The Heartwood Feel It All Without You

It's all good! (:

Crawling with Ostregas? Andalusia pulled her eyes from Mordecai to shoot Harlyn a startled glance. Were there more than she and Mordecai? Of course, there were her brothers and her sister, but beyond that -

Mordecai interrupted her thoughts, and she turned her gaze sharp upon him. Though he didn't elaborate on Harlyn's words, his response satisfied her for the moment, for he had not denied knowing Dhani. Which meant Mordecai was either deceiving her, or he had known her father before the fire had killed him. A chill shivered her spine, and she gave him a flickering grin in return. "To be honest, we didn't get far past our introductions," she said, shifting Harlyn a glance before she settled her gaze on Mordecai again. Was he an uncle? A cousin? A brother? The thought she had anything past her three siblings had always seemed ridiculous. Now, the only thing that seemed ridiculous was the fact that she had thought that at all.

Though Mordecai had come expecting questions, Andalusia brought none. She hadn't prepared any, because his entire existence had been non-existant until now. A connection of blood. Until this point, only three had shared this bond with her. She couldn't fathom to imagine how many more shared it as well. "I haven't known any Ostregas beyond my siblings. I always thought we were the last." Though her thoughts had been an honest mistake, admitting them to Mordecai felt foolish. For three years she had lived without knowledge of the network of kin that could even now be surrounding her. How many times had she passed a relative or stayed within their borders without even knowing it?