First there was air and Cupid was dry. Then there was water and Cupid was drowning.

The centaurs had teleported everyone several miles from Moltou, but now they were in open ocean. Crystal shrieked, trying to hold her children above the water while going under herself. Cupid clung to Rennington and Rennington clung to nothing. The centaurs had started trying to swim, kicking up swirls of water in their panic. Fairies screamed and cries, and Selene seemed to want to be in multiple places at once to save the drowning.

"Is the kind of plan you had in mind, fairy?!" Erses yelled over the chaos.

Cupid's ears were half-filled with water, so he only heard bits of conversation. That coupled with the language meant he understood nothing. It didn't matter though. The fairy was having his own conversation.

'We teleported! I need land! Tick, I need land! Tick!!' Water filled his lungs and he struggled to even think. 'Tick, you promised!'

As Cupid sank out of reach of the centaurs' frantic hooves (which would have been relieving by itself), he frowned. Tick was going to let him die. Him and his family, and his friends.

Then Cupid felt it. A shift in the ground very far away. It grew closer and faster and this new magic sped toward him. Then the mystical force of ground slammed into him and the next Cupid remembered was being on land. It had come!

Spitting sand, Cupid listened for the others. It seemed everyone was alright. Coughing and angry, but alright. "Crystal? Selene? Where are the kids? Is everyone okay?" He felt a spaded tail intertwine with his own as three fairy-shaped silhouettes hovered nearby.

"Selene's fine." Erses said. "Rennington? Thrye?"

"Here."

"Present."

"Now that everyone's okay and accounted for." Erses continued, turning to Cupid with his head tilted in some not-so-benign expression. Not that it mattered to the blind fairy. "I think I'm going to have to kill you."

He blinked. Erses had said enough broken Fey in a sinisterly calm voice for him to understand. "That's great, but I don't really want to die. I've got a family to get back, a family to raise, and some parents to convince I'm not dead. Also, I kind of need to be alive to get married." He cast a glance in Crystal's direction like they shared some silent inside joke. "Anyway, before you kill me, I need to know why. It's a fact!" Cupid lied. "Fairies cannot die unless they know the reason behind it."

Erses huffed, exasperated. After a pause, he exclaimed, "You nearly killed me! And Rennington! And Thrye! And Selene, Crystal and your children!"

Crystal did not know Erses actually knew her name. Selene was still over by him, with Rennington on the other side and Thrye looking nervously at Erses, but the vampire didn't seem to favor anyone. Cupid was facing the centaurs and vampire with a surprisingly calm expression given the threat recently issued. Crystal herself stood to side with the triplets, who were hungry.

"But I didn't." Cupid countered simply. "We are all alive, are we not?"

"Do this again and I swear you will not live to see Feylore."

"Who's hungry?!" Crystal and Thrye said in near unison. They both desperately wanted to avoid bloodshed. Though she would never admit it, Crystal secretly believed Cupid didn't stand a chance. Even if he knew exactly where Erses was going to teleport, he would have no idea what position he would be in. And Crystal had been at the other end of the centaur's spear.

Erses and Cupid exchanged watchful stares and broke away. The two spoke not a word as Rennington and Selene caught fish for Thrye to cook. Cupid took out his iyls, which made Cadence excited. She flew over and settled into his lap, but the fairy only poked the strings with his fingers. It was more a thing to do than an instrument to play. Cadence was thoroughly disappointed, but her happiness was restored with the arrival of food.

The air remained tense for the rest of the day. Crystal had noticed Selene spending more time with Erses, but even she was pushed away. Night came and went with sunlight piercing eyes just as they seemed to fall asleep.

The next morning, the centaur and fairy were back to talking to their own kind at least. Selene, being the only vampire, was free to move between the groups, but tended to stay with the centaurs (or rather, with Erses). Despite any tension, everyone knew they had to keep going so before midday, the binding ropes had been securely tied and they were ready.

The only change was Erses and Rennington switching passengers. The black centaur pulled Cupid close. "This is a binding rope, fairy." He whispered into Cupid's ear. "If I die, you die." Erses gave the rope a defiant tug, but Cupid refused to wince. He could feel his left hand changing colors by the time they teleported to the next to-be island.

It was a repeat of the previous land formation, only faster. The fairy still lost his flight to the waters, but Erses didn't immediately snap at or murder him. "Everyone fine? Great." The centaur said curtly before anyone answered. "Let's keep going." Allowing mere seconds for the rest of the group to recollect themselves (he had passed Cadence off to Thrye), Erses vanished.

The two arrived on the new island, which formed fast enough that Erses' legs were only briefly covered by water. Cupid was trying to loosen the rope as the heartbeat in his palm increased. Erses didn't even wait for the others; the island vanished before it had properly surfaced. The centaur continued impatiently island-hopping, growing farther from the others. Even other centaurs couldn't track him fast enough to keep up (although Rennington was trying) and poor Cupid was impossibly tethered to him.

After his pleas were ignored, Cupid had tried stopping Erses manually (to no avail) and magically. The sudden tug back had caused the centaur to trip and nearly crush the fairy, so he didn't try that again. Eventually, Erses would just tire himself out, right? But Cupid had no idea how far that would be away from the others and his family. He had to stop Erses, and now, but couldn't do it alone. The fairy tried to reach out to Tick.

'If I stop making islands, you'll drown.' She responded. 'And you two are going so fast, I can barely keep up as it is. I still have to maintain the island everyone else is on, and hid everything from Pan. Sorry, but I can't do any more than I am.'

Cupid knew Crystal couldn't possibly see him if he sent a distress signal. By now, he was scared. What if Tick couldn't keep up? What if he can't ever find the others? What if he dies? What if Erses dies? The centaur's words echoed in his head: 'If I die, you die.' Cupid was more than scared; he was petrified. And fear was an emotion.

The fairy (still flightless) had been clinging to Erses for life, but now his grip gradually loosened. With one hand free, he felt like he was going fly off, which was better, but it could be worse. It needed to be worse. Mustering up courage, he let go with the other hand. Holding on with nothing but his legs and the rope, Cupid was near certain he was going to fly off and die if Erses made a sharp turn. But even that wasn't enough. Cupid had to create a fear he couldn't force himself to actually overcome.

Erses began to slow down. Marginally, but his pace had dwindled. The centaur was tiring, but so was Tick. Cupid acutely noticed the islands were taking longer to appear and seemed to disappear just barely before they left. Cupid blinked. He was going to die. He (and Erses) were going to drown and his parents would have never know he was even close to home. Crystal and Selene would have to raise the triplets and Cadence would never heard his songs again. And she would cry and cry and cry for them. The thought nearly made Cupid cry and he knew that was enough. At least Selene would know where to dive for his body.

With a telekinetic burst, Cupid closed his eyes and opened his mind. Fear poured out in great gusts nearly tangible. Cupid knew it was enough. He pushed the fear of losing his family, of losing his friends, and of losing his life out. Out as far as he could repel the thoughts. To empty his mind. And, with an empty mind and no telepathy left, Cupid slipped into unconsciousness and lay limp on the slowing centaur's back.

Cupid hoped.