Ankyra Sound the fault is not in our stars, but the moon; that idiot rock ruins everything

Mallaidh knows the man in front of her is her father, was the husband to her mother, and will always hold a special place. They do not have a relationship now and she doubts they ever will. If he only pops up once every few seasons for short periods of time, she knows she can’t hold on to any of that. Étoille had been with her in her early days of Drageda and though he is not here now, he plays a bigger role than Arturo could ever fill.

She can pretend, though, for a little while. Once, she imagined all her family back in one piece, in the strath and prospering as they were always meant to be. These days, it’s hard to even remember she’d thought it at all. She hasn’t seen Eirlys or Ceallach in so long and Roarke no longer exists to her. And Reed?

Her heart strangles and she looks down to the ground so he doesn’t see the same very wounds still festering on her.

You’ve grown so much.

“Yeah, I…” she pauses, uncertain of what to say. Their last meeting had been too brief to even try and tell him about her life. About Drageda or Blixen or…

It’s not his fault he missed it all. Mallaidh stiffens, surprised that it is not her mother's voice.

“I’ve been okay.”