Miinhart Forest, Desmond, 10416 P.C.

The next morning dawned gently. They packed up and continued on their journey, struggling to shake off the chill of the night. Matthew stuck close to Stephanie's side, holding her hand, not caring what any of the others thought. He maybe should have cared what Terrence thought, him being Stephanie's brother and all, but Terrence didn't seem to mind. He had a one-track mind, it seemed, driving them west with a deep-set passion. Matthew was beginning to admire the way the young man carried himself. He was bold, authoritative, and confident. He didn't shun any of them, always pausing to hear what they had to say, taking their input with calm consideration. Matthew could see this man leading a rebellion.

The only downside was how private Terrence was. He was cryptic in answers concerning himself, not sharing too much of his backstory — all he would say was that he had been raised in secret, honing his skills to become Desmond's new leader. He was hesitant to tell them where he had been raised, not wanting to expose confidential information. Lives were in danger, and he wasn't about to compromise a mission that was fifteen years in the making, he said.

Annabella seemed to accept it uncharacteristically fast, but Matthew guessed it was because she, too, had experienced a life of grave secrecy. Todd stayed quiet for the most part, while Jessie peppered Terrence with weaponry questions nearly all day long. He always had a clever answer. Stephanie remained silent, content, it seemed, to stick by Matthew and only observe. He decided to do the same. The situation still unsettled him, but the peaceful night had calmed his nerves. That, and Stephanie's hand in his.

They stopped for rests every once in a while, usually by lakes or streams to drink some water. Terrence and Stephanie both had small portions of food, which they shared with the others. Stephanie didn't respond for a while when Matthew had asked where they had gotten the food, and when she did reply, it was only to tell him not to worry about it.

It did not help the unease in his chest.

Trust. The more he repeated the word to himself, the more he wondered who exactly he was convincing himself to trust.

The day drug on wearily, calling the night back to life with chilly fingers. The travel was hard but good, and fortunately, their journey was passing without incident. As evening fell, Terrence started a fire again. Matthew noted that Annabella didn't argue this time. He couldn't shake the feeling they were being lulled into a false sense of security. The Immortal One's son was with them now. Why didn't that comfort him more?

"Matthew," Stephanie started softly as they settled down against a fallen tree near the fire. The others were deep in conversation around the fire, and Matthew knew her words were only for his ears. "What was it like? To have a family?"

Her words surprised him. She was leaning against him to keep warm, her head on his shoulder — her closeness was intoxicating. Her words, though troubled him. He hadn't ever told anyone about his family before. The memories had always been too painful.

"There... isn't really a word to describe it," he murmured. "It was... good, I guess. Like, it was right. My dad was always a bit distant, but my mom... she was wonderful." He allowed himself a smile at the memory of her face. "I remember she always made me brush my hair, every day. She'd freak if she could see me now, I'm sure of it."

Stephanie gave a small huff of a laugh. "It's not too bad," she said, reaching up to brush the wisps of hair out of his forehead.

"It's a disaster."

"Girls dig the rugged look."

He snorted, and she laughed again. "Sure," he said, rolling his eyes. After a quiet moment, he felt the desire to continue, if only to fill in the silence. "I was the middle child. An absolute terror, honestly."

"You? Never."

"Believe it. My older sister and I were either best friends or worst enemies — it really depended on the day and my attitude. Lily adored me when I wasn't being a little brat."

Stephanie hummed. "Lily. That's a pretty name."

"Her name was actually Lillian, but no one ever called her that. I think she was named after our grandmother or something. She was actually pretty bossy. I guess that goes with being the oldest." He eyed Terrence, who was showing Todd the stick he was carving into a point. Yes, he could see Terrence being the oldest child.

Stephanie hummed again. "Probably." She shifted. "Why was your dad distant?"

Matthew exhaled. "Honestly? I don't know. Maybe it was just because he worked all the time and I rarely ever saw him, but... I don't know. He never spent time with me. I barely even knew him."

"We can't keep hiding it from him, Rosita! He'll discover what he is soon enough!"

The memory was frighteningly vivid. His parents had known what he was, and they had never told him. Distantly, he wondered if what he was had caused his father's distance.

"I know the feeling," Stephanie whispered.

Matthew pulled her closer, letting out another breath. He didn't know what to say to those quiet words, so he searched for a distraction. "Living as Illegals was a boring life, but Lily and I made the most of it. I think we succeeded in making the tallest building block tower in history." He snorted at the faint memory. "It fell on Jules. That was a disaster."

Stephanie shifted quickly, sitting back to look at him. "Who?"

He studied her surprise. "Jules. She was my little sister."

"Jules," she whispered.

"She was five." He didn't understand her scrutiny. "She was always following me around, copying everything I did. Lily blamed me for her bratty temper."

Stephanie was silent for a long moment, still searching his face with those emerald eyes. "Matthew, what happened to them?"

