Math was one of the few subjects that was almost exactly the same at the Academy as it was at any other school. In history, we often learned things that normals never heard, such as how the Touched had secretly helped the allies win during the second world war. But in math, one plus one was still two…even for sorcerers.

Mr. Estoban demonstrated some math problems in front of the class while I struggled to stay even halfway focused. My thoughts kept wandering back to last night and my talk with Amylia. I kept running it over and over again in my head, especially the part where she sort of claimed to be my great great grandma…with a few more greats thrown in, and then she’d practically shoved me out the door without a word of explanation.

Amylia had been distracted in class this morning, very distracted. She’d ended up turning class into a free study period and let us all practice with our spells while she stood back and watched over us with only half her attention. It was obvious to me that I wasn’t the only one who kept thinking about last night.

When class was over, Kaellie bumped into me and snapped, “Watch it freak.”

“Frak off, bimbo,” I responded in annoyance.

Ever since my duel with Teressa, the two of them had continued with their passive-aggressive harassment but had stopped the more obvious attacks. Once the teachers had finally made it clear that straight out attacks and even ‘practical jokes’ would no longer be tolerated, they’d focused their attention on making me miserable in other ways. It was actually a relief to me since this kind of annoyance was easier to deal with than having my clothes dissolved in public.

“You want a piece of me?” Kaellie demanded, making me suddenly realize what she was really up to. “I challenge you to a duel.”

“I accept,” I responded coldly. I’d been itching for a rematch with Teressa, but Kaellie had been one I wanted a chance at as well. Not only would this give me an opportunity to fight her straight on but it would also be good practice for my rematch.

Kaellie smirked as she said, “Then prepare to lose again…freak.”

With that, Kaellie turned and walked away while Sylvie came up beside me and said, “She’s up to something.”

“Of course,” I responded with a sigh. “She and Teressa probably found some kind of spell they plan on using to humiliate me in the duel.” I thought about the spell I’d used to get Teressa and couldn’t resist smirking. “They’ve probably figured out a way to protect themselves from that breast enlargement spell too.”

“So what are you going to do?” Sylvie asked me curiously.

“I shrugged at that. “I’ll figure something out. I’ll have to bounce a few ideas off Gayle and see what she thinks.”

Sylvie nodded at that and then abruptly asked, “Are you okay? You’ve been kind of odd all day…”

“I’m fine,” I assured her.

“It’s that date with Todd, isn’t it?” she asked me. “You’re worried about it, aren’t you?”

“No,” I responded with a smile. “I’m looking forward to that. It’s just that I got some really weird news last night and I don’t know what to do about it.” At Sylvie’s curious look, I quickly added, “I wish I could tell you about it but I kind of promised to keep it to myself.”

Sylvie nodded, looking a little annoyed that there was a secret that I wasn’t sharing with her. However, she seemed to understand and didn’t push it. Instead she told me, “Well, if you need any help preparing to cream Kaellie, just let me know.”

I just laughed at that and promised, “I sure will.”

Once classes were done for the day, I went back to my dorm room and was surprised to find a letter sitting on the top of my desk. I picked it up and read it aloud. ‘Erin, please come see me at 7:00 for tea and talk. We have much to discuss.’ It was signed simply with the letter A.

I was extremely apprehensive as I walked to Amylia’s quarters. After she’d told me that she was my great plus grandma, I had absolutely no idea what to think about that or her. I wanted to talk to Vivian to double check the family tree she’d charted out, and even more, I wanted to talk do my dad. However, I couldn’t possibly say a thing to either of them without breaking my promise to Amylia.

When I knocked on Amylia’s door, she quickly ushered me inside and had me sit in the living room. She watched me with a strange expression as she poured two cups of tea and handed one to me. Only then did she sit down as well.

“Erin,” she said gently. “I would like you to do something for me. I would like you to hold onto this for a minute.” She held up a red crystal and said, “Invoke,” before handing it to me. I hesitantly accepted the crystal and it began to glow in my hand. Amylia’s eyes widened slightly and she said, “I see…” She took the crystal back and then set it on the coffee table before looking at me thoughtfully.

“What was that?” I asked curiously.

Amylia gave me a gentle smile and said, “You must understand that what you told me last night is impossible. Yet the test I just gave you confirms that you are indeed of my blood. You are indeed descended from me.”

I gulped at that, staring at the crystal that had glowed in my hand and then at Amylia. She looked nearly as shaken as I was and was staring at me with a sad and thoughtful look.

“My son was named Robert Erland Dupree,” Amylia said quietly.

