All eyes fall on me and I straighten. Nora worries at her mouth, and Elaine shifts uncomfortably. There’s something they’re not telling us.

Anna frowns suspiciously. “You knew, didn’t you? You knew he was a Raven?”

Nora sighs, running a hand through her hair. “Yes, we did.”

I set my teacup down. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Nora hesitates; then the tension washes out of her like water wrung from a rag. She takes the last cup of tea, joining me and Anna on the couch.

“You had a lot to take in yesterday as it was,” she tells me. “And we weren’t sure yet if their deaths were related to the Ravenguard. Your parents didn’t want anything to do with magic anymore after Liam was born. They wanted normal lives for you both, so much so that they cut ties with us.” Her voice tightens, and Roy shifts nervously in the silence, almost looking…guilty?

“We were only respecting their wishes,” she finishes.

Frustration flares inside me. “What about my wishes? My parents are dead because of a secret nobody would tell me!”

The room is silent, but my anger still feels ready to burst out of me. I’m so tired of being lied to, of being in the dark. First my parents, then Liam, now the Ballinkays. No one ever considers what I want—they just choose for me, and I’m tired of it.

I hold my breath, forcing my emotions away. I have to stay in control. Mature. If they think I can’t handle this, if they think I’m just a kid, they’ll keep more from me.

“I need to know the truth,” I say more calmly. “I can’t handle any more lies.”

“Very well,” Nora says, and my heart leaps. “Ravens channel the Shield’s power into magic and abilities that they use to protect people from everything from evil spirits to demons. It’s a dangerous job, which is why your parents wanted out of the life when Liam was born.”

When I arrived at Ravenfall looking for answers, I never imagined this is what I’d get. The last day has been enough to convince me everything they’re saying is true, yet it still feels impossible, as though someone’s pulled aside a curtain that’s been there all my life.

“They hunted supernatural creatures?” I ask.

“They were some of the best we knew at it,” Elaine says fondly. A faint smile tugs at her lips. “Bridget once took on a fully grown redcap with her bare hands. And your father, he—” She cuts off with a sad laugh. “Maybe I’ll save that for when you’re older.”

Roy rubs her back comfortingly. “I still can’t believe they’re gone. Why didn’t they reach out to us? We could have helped.”

“Maybe they didn’t think they could,” Nora says quietly. “After how things ended between us.”