“I don’t understand you. How can you say it doesn’t change anything? Tate wasn’t just incantu.” She spat it out like a curse. “He was outsider spawn.”

Leelo started to rise. “I’m not going to listen to—”

“I’m not finished,” Sage said, grabbing Leelo’s arm and dragging her back down. She hadn’t realized how much stronger Sage was until that moment. “Your mother was a traitor. Your father was a fool. And Tate—”

“Tate is my brother,” Leelo growled.

“He was an outsider,” she finished. “He belonged with other outsiders.”

Leelo shook her arm free of Sage’s grip. “You’re so entrenched in your own prejudice you don’t realize how vile you sound. At least, I hope you don’t. Because the alternative is that you truly are that vile.”

“And you’re so ignorant you don’t even realize how dangerous your ignorance is.”

It took all of Leelo’s resolve not to walk away then. But she needed to know how much Sage was hiding from her. “You’re so convinced you know more than me. That if I knew what you know, I’d break. Well, try me. Let’s see how fragile I really am.”

Sage snickered, but she looked away.

“Go on. Tell me what I’m so ignorant about,” Leelo demanded. The truth might be painful, but the lies were as corrosive as rust, and now that she could see the damage they’d wrought, it was a wonder that any of them remained standing.

Sage shrugged, but she watched Leelo from beneath hooded lids, refusing to give anything away.

“How long have you known about Tate’s father?”

“A year.”

Leelo raised her eyebrows. “A year?”

“I overheard our mothers fighting. Mama was angry with Tate for failing to do some chore, and Aunt Fiona was defending him. I heard my mother say, ‘You know that boy is incantu, and you know he has to go. He’s not even Endlan!’ Your mother started crying.” She paused. “You know how I feel about crying.”

Leelo snorted in disgust. Of course. Other people’s tears made Sage uncomfortable. She would have left immediately.

“I asked my mother about it later that night. That’s when she told me about Nigel Thorn.”

Despite her anger, Leelo whispered the name, just to hear how it felt on her lips.

“It was a mistake not telling you. I know that now.”

Leelo turned to look at her cousin. “Why?”

“Because you would have known to be careful.”

“Of what?”

“Of men. Especially ones from outside.”

Leelo’s blood ran cold. Sage hadn’t said that Leelo would know to be careful in the future. She had said it in the past tense. She steeled her voice the best she could, trying to keep her expression vague. “I’ve been told my entire life how dangerous outsiders are. Why would you think I’d trust one?”