KANE KNEW HE wasn't alone.

Pursing his lips, Kane pushed himself up into a sitting position. The mattress was firm and—his fingers stumbled along the rough sheet—made of straw? A low groan emerged from his clamped mouth when his entire back popped. When he swung his legs over the side of the bed, his stomach lurched as the world spun.

Time—he always felt weird referring to time knowing that it wasn't real now—crawled by slowly. When the dimly lit room stopped whirling like a carnival ride, his eyes flicked towards a dark corner. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He trusted his instincts and muttered his sword's name.

Caliburn emerged from the empty space before him. He snatched the gleaming sword from the small 'tween and stood. Ignoring his protesting body, he gripped the hilt tightly and pointed at the corner.

"I don't know who you are," he said, voice scratchy and low, "but I know you're here."

A small laugh ricocheted throughout the room. Kane jumped when the sound resonated over his shoulder. He held steady, however, gaze fixed intently on the dark corner. He knew, he knew, that the owner of that high pitched laugh was in front of him. Not behind.

"Tempest said you were jumpy," came a soft reply, "but she didn't say you were this squirrely."

The hidden woman stepped out of the shadows and into the faint light. Her smokey wide eyes met Kane's, reflecting nothing but kindness and warmth.

"Where's Tempest?" he asked, taking a step back when she took one forward. Something about her was different. He could feel it. "Where's Silver?"

The curvy woman motioned towards the closed door. "Down the hall. I can take you to see them but first," she blocked him before he could leave, "I must finish checking you out."

Kane's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "For what?"

Her thick, arched brows rose upon her forehead. Her hands opened, facing Kane palms up as she nodded towards his bare upper body.

Kane looked down and gasped, almost losing his grip on Caliburn. Faint bruises covered him. Something black was inked into his skin, right over his heart. "What is that?" he asked, ears burning red when he stuttered.

"A symbol from the Ogham alphabet," she replied. "It represents one of the twenty sacred trees."

Kane blinked. "So I died and got a... tree tattoo? That's very tumblr."

The woman's face scrunched up when she laughed. She shook her head, shaking the golden nose ring she wore just a tad. "You did not die. I made sure of that. And you didn't get a tattoo either, you just... received a blessing of sorts."

Kane hummed. "Because that makes so much more sense than the tree tattoo." He paused then looked down at her once he processed all of her words. "You... saved me?"

She waved her hand nonchalantly, grabbing a dumbfounded Kane by the wrist and pushing him to sit on the bed. "I did my part."

Her golden bangles jingled as she picked up the skirt of her sheer, gold and white dress and walked away. She busied herself at a small table then returned to Kane's side with a small basket and a stool. Sitting before him, she looked down and a warm light appeared from her palm.

"You're a witch!"

The woman's plump red lips twitched. "I prefer being called a healer." Her small hand passed over his face, soothing the budding migraine he hadn't been aware of until now. "Witches have a bad reputation here. Best not to be known as one," she whispered as she shifted her attention to his shoulders.

"We're not in Drakōn anymore," Kane thought aloud, catching a glimpse of red sand outside the covered window.

"No. You're in my home world," she replied, relaxing the muscles in his body one by one. "Terra."

"Terra?"

"A world like Earth," she explained. "With humans and magick. The only difference between Earth and Terra is that we never turned our backs on the gods in pursuit of science." The glow emanating from her hand waned until only a sliver remained. "We learned to coexist with both realities."

"Then why is being a witch a bad thing here?"

"Racism is still racism at the end of the day." She brought her hand over his heart then jumped when his pendant zapped her before she touched the symbol. "Third time it's done that. I guess it's here to stay now."

Kane eyed the silver faerie star hanging around his neck. His gaze drifted towards the new symbol. It consisted of a straight line and then to the left were two lines branching out from the middle, parallel.

"What's your name?"

She tucked a lock of jet black hair behind her ear, looking down into her basket of goodies. "Lilavati."

"I'm K—Pendragon," he replied sheepishly.

Lilavati smirked, dipping a cloth into a small glass of water. She dragged the damp fabric over his throat, confusing Kane.

"What are you doing?"

"Erasing the symbol I drew on you," she murmured. "It's served its purpose, I think, since you've returned. No need for it or my intent to influence you any longer."

