wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me; any

[magnus]

you and I both know that the house is haunted
and you and I both know that the ghost is me

Magnus is not surprised when more join the pair; he is never surprised. He, however, is not pleased to see that it is a Valley horse who is the first there. His history with the Valley was a long and tangled one. He had watched them wage war on the weak and hurt the innocent and he had railed against them for years. He had stood next to Katana and their fury at the Valley had produced a child: Brunhild, who had slipped back into the shadows before he had returned to life. The Valley of his knowledge was cruel and vicious.

He was unapologetic of his hatred of it.

That being said, he did his best to not hold all Valley residents responsible for their kingdom’s bloody past. He himself was hardly a pristine soul, and he was not in a place to stand in judgment on anyone. So he doesn’t openly snarl at Gallows when she approaches, although open or not, she’d feel his historic dislike bubbling in his veins. “Nice party trick,” is all he responds, one corner of his scarred mouth rising. When Malis retort comes—significantly sharper than his—he does not suppress his amusement.

He always liked his women with a little bite.

But Gallows is not the only to join them, and his attention is diverted to each in turn. Some he recognized, his gold-flecked eyes lingered on Smother and her python familiar, and some he had never seen before, but that didn’t stop him from giving them a nod in greeting before turning back to Malis. Her discomfort with the largeness of the crowd was palpable, and his chest tightened in sympathy for her. Taking a small step back, he opened up the area for her, lowering his head slightly. “It’s nice to meet you, Malis.”

There is something about her, something sharp and jagged and entirely of his family, but he cannot put his finger on it. He does not know all of his brother’s family; he does not even know the tangling roots of his own descendants. All he knows is that the ghosts haunting her own gaze are the same as his own, and he wishes desperately to wipe them away. “I think I speak for all of us when I say we can offer you a home.” His voice is low, honeyed-whiskey, and he maintains eye contact with her. “As Gallows said, I am from the Gates.” Heaven, he thinks, although he doesn’t say it aloud. “If you’d like to learn more about it, I can tell you, or I can show you in person. Sometimes it helps to see things in person.”

MAGNUS

once general. once lord. once king.