Kurt didn't allow himself to fall apart for too long. After Blaine left, it took him a few moments to pull himself together, to start thinking clearly enough to register one very important fact.

Blaine had left the cafe.

On his own.

In S'aufa.

Kurt bolted from the table and ran out the gate.

His heart was pounding in his chest as he scoured the streets. Blaine hadn't been gone long; how far could he have gotten?

Kurt couldn't believe he had let this happen. It wasn't like this was just any human loose in a border town. Blaine had been compelled so easily it was almost stunning, though it shouldn't have been. He was compelled so easily because he trusted so easily, because his heart was so open...

And in his current raw state, all it would take was a glance. A glance from a Sidhe looking to trade or acquire a new pet, and Blaine would be gone.

Kurt felt like he was going to be sick.

He ran back to the inn as fast as he could. Blaine was not in their little leaf mound, and he was not at the pond. The woman that ran the inn had not seen him. The stable boy had not seen him. The other guests had not seen him.

Kurt searched the woods around the inn, calling for him. He went to the amphitheater, the market, the public gardens. The more places he visited, the more he began to panic.

Someone had Blaine. He was sure of it. He could feel it in his blood.

Kurt knew he couldn't stay with Blaine in Khryslee; he had responsibilities that were bigger than his own happiness, bigger even than Blaine's happiness.

But nothing was bigger than Blaine's freedom.

Kurt was going to get Blaine to Khryslee. He was going to do everything in his power to give Blaine a good life, even if he couldn't be a part of it. And it wasn't just because Blaine had done the same for him.

It was because he loved him. And he couldn't let Blaine become anyone's toy.

Kurt ran back to the markets, to the stall where he and Blaine had bought each other their trinkets. It was a long shot, but...

He found a pendant with a gold-green stone. The pendant itself differed slightly, but it was definitely the same sort of stone that had been on Blaine's necklace. And since they were being sold by the same craftswoman, at the same stall, it was possible that they had been cut from the same stone.

Kurt bought the pendant and walked back to the inn. He would need a bit of calm and privacy for this.

Once inside the leaf hut, Kurt sat down on the floor, closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He held the pendant in his hands and concentrated.

On the stone. On gold-green eyes. On reuniting that which had been broken.

After a few minutes he felt the stone begin to glow slightly in his hands and his heart leapt. He allowed his consciousness to follow the thread of connection, slowly navigating the winding path and dimming his awareness of other pieces of the stone that lingered around the city. All he wanted was that one. The one on the silver chain, hanging just below Blaine's throat. If Kurt was lucky and Blaine was still even wearing it.

With a jolt, the connection hit him. The stone. The eyes. The skin. The thoughts and feelings, fuzzy with another's control.

Kurt's eyes snapped open and he leapt to his feet. He ran to the stables to prepare the horses.

Blaine knew exactly what was going to happen when the stranger approached him.

He remembered the feeling of sliding under the control of the Sidhe at the cafe. He hadn't given himself over entirely, had clung to the idea of being with Kurt even as he wrestled with the idea of staying with the other man.

But even so, he had known it would be so easy to give in. To just let go. To let it wash over him. To give up all control and autonomy and let himself believe that it was what he truly desired.

That first time, at the cafe, Kurt had anchored him. He had kept him from drifting too far.

But Kurt was gone. Not yet, not literally, but their time together had been nothing but a way for Kurt to heal some wounds and have some fun. Blaine didn't regret it. But he couldn't do it anymore.

Kurt had told Blaine that he had the power to break him.

Perhaps Blaine should have told Kurt that he had exactly the same power over Blaine.

The Sidhe that approached him on the way to the inn was trying some smooth line to get Blaine to look into his eyes.

Blaine knew exactly what he was trying to do.

He raised his head, met the stranger's eyes, and let it happen.

Kurt sped across the countryside, following the pull of the pendant around his neck. The stone actually lifted from his chest a bit, straining forward, with its sheer determination to join with its other half.

Kurt was glad the horses had had such a good long rest. They had been well cared for at the inn, given plenty of exercise without exertion and good food and clean water. He felt a bit bad about pushing them so hard on their first time back in the harness, but he had to get to Blaine. He just had to.

The man at the Western gate out of S'aufa had recognized the description. A few bottles of essence coaxed all the details out of him that he could muster.

Three Sidhe had left the city with Blaine, heading for L'auhe to "do some trade." they had several attractive young humans with them, and their intent was clear, though they claimed to trade in table wares.

That was the game. That was how it was played.

L'auhe was one of the Westernmost border towns, though Kurt sincerely hoped he could reach Blaine before then.

Because the Sidhe that had taken Blaine would have several days with him before they reached L'auhe. Kurt silently prayed that Blaine was not to their taste, that they preferred women, and then instantly despised himself for having such thoughts. How dare he wish that kind of illusory, counterfeit consent on another, just so that Blaine could be spared?

In some ways, Kurt thought, what the Sidhe did to their human pets was worse than what the humans did to their Sidhe slaves. At least Kurt's mind had always been his own, no matter what had been done to his body. When Blaine came to him, after five years of slavery, Kurt had chosen to go with him. Chosen it because he could. But after five years of compulsion, that kernel of free will would be gone, rendering human pets literally incapable of choosing to leave the Sidhe that owned them.

