a pair of familiar arms wrapped around her stomach.

Her hand slid over Giselle's, fingers tracing the soft skin. She could feel steady breathing against her back, a forehead pressed to the nape of her neck.

It felt like home again.

After a minute of enjoying it, Selene turned onto her other side, facing a still-sleeping Giselle. She was truly the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

Selene was stoic. She didn't warm up to people with ease, there was rarely anyone she liked right away. But somehow Giselle walked right through her defenses with a curtsy and a smile, and she was in love before she knew it.

"Good morning, my love," Giselle whispered after awhile, eyes still shut.

Selene grinned. "Good morning."

They laid there for awhile, until Giselle finally opened her eyes and someone else woke up. It was Eurion, who got right to the business of finding food without a word.

She hadn't been talking as much, which told Selene something was very wrong. She didn't have wonder what it was, though. Losing Chalice left a nasty cut in everyone's hearts, but it was the hardest for Eurion, that much was obvious.

"I'm gonna go help her," Selene said to Giselle, kissing the princess and pushing herself to her feet.

They'd been aimlessly following the river, their only goal to lead the men away from Fells, and the water was a consistent source of food thus far. The fish were big enough to fuel them and berries sprouted from the damp ground of the riverbanks for the faeries.

She stopped at Eurion's side. The thief was still, brows furrowed together.

"What's the matter?"

"There's no fish."

"What? There's been fish the whole time, it's not like this is a different river," she said. But sure enough, as she studied the slow currents, there were no fish. "Well, at least we have--"

Her heart dropped to her stomach when she noticed there were no bushes of berries, either. The river was empty.

"No," she whispered. "No, this can't be. Maybe we just found a bad spot."

She moved along the river, watching for any sign of a change.

"I already did that," Eurion said, following close behind. "I didn't see anything, it was weird."

"I don't understand." Selene stared at the water with disbelief, trying to figure out why there was nothing. There was always going to be a few places that were less fruitful, but this was worse than that. This was dead.

She turned back to the camp, making her way over to the others with a grave expression. They were all awake now, sitting in silence around the burning embers. Kit was the first to look up at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pushing himself to his feet.

"The river is completely empty," she said. "Not even the little tadpoles. Nothing in the river, no berries, just... nothing. There's no food."

Before anyone could say anything else, a terrifying chill settled over the woods, stunning them all into silence. There was something very wrong here, and they could all feel it.

Selene instinctively stood over Giselle, drawing her sword and holding her arm out like a shield. A shadow cast over them and she looked up to see dark clouds forming above their heads, suffocating the light from the sky and blocking out the warmth of the sun.

Around them, black smoke materialized into vague shapes, and it didn't take Selene long to realize they were horses with ghostlike riders. They were surrounded by these mysterious black knights, and Selene could feel her bones trembling beneath her flesh, chest pounding.

"What the hell?" she managed. The riders were getting clearer, until there were at least seven soldiers around them.

"Who are you?" Kit called out bravely, in spite of his shaky voice.

A wicked laugh shook the ground, echoing through the trees. One man emerged from the group of knights, pulling his helmet from his head to reveal a familiar face.

Selene nearly dropped her sword. "No..."

Connor's eyes were black. Small veins spread out from under them and disappeared when they reached his sharp cheekbones. His skin was pale and gray, like he was a corpse come back from the dead. For once in her life, Selene was afraid of him.

"Kneel," he bellowed in that icy voice, lips stretching out into an evil grin. "For you are standing before your King."