I was up in my room in Dragon Tower as I set up the ComMirror getting ready to call my mother. Time for answers. Real answers.

Okay.

Let's do this.

"Lucinda Stewart."

The glass rippled and my mother was looking back at me.

She was biting her bottom lip with clear worry. "Hi."

"Hi Mom."

"So. I guess it's time I told you the whole story, huh?"

"Please."

She let out a long breath. "My maiden name was Lucinda Hearth."

"Wait. Wait. That means that Vivian Hearth is-"

"My mother and leader of our coven. And your grandmother. Congrats on being the first Hearth to be picked by Dragon Tower in four generations."

"So…Serafina Hearth is…?

"Your great-great-grandmother and your namesake. You know about her?"

"Was she fond of round glasses?" I asked.

"I was barely six years old when she died, but I remember her glasses and the smell of lavender."

"I think I saw her. An Echo of her writing a song. The song you used to sing to me to get me to sleep."

"She did write that. She sang it to her children and it got passed down from parent to child."

"Celica is going to be furious when I tell her about this. Hearth, huh? Is that the big secret?"

"It's the start. There's something else you really should know."

Oh no.

"It's about your curse." She was frowning and looked unsteady, I could see her getting paler.

"It's okay Mom."

"It's really not," she was shaking. I hadn't seen Mom look scared like this before. "My mother's ex-husband, my father, is Dearil Merripen. He's the one who cursed you. That dark green magic is his."

The curse started to burn with pain.

"Serafina?!"

"I'm fine." I held my hand as out of view as I could.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"It's okay. I think I understand."

"When Merripen kidnapped me and my friends. It was because when Mother divorced him she got full custody of me and I guess he wanted to meet me. He hurt my sister when he realized I wasn't interested in being his daughter."

"Your sister. Ruby?" I remembered what Vivian Hearth had told me.

She nodded, "Ruby Flare. She has a son a few months younger than you. Should be in your class. I think he's using his father's last name, Quicksilver."

Wait. Wait! "Jarec?!"

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"You know him?" She asked.

"He's one of the other Dragons!"

"Small world."

"One of my friends is my cousin."

"Yes."

"Anyone else I'm related to that I should know about?"

She had a strange expression on her face, "No one who's still alive."

"Mother please. I'd rather not be blindsided by something else later when we could talk about it now."

"Okay. Just be aware that the most famous ancestor of the Hearth line is Malcarg the Tyrant."

"Is that what you meant when you used to tell me this school was in our blood?" I asked.

"Well…that and because every generation of Hearth has gone there since its founding. And most of us taught there at some point or another."

"So my list of surprise relatives is: Grandmother Vivian, Great uncles Reginald and Hector, Cousin Jarec, Aunt Ruby, Distant Ancestor Malcarg and an evil Granpa."

"That's everything."

I let out a sigh. The pain faded in my wrist. "Okay. Okay. I…need to think and absorb this for a little while."

"I know. If you need to talk about this to anyone then let me know."

"We'll see," I told her. "I'll call you later."

I tapped the glass and watched my mother's face fade and saw my own face look back at me.

I flipped the mirror over and let out a shaky breath. I grabbed a pillow from the bed and let out a scream into the unfeeling and uncaring bundle of cloth and feathers.

(*********)

I was composed by the time dinner rolled around.

Not that anyone would have noticed.

I sat there in quiet trying to not think too much about my conversation with my mother.

But it would seem Angelina was more observant than I had given her credit for.

"You seem gloomier than normal. Is everything okay?"

"I'm…thinking. Mostly. It's nothing to worry about."

Runebringer, who was also here for reasons, spoke. "How can you tell? She seems the same."

"Can we not today?" I asked. "My brain is fried."

"Oh wow, you are actually upset. All right then. We'll leave you alone."

"Thanks."

My plate of pastitsio, the Greek answer to lasagna, and glass of blueberry tea didn't comfort me.

Maybe I should talk to someone.

(*********)

I was sitting in my spot on the seat by the stained-glass window. I curled up into a ball on myself with my right hand gripping my cursed wrist tightly.

Yeah I wasn't okay.

"Do I want to ask?" I looked up to see Jarec sitting in front of me. He looked worried.

I sighed. "We're cousins," I announced.

Jarec's red eyes blinked a few times. "Ah. You finally got told."

"You knew?" I accused.

"Vivian let me in on the secret a couple of weeks ago. She asked me not to tell you until your parents talked to you about everything."

"Did she also tell you that Grandfather dearest is the one responsible for my curse?"

"That would explain a few things."

"I was told after the duel. Still processing."

"Being a member of the Hearth coven is a serious thing."

"Is it the whole Malcarg thing?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Being even a tangential member of a major coven is not all it's rumored to be. But if it makes you feel better I haven't told anyone else. The others think I know the same amount they do."

"I appreciate that."

There was a rustling of paper and I looked down to see Scraps trying to climb up onto the seat where we were.

Jarec leaned over to pick up his little creation.

"You can pet him if you want."

I uncurled and held out my hand to the paper dragon.

Scraps set himself down into my lap and nudged my arm.

It was nothing like petting a dog or a cat. But the gesture was nice and Scraps was cute enough that any worries of papercuts weren't on my mind.

"Cousins," I repeated to myself. "Well good news for you, you're my favorite cousin. Also my only one so…yeah."

He laughed, "Same."

Then the one complaint I had about Dragon Tower decided to interrupt our little moment.

Jarec and I both covered our ears to protect them from the horrific scrapping sound of the dragon statue outside moving that made the inside shake.

Not fond of that.

The statue was peeking in again. From below. I could see the top of his head and his eyes which were now glowing the same blue as the echoes.

"I guess you're part of the family too, in a way," I commented out loud.

"I don't think he's the weirdest member of the Hearth Coven."

"That is neither comforting nor reassuring. It's actually rather terrifying. How bad is the rest of the coven?"

"Convince your mother to come visit us over Yule and you can see for yourself."

That made me pause. Right. I had almost forgotten about… "Only if my dad is allowed to come with."

Jarec, to his credit, flinched. "Yeah. Fair. I heard a bit about that."

"Mom told me her family couldn't accept that she married a human man. I'm not judging you for that, but…"

"But the rest of the coven may not have changed that much," he finished for me.

I nodded.

"Well what I know is that my mother and Vivian would love if she visited with you. Human husband or not. But if you want I can mention it to Vivian. Maybe she and your mom could work something out."

"Worth a try. And she's probably coming to the parent's weekend."

"Mom already has made plans to show up."

"My mom will be here, unless something unforeseen happens. I'll keep you updated if you want."

"Finally getting to meet the mysterious lost aunt Lucinda."

"I'm warning you now; she's nothing like me. I take after my father way more."

"Well now you've gone and made me more curious about it."

"You'll see in November."

We were both silent for a few moments before I let out a lound and undignified yawn.

"I should probably go to bed," I told him. "Thank you for talking to me about this. I'll see you tomorrow. Hopefully the council meeting goes better than the last one."

"Goodnight. Sleep well."

"You too."

I actually slept better that night than I expected. Bonus points for it being dreamless.

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