I tuck one of my legs under me on the couch. “I only ever heard the word Strategia once before, as a kid, and even then I was eavesdropping. I swear I didn’t know what it meant, or who they were, until you told me. And I still have absolutely no idea why I’m here.”

His frown is practically a scowl. “But you recited the Bear Family attributes the night we snuck out.”

“Because of a game I played with my mother when I was little. I had all these stuffed animals, and we used to group them into families. The three words that described each family were something I thought my mom just made up. No one was more shocked than me to discover that those words actually mean something in real life.” I level my gaze at him. “Admit it: you must have suspected something was off with me then or you wouldn’t have had me recite them.”

This time Ash’s eyebrows go up. “No. Asking a Strategia to recite their Family attributes would typically have resulted in a snarky response. I was just feeling you out. I suspected something was off when you actually took me seriously.”

“Yeah, well, see what I mean?”

He stands up and walks around the rug in front of the fireplace. I can almost hear him replaying our conversations in his thoughts, looking for discrepancies. After a good minute, he turns to me with a serious expression. “Your behavior matches what you’re saying, but how in the hell did you get in here? We’re prepped from before we can speak, and lots of kids don’t make the cut. Only the very best get in, with some exceptions made for ruling families and their firstborn children. And if you belonged to one of those, even if you were a distant cousin, everyone would know who you are.”

“Well, that’s not me,” I say.

“I know.”

“And there are things I’m not trained in.”

“Yes. Obviously. It’s just so strange.” His seriousness doesn’t disappear, and his intense look returns.

“Knock it off with that look, Ash. At this point I’ll tell you anything you want to know, just ask me,” I say.

He doesn’t respond with a sarcastic remark or a laugh like I was expecting. “You’re certain you’re part of the Bear Family?”

“Well, my mother was Italian and, yes, I’d say she was definitely a Bear. At least based on the games we used to play. But my dad is American,” I say.

“American?” Ash says like he has a bad taste in his mouth. “But still Strategia?”

“Honestly, I didn’t think so when I first came here,” I say. “He’s just a regular guy. But he used to be part of an intelligence agency, so—”

Ash groans and shakes his head.

“What?”