Eomma and Appa lower their eyes, and it’s obvious there’s something else they’re hiding. Auntie Okja glances nervously at the other elders, but then she exhales deeply and turns toward me. “It was me. I made them keep it a secret.”

The elders narrow their eyes at her, and the congregation is now openly shaking their heads and muttering to one another. I suddenly realize Auntie Okja is going to be in a lot of trouble. And we’re going to be the talk of the community for years to come.

“But why?” I whisper. “Why did I have to be a secret?”

“The plain truth is this, Riley,” Auntie Okja says, her voice calm and soft. “When the Horangi staged that attack against the clans all those years ago, many innocent lives were lost. But the Horangi lost some of their own, too. Your parents were two of the scholars who died that day, and you…” She takes a deep breath. “You were still in your mother’s womb when she died. I was there, and I felt you fighting for life. So I saved you. And I brought you to Eunha and James.”

Hattie gasps next to me, and I hold on to her tighter as the world blurs.

“We knew you’d be banished with the rest of the clan if the council found out,” Appa explains. “And we knew the future for the Horangi was bleak and lonely at best. What wrong had you committed but be born to foolish parents? We had to do everything in our power to protect you.”

Eomma wipes her eyes. “We couldn’t let anyone find out about you. So we decided to raise you as our own. And we have never looked back. Not once.”

I don’t get the chance to digest what has just been explained to me. Before I can even stand up and get my bearings, Mr. Pyo, the Samjogo elder, has convened with his fellow elders and begins addressing the congregation.

“All these confessions, as you can imagine, are a great shock to the council. Not only have these two children attempted to perform an illegal spell today, but also it is clear in our code of conduct, as stipulated by the Godrealm, that anyone seen colluding with the excommunicated clan must have their gifts stripped, too. Even if that someone is an elder.”

Auntie Okja lowers her gaze, but my parents nudge her and the three adults cluster together with a mixture of pride and fear in their eyes.

“We stand by our decision to protect and love our daughter,” Appa declares.