He had been dreading that question. He took a deep breath, staring at their shoes for a long moment, struggling to figure out how to tell her. He hadn't ever told anyone about what he had done.

What would she do if she knew he had been the cause of their deaths?

He couldn't say it. It was too painful to admit. "They found us," he heard himself saying. "Killed my parents. Brought us kids to the mines. They tried taking Jules away from us, and Lily, she..." He faltered. It was over five years ago now — why was it so hard? "She fought back. They killed them both."

Stephanie closed her eyes, bowing her head. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

He cleared his throat, folding his arms tight across his chest. "It's okay," he said, his voice cracking a bit. He coughed to cover it up. "It's... it's good to remember them." He stared into the fire, watching the way the flames licked at the logs. The others talked on, oblivious to his and Stephanie's conversation. The brilliant light of the fire warmed him a bit, in a bitter sort of way. "Jules' favourite colour was orange," he whispered.

Slowly, Stephanie curled back up beside him, and he wrapped his arm around her, leaning his cheek on her head. Closing his eyes, he wished he could stay right there, wished that all the fear and the pain would disappear and he and Stephanie could just... be. He would have given anything for that.

The night was gone in an instant, and Stephanie was gently shaking him awake. "It's morning."

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, looking around to see that most of the others were already up and getting ready to leave. A heavy feeling weighed on his chest — something was coming. He could sense it, and it jolted him to wakefulness. It drove him to his feet, made him search the trees around them uneasily.

Stephanie noticed his concern. "Matthew? What's wrong?"

It was strange — he had never sensed something like this before. It wasn't Athrii. It wasn't even the being he sensed, but its malicious intent. It was close. Very close.

He spotted it and stopped. Yellow eyes stared back at him from the shadows of the trees, deadly and dangerous. The creature bared its teeth.

"Get down!" Matthew grabbed Stephanie, pulling her to the ground with him as the creature leapt at them; its long body flew right over them and landed in the middle of their camp. Jessie shrieked and Annabella cursed loudly, yanking the younger girl out of the way of the creature's deadly, barbed tail.

"Gartirih!" Stephanie yelped, wrenching out of Matthew's arms and rolling away to draw her sword.

"Stay back!" Terrence ordered, brandishing his sword. "I've got this!"

The Gartirih growled. "If it isn't the long lost prince," it simpered mockingly. "Come back to claim your throne?"

"It never belonged to the dragon." Terrence raised his sword.

Annabella was pulling Jessie away. "Watch out for the teeth. They're poisonous." Matthew knew she was cursing her lack of a weapon. The Gartirih snarled at her, swiping a paw like a spitting kitten. She jumped back.

"Let's see how you like watching your friends die," the creature growled at Terrence. It turned on Todd, lunging at him. Todd jumped back, tripping over his own two feet and falling on his back. The Gartirih landed on him.

"Stop!" Terrence bellowed.

The Gartirih suddenly lashed out, as if an invisible hand had yanked on its ear. It tumbled off of Todd, growling and snarling as it rolled on the ground.

"You will listen to me!" Terrence pointed his sword at the creature. "All of Creation belongs to my Father, and He has given me rule over it. You will not touch them!"

The Gartirih staggered to its feet, growling deep in its chest as it turned back to Terrence.

Terrence's sword did not waver. "Unless you fancy death," he said ominously, "you will leave."

It did not back down. "Too timid to kill me, princeling?"

"Not at all." Lifting his free hand, Terrence twisted it with a sharp jerk. The Gartirih let out an ear-splitting howl, thrashing its head around and staggering on unsteady paws. With a yelp, it collapsed, convulsing for several seconds before it lay still.

Silence consumed them all. Matthew slowly pushed himself to his feet, staring at Terrence first before shifting his eyes to the Gartirih. It lay rigid and still, yellow eyes shut.

"Let's go," Terrence said solemnly, sheathing his sword. "Before the scouts find it."

As if waking from a stupor, they all began to move at once. Annabella stepped up to the Gartirih, staring down at it in horrified wonder. "How did you do that?"

"My Father has given me dominion over all creatures," Terrence replied. "I gave it a chance. Second chances aren't my strong suit." With that, the young man turned and started marching through the forest. Annabella pulled Todd to his feet, and the two shared an exchange of looks before they followed Terrence. Jessie trailed behind them.

"Matthew." Stephanie touched his arm, and he gave a start, realizing he had been staring at the Gartirih. Stephanie took his hand, her voice gentle. "It's dead. Don't worry."

Matthew could barely look at her, the sickening feeling in his gut doubling, too heavy to shove away. He swallowed hard, hoping she couldn't read his mind.

Because he was worried. Very, very worried.

"Yeah," he whispered as, deep within his senses, he felt the Gartirih's heart beating loud and strong. "No worries."