Kane touched his throat gingerly, feeling an oily residue and smelling something unfamiliar. "What did you do?"

"Well, you were asleep for too long. It became clear after I healed most of your body that the ailment plaguing you wasn't physical. So," Lilavati wiped the space between his eyes, "I figured you were damaged spirituality. I opened your third eye chakra so that you could go beyond. When you didn't return I opened your throat chakra after feeling some blockage there. You needed to communicate, desperately." Lilavati dropped the soiled rag then placed her hands on her knees, peering up at Kane. "So, did it help?"

Kane gnawed on his bottom lip, reflecting on the talk he had with Arthur. He didn't know what a chakra was, but his shoulders did feel lighter under the invisible weight he carried.

"I think so," he said after thinking for a while. "I feel... better about, like, my destiny, or whatever."

He still had a shit ton of questions regarding his family history, however.

"That's good." She passed him a plain brown shirt after returning the basket to its rightful place. "Let's get you something to eat before you see Tempest and Silver."

Kane followed her out of the room, eyes flicking towards the closed door at the end of the hall. The house was small and had walls made of red mud. Golden strings hung from the ceiling, lighting everything in a dim, flickering light.

"My civilization is just as advanced as yours," she said, catching Kane's eye with a teasing grin. "I live off the grid so, y'know, humble dwellings and all that."

"Sorry, I didn't mean—"

"I'm not offended," she said over her shoulder as she disappeared into a back room. Kane sat on the edge of a low stool, nearly sitting on the ground. When Lilavati reemerged she carried a wooden tray. "Something light for now. We'll see how you keep things down and go from there."

Kane visibly perked up at the sight of food. He raised the wooden bowl to his face, sniffing the yellow-like rice... thing. He recognized a few vegetables as he nervously ate a spoonful. To his surprise, the food was light and fluffy with a hint of spice at the end. Delighted by the taste of something that wasn't an apple, Kane dug in until there wasn't a single morsel left in the bowl.

The glass of white liquid reminded him of milk. Yet when he smelled it he detected spice and something sweeter underneath. Throwing caution to the wind, he drained the cold drink. It was thick and, weirdly enough, reminded him of yogurt.

"Tempest was right." Lilavati laughed, taking the tray from him and setting it on an old table. "You really do love to eat."

Kane cleared his throat, feeling shy under her knowing gaze. "Is she... are they ok?"

Lilavati hummed, squatting before him with a thoughtful expression. "Physically? Yes. Mentally..." she trailed off, plucking a stray piece of straw off the ground and toying with it. "Silver isn't well. He hasn't woken up yet but I can feel... it is within him."

"Feel what?" Kane asked quietly.

"The... darkness," she replied slowly, as if being careful in how she chose her words. "Like from before, when he was Unseelie, but worse." Her conflicted stare met his. "You know the story, right? Of all the bad that he did."

"I know enough to get the gist of things." Kane sighed, feeling the symbol burn a little before fading away. "Did you know them back then?"

Lilavati nodded. "I met Tempest when I was younger. She saved me from a monster. Kept an eye on me since then."

"When you were younger?" he repeated, eying the smoothness of her dark brown skin.

"When I was a child." Her lips twitched into a mischievous smile. "She's got a thing for saving strays, that one. Well, her and Death do. Plus, age works differently here compared to Earth. Slower."

At the mention of Death he remembered Kobe and asked about the little runt.

"They left when you woke," Lilavati replied, smiling apologetically. "Don't be too sad. I'm sure you'll see your little reaper again. Death says he's quite fond of you. Maybe when he's a little older you can see him more."

Kane hummed, hopeful but uncertain. "Can you tell me what this is?" he asked, tugging his shirt to the side to expose the Ogham symbol.

"Tempest said that it represents the Oak tree. It's Ogham letter is D and the name is..." Her brows became knitted as she stared at a spot over Kane's shoulder. "Duir? I think that's what she said. It represents strength, stability, and nobility," she said, counting on her fingers. "Apparently the oak tree is for enhancing one's inner strength when you've experienced a great loss. The Duir is supposed to heal your heart. Empower you to rebuild your life. Move on. That type of stuff."

"Duir." Kane tasted the word on his tongue, feeling a spark of heat travel throughout him.

"Tempest says it's from, like, Welsh and Celtic culture. Those are your roots, right?"

