I tuck my hair behind my ears, flustered. “Then why didn’t he take me with him? He could have explained things, helped me learn things.”

Blackwood sighs. “Even though you’re well trained for having been raised outside of our society, and you think in your own unique tactical way, you lack a deeper knowledge about the Strategia way of life. This was the best place for you to acclimate. It was how your father—and your mother—learned their way as well.”

I want to argue, but I know she’s right. Dad had no time to make a decision and he did the one thing he thought would make me safe and prepare me.

I examine Blackwood. “You knew my dad, didn’t you?”

For a moment she hesitates, then sighs. “Before this, I hadn’t spoken with him in more than a decade, but yes, I knew both of your parents quite well at one point.”

I can tell by her tone that she not only knew them, but that they were close. “Why did Conner hate my parents so much?”

She nods, like she was expecting this question. “Your mother and father were special. They thought they could bring balance and equality back to Strategia, and they had every intention of devoting their lives to it as leaders of their Families. And even in the short time after they left this school, they made some headway. They got the impossible to happen—their Families came to an agreement. But as you might expect, there were members on both sides who were unhappy with their union and felt that balance would never happen or would ultimately mean relinquishing power. Dr. Conner and Jag’s brother were two of those people.”

“This was the uncle my mother killed?” I ask.

“Was accused of killing,” Blackwood corrects me. “No one actually knows what happened. The only thing we do know is that Dr. Conner was present. There was a great deal of suspicion at the time about how the events unfolded, especially since Dr. Conner walked away without so much as a scratch and without confronting your mother. Jag blamed Dr. Conner for not stopping her—he called him the great shame of the Family. As a result, after your father disappeared, Dr. Conner wasn’t named as the next leader, even though he was next in line. He became reclusive and removed from Strategia society. He changed so much that I barely recognized him when he was assigned to be the assessment officer here.”

I sit there for a moment, trying to make sense of my tangled Family history, where people are constantly killing one another. “Thanks for explaining,” I say, and shift to what I most want to know. “Do you know where my dad is right now?”

She shakes her head and her eyebrows furrow ever so slightly. “I haven’t heard from your father since your admission.”

I frown. “Okay, then can we get in touch with him and find out?” My fear of Strategia in Pembrook comes back full-force.