Anthe supposed that the stallion had entrapped her attention the second he’d uttered mention of the sea. Instantly, she was alert and straightening herself up despite the obvious tiredness that had stiffened her legs. Swiveling aimlessly atop her head, at the soft single syllable, her ears fell forward, straining as though they could almost hear the roar of crashing waves. She inched closer, making baby steps in the frosty ground. In the back of her mind she knew that she was probably crossing a line of etiquette between near-strangers, but Anthe could not pay mind to niceties and manners. Hector’s words had entranced her and for a moment she was lost, white lids closing over her seaglass eyes as she imagined the Dragon’s Throat. In her mind’s eye she could see golden sands stretching onward, glimmering with the shimmer of heat on the horizon until they reached the sea, glittering like a sapphire jewel beneath the relentless sun. She shuddered, a deep yearning opening up in her soul, aching painfully for the familiar ocean.

“It sounds beautiful.” Her voice sounded faraway as if her consciousness was somewhere that was not her body. Reopening her eyes, Anthe reclaimed what little pieces of politeness her parents had instilled in her. She smiled at the copper stallion, lifting her chin to gaze up into his burning eyes. “Forgive me. I’m not from here and until you showed up, I wasn’t really sure where here even was.” Helovia, she remembered, was what he’d called this place. She let the name idly roll around her mind as she listened to Hector speak of his Dragon’s Throat. We’re a family he’d said and the pale mare swallowed instinctively, her tail twitching across the ground in an irregular, nervous pattern. Anthe hadn’t had a family in years and she’d spent just as long trying to bury the memory that they’d even existed in an effort to smother the guilt that arose with the thought of them. The offer to have another put her on edge and she could feel bitter regret snaking its way into her chest, tightening it painfully. “I…” She paused, a frown gracing her ivory lips as regret and curiosity battled one another in her mind. She’d been born with a gypsy soul – created to adventure endlessly and never settle. It was possible that she’d break this family the same way she’d broken her last, but the chance to see the ocean and to learn about this new and strange continent made her heart race with excitement and even as a wave of dread threatened to consume her, she heard the words leave her mouth and seal her fate. “I’d love the chance to see your land, Hector.” Anthe told herself that it was the exhaustion and the cold that had weakened her resolve, but she couldn’t bother to convince herself. “However, I want to stress now that I know nothing about this place you call Helovia and I don’t wish to impose upon you or your herd. I’m not really sure what I could contribute to your family…” Something in her wanted him to retract his offer, but Anthe knew he wouldn’t and her attempts to dissuade him were half-hearted at best.