Their true desires, their true selves, were simply burned away and killed after a time.

Kurt pushed the horses harder. The pendant strained against his throat.

The one that Blaine loved had not told him his name.

"Just call me sir," he had said in a tone that might sound cold coming from anyone else. Coming from him, however, it sounded authoritative but gentle. It sounded lovely.

Sir. His Sir.

The first night that they spent on their journey to L'auhe was nice, even though Blaine didn't get as much to eat as he would have preferred. The Sidhe slept in tents and Blaine and the other humans slept outside, and it was a little bit cold, especially without blankets, but that was all right because it was what Sir wanted. He slept huddled close with the other humans.

He dreamt of blue eyes.

He woke up feeling troubled. Sir didn't have blue eyes. Sir's eyes were violet. He knew that because he awoke to those very eyes peering down at him.

Sir's hand was on his arm. It was still night time, and Sir was tugging him to his feet.

"Come along, Blaine. I have something nice for you to do."

Blaine smiled up at him and rose to his feet. He followed Sir to one of the tents. It wasn't Sir's tent. It belonged to the female Sidhe. He followed Sir inside.

She was lounging on a pile of pillows and blankets, her pose and eyes seductive. Blaine supposed she was beautiful, with piercing green eyes and long silvery hair and a willowy frame. Her come-hither attempt had no effect on him, of course, and Blaine turned to look at Sir in confusion.

"It's all right, Blaine," Sir said with a smile. "Go ahead and take your pleasure with her. It isn't disloyal to me. I want you to."

"As do I," she added with a musical laugh.

As much as it pained Blaine to argue against Sir, he felt the need to make himself clear.

"But I...I prefer men. Only men. I'm sorry." He turned to the woman. "You are very beautiful, but..."

Sir was laughing deeply. The woman was scowling.

Sir grasped Blaine's chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted his face up toward him. Blaine gasped with excitement at the action.

"Blaine," Sir said in a rich, mellow voice, staring deeply into his eyes, "you want this. You want to be with her. Whatever your past inclinations, you can't resist her. Perhaps you can't explain it to yourself. That doesn't matter. Go to her. Now."

Blaine turned toward the woman. She was lovely. Blaine thought about kissing her. It didn't seem like such a terrible idea. Her skin was gorgeous, and it glowed like pale moonlight...

Like Kurt's skin.

Blaine was suddenly seized by a sharp jolt of pain tearing through his heart. He choked back a loud sob and covered his face with his hands.

Kurt.

When he looked back up, the two Sidhe were staring at him in surprise.

"I...I can't," Blaine managed to utter brokenly.

Sir sighed. "All right then. Go back to sleep with the others." He sounded annoyed, which was very upsetting. Blaine lingered, staring at him nervously.

The woman looked indignant. "What do you mean, go back to sleep with the others? You aren't trying hard enough. Force him!"

"No," Sir said sternly. "It's still early on and he could break away completely if I push too hard." He stroked Blaine's cheek. "Just give him time."

The woman made a noise of frustration. "But what if he isn't completely yours before we get to L'auhe? You know he will be snapped up as soon as we put him to market, just look at him! I want him. He's magnificent."

Sir smiled. "Don't worry. He will be mine. And then he can be yours for a night. Patience, my dear."

Sir turned back to Blaine. "Go back to sleep with the others, Blaine," he said, his voice more forceful this time.

Blaine did as he was told.

Sleeping without Blaine was miserable.

Kurt didn't realize how much he had come to depend on his warm body beside him to feel safe. He slept clutching Blaine's sword, sitting bolt upright at the smallest sound.

He did sleep, but not much. Not steadily. The tent felt cold and empty and far too large. Kurt would have preferred not to sleep at all, to press on through the night, but he knew he needed his strength. Blaine was with three Sidhe, and it would take all the power at his disposal to overtake three.

Kurt wondered how he had ever slept without Blaine. He wondered how he was going to be able to spend the rest of his life without it. Without him.

He wondered if he could.

Kurt wondered if one of the Sidhe had taken Blaine to bed with them by now. He clenched his jaw with rage at the thought. At the thought of someone subverting Blaine's will and touching him without his true consent. At the thought of anyone else touching Blaine at all. For any reason. Ever.

For the first time, Kurt allowed himself to think about whether or not he could truly do this. Leave Blaine, sacrifice his own happiness for the greater good. He would lose Blaine eventually, of course. He could extend Blaine's life, Sidhe did it in Khryslee all the time, but only by so long. Blaine would die first, and Kurt would have to spend a very long time without him.

But before that, he would be able to spend a very long time with him.

Kurt pushed the thought away forcefully. When he returned home he would be in a position to change things. To make a difference. To save lives. He couldn't dismiss that simply to spend a couple hundred years with the man he loved.

Could he?

No. He couldn't.

Kurt fell asleep with tear-stained cheeks, his hand placed lightly over the pendant at his throat.

He dreamt of golden hazel eyes.