Moonspear who can blame him

Alya was comforted when Charon reacted with his usual paternal adoration, rather than bristling suspicion as she sometimes feared. If there was one thing that was scarier than her mirror sister possibly dying, it was the idea that her father might one day look upon her with scorn.

Which was why he breath hitched a tiny bit when she asked, "Will you still love Hydra, Lyra, and me when we go to claim our own mountain?" she asked softly. There was no part of her apprehension that was an act. This was Alya, laid bare, wanting to know that she would still be Daddy's little girl when she was all grown up.

When would that be, anyway? When would she and her sisters be old enough to strike out on their own? Could it be that they already were? Was childhood over? Did the war hold them captive, or did they hold themselves?

Alya wasn't sure who she was underneath all her masks. At times, she wondered if she was Alya at all.