Arrow Lake Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.

She could see the anger rise in him at her response, and she froze, waiting for him to calm himself. She wouldn't tolerate his temper in here so close the children. Family or not, she would swiftly kick him out on his ass if he snarled or raised his voice to her in here. His loyalty to their father had always been unwavering, even in the face of his cruel, unfair ruling; Taki hated it, and she knew it would be a source of conflict for them. But he seemed to calm just as quickly, refusing to look at her as he continued to speak. He informed her of her youngest siblings, born earlier in the year even though it was usually not allowed at their parents' age, and she briefly regretted not being able to know them. Despite the longing to know her younger siblings, she couldn't help the flash of irritation at hearing of her parents breaking tradition. Of course her hypocritical father would bend the rules to fit his own needs. But when he continued, she froze again, and anger coursed though her. She killed them? Taki asked exasperatedly, knowing exactly who he was talking about without even needing to hear her name. Why? She couldn't help but imagine her own children in that situation; they were almost the same age now. The thought of someone hurting them was almost too much to think about, and her stomach churned at the intensity of her emotions. She just couldn't believe Shila had murdered her own family. She could tell Sadiq was rattled by the ordeal; who wouldn't be? And she wanted to comfort him, but something told her he wouldn't welcome it. Unwanted, thoughts of Sia came to mind; he had always seemed more comfortable with her affection, but Sadiq always only seemed to tolerate it for her benefit. So now, when he was already radiating discomfort, she felt like giving him some space would be best. Plus, she knew the awful story wasn't over yet.