The Tangle when you grow older and all those boys grow tired of you

She turns around as Blixen slips inside and leans in close. Mallaidh takes in a deep breath and her eyes close, pressing into the smaller frame. She’s riding a whirlwind of emotions as a place she loves turn from something that is hers to something that is theirs. It looks over them that it is still Drageda, which is not really the problem, but that Blixen makes the decision for them, for her, sets her heart a flutter.

A lump forms in her throat and she swims through a weird fog. Most of what is happening feels right but something hangs out deep, on the tip of her tongue, that she can’t quite find words for. She can’t tell Blixen how she felt in Artaax’s arms, having spent so long thinking they simply weren’t compatible. This time, they shared something she doesn’t think Blixen can compete with.

Her stomach turns over in knots, her breathing hitching in her throat.

”Me too,” she murmurs, blocking out any unsavory thoughts that might interfere with this moment.