Kane nodded,

"Makes sense. Our roots are where our true power lies. With the ancestors." Lilavati paused, a weird expression coming over her face before she said, "You sensed me. Before. Could you do that with Silver?"

Kane frowned. "Silver pulled up in a shitty taxi. I didn't really have to try and sense him when he drove right to me."

"That's not what I meant," she laughed with a smile on her round face. "I meant... could you sense something familiar with him? Like... a kinship of sorts."

Kane didn't have to mull over her question for long. "Yeah," he replied, reliving the odd moment of meeting Silver for the first time. "He was weird as hell but some part of him felt familiar."

"You recognized the fae in him." Lilavati nodded, showing her glowing hands to Kane then extinguishing the golden flames. "Just like you recognized the witch in me. Kinship."

Kane picked at his flowy pants, feeling something bigger was going on. But, as per usual, not knowing what it actually was.

"I don't know how I knew—"

Lilavati pressed her hands together. When she opened them like a book, slotted between the pages of her fingers was the athame.

"I think you inherited a little more than you think." She offered the moon imbued dagger with curiosity in her wide eyes. "Tempest thinks your magick was dormant until the athame brought it out. I think she's right. It happens, sometimes, especially in mixed families."

Kane's fingers wrapped around the athame with a slight tremble. The chill from before returned. Only this time it was softer, more gentle. A pure white light shone from the elemental glyphs before receding into the hilt.

"Sometimes, when your powers first emerge, it's overwhelming. I blacked out the first time mine came. I was five."

"My powers..." Kane turned the athame to admire the silver blade. It was stained black. "Is this blood?"

Lilavati nodded, lips settling into a thin line. "From when you stabbed the demon."

Kane's eyes widened, comically so. "That was a demon?!"

"Well," Lilavati made a face, "half demon. But that doesn't matter. They're just as icky as full demons."

Kane shook his head, feeling another headache coming on. "This is too much."

She snorted. "Welcome to the world of magick, brother."

Lilavati's warm hand pressed against his forehead, erasing the headache from existence. She looked off into the distance then, getting lost as her eyes glazed over like honey.

"Um, are you ok?"

She nodded. "Sorry, I was looking beyond." Lilavati rose and motioned towards Kane. "You can see them now. But, before you do, a warning?"

Kane raised a brow, feeling something tugging in his gut. "A warning?"

"Tempest..." Lilavati wrung her hands, eyes squinting as she tried to speak but tapered off. "I just—you have to—be gentle," she finally said hastily. "Handle her gently. For you, well, you know time isn't a real concept, right?"

Kane nodded, a ball of nerves settling into the pits of his stomach the more anxious she became.

"When Tempest called for me I got there pretty quick! But getting you two back here and caring for you..." Lilavati rubbed the fabric of her dress between her pointer finger and thumb. "I guess... three of your Earth's months would be the equivalent of how long you've been resting."

Kane felt like all of the air in his lungs was stolen from him. "Three months?!"

"Only here though! Only in Terra!" Lilavati rushed to reassure him. "On Earth I believe only a handful of days have passed. Last I heard, half of the Middle East was still intact? If that makes you feel any better..."

Kane had to hold onto the wall to keep himself steady. Three months. It couldn't compute for him, especially since he felt like he'd been in Avalon for only the blink of an eye.

"Ok," Kane said, his voice slightly higher as he tried and failed to process that new information. "Ok. Well. Thank you for, yeah, healing me." He nodded jerkily, wiping off the faint red dirt clinging to his hand. "I'm gonna," he pointed at the hallway, "yup. Thanks. Again. Good food too."

Kane flashed a startled looking Lilavati a strained smile then left. His mind refused to settle. Nor did his raging heart. He gripped the athame tighter before opening the closed door. Letting out a heavy sigh, he absorbed every scrap of the comforting chill that he could and entered.

Sunken eyes of pitless despair zeroed in on him when Tempest raised her head. Kane crossed the threshold, cautious as he closed the door behind him. Taking in the sight of Tempest's now gaunt face and her slightly ashy skin had knots twisting in his throat.

She blinked and Kane noticed how caved-in her eyes and cheeks looked. The color of her rich hair was pale. She looked frail. Sickly. Borderline skeletal in her dress.

"Tempest?" Kane settled onto the stool beside her, too shocked to take in who's bedside she kept vigil at.

