can not shine if you do not glow

Tell the tales of the trail of dead
Lovers learned from slower hands

Liam kept a hand on her until he was sure she was steady, then quickly released her, still scarlet with embarrassment. It was rare that he should lose control of his ability to think in such a way, and he could only hope he hadn't scared her off with his rare display of glee. Fortunately, she began to explain where she'd found the rose, and as she talked, he started to relax. "If anyone was going to find one, it was going to be you," he told her. "No one has searched harder than you." And he was willing to bet that no one had wanted it quite as badly as Maea, if only to be able to shove it in Flora's face.

Turning to the rose, he considered it with a thoughtful expression. Now that she'd found it, would she still want to stay? Had accepting his offer to live in the Greatwood simply been a backup plan, something to fall back on if she never found the elusive flower that they'd spent hours hunting side by side? In many ways, Torchline was surely the better fit for an Ancient, after all, and the Greatwood still needed so much work. But she'd said she'd stay, and he had no reason to doubt her. It was just his own fears raising their ugly heads.

"What now?" he asked, glancing back to Maea. "I mean, I get what it's to be used for, but... please tell me you're not off to fight the Family on your own?"

Losing self in myself
And my demons make demands

Liam