so relieved to be going home

Morgan

Fear is dark but my love is a lantern
Shining up like coins in a fountain

It had been an intensely stressful season, but it seemed like things were finally going to be better. Morgan had had a smile on her face since they'd walked away from the Spire, so glad now that she had intervened and Loren had left to give his metal to the Voice. If Amalia had had her way, Neron would still be sick; instead he was walking with her, ready to be his irritating self again.

She couldn't wait to love hating him and to stop pitying him.

The walk back to the portal (Eunike had had a lot of strenuous journeys lately and Morgan had left her for a day of rest) was long, but she didn't mind. For a while she was content to go on in silence, sure that Neron had a lot of thinking to do now that his mind was clear again, but eventually she had to allow herself one question: "How much do you remember? Of the last weeks?"

Hope is a tree sitting on a mountain where the grass don't grow
There's a sad old sea but my love is an island