I startled at that. “My middle name is Erland.” Then I quickly amended that. “Or at least it was.”

After my change, my name had been changed from Aaron Erland Morris to Erin Elayne Morris. The Erin part was easy to adjust to since it still sounded the same as it used to, but I couldn’t think of myself as Elayne yet and it still startled me when I saw it written down.

“Interesting,” Amylia commented with a wry smile. “An old family name I take it.”

I nodded at that. “Dad said I was named after his dad.”

Amylia smiled faintly at that and closed her eyes. After several very long seconds, she whispered, “The last time I saw Robert…he was your age.” Then she opened her eyes but I could see she wasn’t really looking at me or anything in this room. “I was ashamed of my hybrid status…of being Were as well as Touched. My husband held nothing but contempt for the Were so I never told him, nor did I tell our son.”

“How…?” I started to ask but then bit my tongue.

I couldn’t understand how she could possibly hide something that important from her husband and son. If her husband didn’t like the Were, how could she even have married him? She’d said it was an arranged marriage but it still didn’t make any sense to me.

“I kept my secret shame for many years,” Amylia continued, her voice filled with sadness and even guilt. “I had assumed that since Gregor was Touched on both sides of his heritage, that Robert would be Touched as well. I never even considered that he might inherit my Were side…” She paused at that, looking almost as though she was in physical pain. “After Robert turned sixteen, his father and I waited to see what form his talent would take, but on the first full moon, he transformed into a monster instead…into a chimaera.”

“Frell,” I whispered, realizing just how confusing it would be to become a Were when you had no idea it could happen.

“I hadn’t thought to warn Robert,” Amylia continued in a quiet and pained voice. “He was frightened and confused and lashed out. His father thought him a monster attacking the house and tried to kill him. I tried to stop Gregor, telling him that I was a hybrid and that Robert had inherited my Were nature, but that only infuriated Gregor further and he attacked me as well.”

Amylia went silent for nearly a full minute and just sat there with tears coming down her cheeks. She sipped at her tea while she tried to calm herself. I just watched her uncomfortably, not sure what I could do or say to make things better. It was almost painful to see a teacher that I respected so much like this.

“When I came to,” Amylia said quietly, her voice steady again though I could tell it took a lot of will to keep it so. “Our home was burned to the ground and I was certain that Robert had been within when this happened. I’ve held his death that night as a fact until now.” She looked me in the eyes and added. “After that, I could never bring myself to have another child, yet you are definitely of my bloodline.” She took a deep breath and smiled faintly, “Now I know, he must have escaped the fire and survived.” There was a clear sense of relief in her voice as she said that last.

“And he never told you he was alive?” I gasped, realizing that it was a stupid question even as I asked it.

Amylia shook her head sadly. “Perhaps he mistook me as dead too,” she said quietly. “More likely, he wanted nothing to do with me after this. After all, it was my lies and secrets that destroyed our family…and which I had thought killed my son. He would probably have seen my betrayal as even greater than that of the father who’d tried to kill him.”

I stared at Amylia, whispering, “I’m sorry…” I couldn’t imagine what this would have been like for Amylia…or for her son. I was suddenly very thankful for having the family I did.

“After this,” Amyia told me with a sad look, “I was left with a husband who rightly blamed me for our son’s death. The only other family I had at that point were an aunt and uncle I barely knew and an older sister who despised me. I cast off all family ties and have been without any family since.” She gave me a wry look and told me, “The idea that Robert had children of his own…that I have…descendants…” She shook her head slightly. “It is more shocking than you can imagine.”

I nodded at that, still feeling stunned by these revelations and sure of what to think. Did this mean that I should start thinking of Amylia as my grandma? That would just be weird, especially since I’ve been calling her by her first name.

“I understand the irony of my situation,” Amylia said, seeming to speak to herself more than me. “I lost everything because I kept my Were side a secret, yet two centuries later, I am still doing the same thing. You would think I might have learned something from that.” She paused to sigh. “Now, I fear that should my hybrid nature become known, I will lose what I hold dear now. My position at the Academy.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” I promised her again.

Amylia sipped at her tea and watched me with a thoughtful expression that made me a little uncomfortable. “I cannot risk losing the life I have built for myself,” she finally said, giving me a faint smile. “Yet I cannot ignore the family that Robert left behind.”

“What do you mean?” I asked her cautiously.

“What I mean,” Amylia responded slowly, giving me an almost amused look, “Is that I intent to accompany you to this gathering of mythics so that I may see these distant grand-children for myself.”