I sat there, reeling. More secrets, more truths that I had never suspected. How much had the people I’d trusted really kept from me? Was my entire upbringing one big lie?

“When you were born, your mother no longer wished to be part of Talon,” Martin went on. “Perhaps she didn’t know what she was really working for until later, or perhaps she didn’t want to raise you in the company of monsters. But she knew that she could not simply take you and disappear—Talon would track you both down. So she waited, and somehow, she found Lucas again. She made a deal with him, that if the Order attacked the compound, her family would be spared. They would escape and disappear without Talon’s knowledge. And Lucas agreed that St. George would let them go.” Martin sighed. “But something went wrong. Your mother was killed, caught in the crossfire when the dragon showed itself.”

“And my father?” I asked numbly.

“His body was never found,” Martin said. “But we believe he was shot or burned to death along with the rest of the servants. No one in that compound survived.” Another heartbeat of silence, and then he added, “Lucas never forgave himself for that night. That’s why he took you in. If he couldn’t save your family, he would at least save something. But that is your true heritage, Sebastian. And that is why we are here. Because Lucas saw something in you that I did not—at least, not at first. He saw...not a Talon servant, not a soul tainted by dragons, but a boy. An orphan who was alone in the world, because of him. He decided then and there that he would not let the dragons have you. That he would honor your mother’s last request and save you from the organization.”

For a long moment, I was silent, trying to process it all. I’d thought I knew Lucas Benedict. But he’d had another life before we ever met. He’d known my mother, and that thought sent a spear of anger through me. For years when I was a boy, I had dreamed of my mom and the family I’d forgotten. I wished I could have known them, especially my mother, but it seemed Benedict knew more of my family than I did.

“Who else knew of this?” I asked, finally glancing up. “How many knew who my parents really were?”

“No one who is alive,” Martin said quietly. “Myself, Benedict and the Patriarch were the only ones who knew your parents were Talon servants. But not even the Patriarch was aware of your mother’s connection to Lucas. He made me promise never to reveal that to anyone.”

“Was he ever going to tell me?” I rasped. “Were you? Or were you going to let me believe that Talon killed my parents my whole life?”