Nature's first green is gold

[magnus]

— find what you love and let it kill you —

It threw him to hear mention of the Gates.

Most days, he tried hard to not think of the land—the place where so much had gone wrong for him, where he had lost so much of what he loved. He had lived there for decades, serve as its General, its King, its Lord. He had helped it prepare for war and face threats, seen it weather terrible storms. It was the place where he had loved Joelle and raised his family. The place he had brought Minette when he had helped her rescue herself from Gryffen. The place he had met Ellyse with the sharp tongue and fire in her eyes.

And now it was gone—forever swallowed by something he still not understand. Something flashed behind his eyes—pain, perhaps—but he masked it quickly. Instead, answering simply. “Yes, I lived there for quite some time.” It was easier to leave it at that. This was not necessarily the time to dive into his history for them. “Perhaps I can help.” He glanced back toward the mare they were all crowded around. “I live in Tephra now. It’s a beautiful land, watched over by a massive volcano. Lush, wild.” He was learning to like it—its rough edges matched those of his heart. “I could tell you more, if you would like.”

His gaze was then diverted by the question asked about the sisterhood as he looked to Celeana again, doing his best to give her space but still curious. “Have the Amazons found a new home?” he asked as a follow up before he could help himself. He had been raised by the sisterhood when his mother had ruled there as Queen, and he would always have a soft spot for the warrior women of the vines. Even if she did not seem like she would take kindly to his open curiosity, he could not stop himself from asking anyway.

magnus