I shake my head, scarcely able to process what she just said. “Whoa, hold on. That is one hundred percent not the reason I thought I got in here. My dad made a deal that I would flush out Conner? What was the point of sending me here for protection if I was just going to be exposed to a different kind of danger?”

“I can’t speak for your father,” Blackwood says. “But what I will say is that you were more than up to the task. You not only confirmed my suspicions about Dr. Conner, you exposed his guilt beyond any reasonable doubt. And of course, you know our policy for grievances committed against another person.”

I would respond to that, but I have no words. An eye for an eye. Which means as punishment Conner is now…and I was the one who…I can’t wrap my mind around it. Conner was a threat, I know that. But I threw the knife and the rest…Well, I suppose only Blackwood and the guards know the details.

And I don’t even know where to begin with the way Blackwood and my dad apparently see me—as one of them, as Strategia.

“Your father was always exceptionally good at reading people, and while you may lack skill in that area, I not only see what he sees in you, I think you have hidden talents that haven’t even surfaced yet.”

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?”