“You don’t know how tempting it’s been to present myself to Micah and Fiona as their long-lost older brother,” Dancer said. “Almost worth getting myself killed. For a time, that seemed like an easy way out. I’d step forward as a Bayar, and they would murder me.”

Memories came back to Han—Dancer’s furious reaction when they’d met Micah and his cousins on Hanalea. It had seemed so out of character at the time. Dancer’s knowledge of wizards and their ways—uncommon among the Spirit clans. Micah’s reaction to Dancer, each time they met…

“Do the Bayars know?” Han said.

Dancer shook his head, half smiling. “I think Micah sees his father in me. It’s like he knows on some instinctive level, but he just can’t bring himself to believe it. I’ve never met Lord Bayar. If he knew, I’d be dead already.”

“What about the Demonai? Averill? Elena Cennestre? Do they know?”

Dancer shook his head. “If they knew, they’d have drowned me at birth. Willo and I are the only ones that knew. Now you. And Crow, unfortunately.”

Han recalled when Willo had brought Dancer to the city, to Speaker Jemson, hoping to cure him of his cursed gift. She’d kept the secret for a lifetime, trying to find a place for the son she loved in a world at war with itself.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Han asked, his mind reeling.

“You’re one to talk,” Dancer arrowed back. “How many secrets have you kept from me?”

“I’m not criticizing you,” Han said. “I’m just asking why.”

“I didn’t know myself, until I began to manifest,” Dancer said. “After, I almost told you, several times. But I knew how you felt about the Bayars after what happened to your family. I didn’t know how you would react. And now there’s Cat. She hates the Bayars—they murdered all of her friends. And my mother—Willo—she made me swear never to tell.” Dancer spoke matter-of-factly, looking directly into Han’s eyes. “For a long time I didn’t want anyone to know. But now—I’m glad you found out. I’m tired of acting like it’s our fault. Like I’m ashamed of who I am. I can’t control what other people do. But I can decide how I’m going to handle it.”

Anger sparked in Han. Why should Dancer and Willo bear that burden—keeping their secret, always worrying it would come out, worrying what the Bayars would do if they knew.

“Does Willo have proof?” Han asked. “That it was Bayar, I mean.”

“She still has the Bayar’s ring,” Dancer said. “When she found out she was with child, she hid the ring away and claimed she didn’t know who the father was.”