Tempest's dark eyes flickered with an ounce of light. They were bloodshot. Swollen. As red as the tip of her sharp nose.

"Are you real?" she breathed out in the most broken voice he'd ever heard.

His chest tightened. Courage urged him on and so he reached over to gently place his hand over hers. It sickened him to feel how bony her small hand was now. The heat clinging to her body shocked him. But soon his colder touch soothed the inferno into something cooler.

Tempest's shattered eyes moved towards their joined hands. Kane followed her gaze, noticing their hands rested on Silver's stomach.

He was covered in a white shawl up to his chin. He looked healthy. Serene. Yet Tempest...

Their eyes met and Kane couldn't stop himself from looking over her. "What happened?"

"We wither," she whispered, voice gravelly as if she hadn't been using it much. "When we endure great pain, we wither. Like flowers."

Kane was hit with the sudden image of Tempest, alone, under Lake Glass. Withering away as a storm raged upon Hiraeth due to the loss of one sibling and the betrayal of the other. He had to bite his lip and use the jolt of pain to keep from choking up.

If this was how she grieved then he never wanted to see her shed another tear again.

"It was a ritual," she said suddenly, eyes glued to the steady rise and fall of Silver's chest. "To transfer Merlin—his darker essence into Silver." Tempest's face screwed up. She pressed a hand to the center of her forehead and let out a ragged breath. "Queen Mab must've thought she could sway him to her side when Silver took on Merlin's powers. But she miscalculated."

Kane gave her a moment, heart breaking piece by piece as what was left of her composure broke in his presence. "What did she miscalculate?" he asked once she'd caught her breath.

"Silver is your advisor. But he is not Merlin's reincarnation. Not like you're Arthur's."

"So... the transfer didn't work?" Kane's pale eyes shifted towards Silver's slumbering form. A small flame of hope flickered in his chest. "It just made him sleep?"

"When you stabbed Merlin's hand you sent him back to hell," she replied. "The ritual wasn't complete. But—enough contact was made."

"For?"

"For Merlin's darkness to merge with Silver's." Tempest shook her head, jerking her hand out of Kane's hold to wipe at her damp face. It didn't surprise Kane that her tears were as silent as her grief. "If Merlin had fully possessed Silver, his body would've rejected it. He would've died. But now—somehow I can't help but think an instant death would've been easier than whatever this is."

When Kane was younger and one of his aunt's died, he remembered the look of pure devastation upon his grandma's face. He never forgot it. Couldn't.

It killed him to see that same expression on Tempest's face now.

Silver let her down. Failed her. Broke her heart.

And yet, when he needed her most, she still looked at him with that same motherly look his grandma used on her own kids.

"I think Silver can pull through," he said. "Maybe he just needs more time to... sort through things."

Kane didn't say it aloud, but he worried about something.

If he went to Avalon to see Arthur. Did that mean that Silver went to hell for Merlin?

He really, really hoped not.

"Have you eaten?"

Tempest sighed, crossing her arms over her stomach. "A little. Food is... unappealing at the moment."

"I understand," Kane said, sympathetic to her woes. "But you need to try. It isn't—" Kane pulled back but then pushed on when she didn't shut him down. "I'll see if Lilavati has something light for you to eat."

It was jarring, the lack of fire in her eyes or heat in her words. Kane really, really hated this shattered side of her.

Shit, he'd do anything if it meant he'd get a verbal lashing from her.

An ounce of normalcy was all he wanted. Yet he knew, deep down, it was something he wouldn't be getting anytime soon.

She called his name and he stopped, hand frozen on the doorknob. He could count on one hand the few times she's actually used his first name. Not once had it ever sounded so weak until now.

Kane looked over his shoulder, confused by the sudden lightness to her graying skin. He blinked, chopping it up to a trick of the light and hummed.

"Thank you," she whispered, dazed eyes focused on Silver as she stroked his hair. "For helping me save my brother."

Something heavy slammed into his chest. He swallowed the lump in his throat and slipped away without a word.

The fae never said thank you. And yet she'd thanked him twice.

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QOTD: What are your thoughts on Lilavati × Terra and how it's different from Kane × Earth? How do you think Kane will handle his new magick? Did you expect to see Tempest so broken now that Silver's condition is revealed? How do you think they will all fare now that Silver's heart is Unseelie again?