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any of this! In fact, that prophecy proves how stupid this all is. I wouldn't turn against my own kind."

I swear Volusian smiled. "Yes, but which people truly are your own kind? Your loyalties are now divided."

My anger flared. "No. Even if this is true and I am the daughter of the biggest gentry badass ever, I know where my loyalties are. I'm human. I act human. I have no gentry powers."

"As you say, mistress."

"Get out of here. All of you. None of this is true. I'll talk to my parents and clear this up."

Volusian bowed. "A wise idea, mistress."

I said the words to send them away and then lay on my bed. The storm had quieted outside, but one of my own raged inside me. I wanted to shut down my feelings. I wanted to forget all of this, because it wasn't true. It couldn't be. I wanted to take one of the prescription sleeping pills, but I didn't need Roland's warnings to know how stupid that would be. If every gentry was suddenly hot to get me pregnant, I couldn't let my guard down.

I shouldn't have been able to sleep. Not after fighting gentry and seeing a girl run back to them. Not after learning my one-night stand was a kitsune. Not after discovering that I could very well be something I hated. Something that made me question everything I'd ever believed in.

No, I shouldn't have been able to sleep at all, but my body knew better as tiredness flowed over me. My body knew I'd been up all night, that I'd fought and been injured. And most important, it knew my fight wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

Chapter Twelve

I finally worked up the courage to see my mom and Roland a few days later. Tim had left for the day, but he'd apparently baked this morning. A plate of almond poppy seed muffins sat on the kitchen table, and I grabbed two for the road.

My ability to think clearly had improved with some rest, but my anger and pain hadn't really faded. I still felt betrayed and not just by Wil. If anything, I could forgive him more easily than anyone else. He had not fostered a years-long secret. His actions had been open and desperate. They had not been so insidious as Kiyo's, my mom's, and Roland's.

When I arrived at the house, I didn't bother knocking. The front door was open, and I pushed inside, slamming it loudly behind me.

"Genie?" I heard my mom call. "Is that you?"

I walked across the wood floor, my shoes echoing in the foyer. Mom and Roland sat at the kitchen table, eating lunch. Bread and cold cuts were laid out, along with assorted condiments. It looked so normal. So peaceful and innocent. My mom half-rose when she saw me.

"Thank God you're back safe. I've been so - what's the matter?"

I loved these people so much, but seeing them increased my fury, maybe because I did love them so much. For a moment, I couldn't get the words out. I just stared at them, looking from face to face.

"Eugenie?" she asked tentatively.

"Who's my father?" I demanded of her. "Was I born in the Otherworld?"

I saw her go pale, her dark eyes widening in fear. In an instant, Roland was up beside her.

"Eugenie, listen - " The look on his face spoke legions.

"Jesus. It really is true."

I saw him open his mouth to protest, but then he thought better of it. "How did you find out?"

Honesty, at least. "It's all over the Otherworld. Everyone knows. I'm apparently next in line for world domination."

"That's not true," he said. "Forget about it. You aren't like them."

"But I am one of them, right? At least half?"

"By blood only. Everything else...well, for all intents and purposes, you're human. You have nothing to do with them."

"Except killing and banishing them. How could you set me up for that...if I'm...?" One of them, I wanted to finish. But I couldn't get the words out.

"Because you have a talent for it. One we need. You know what they can do."

"Yes. And you've made sure I do, telling me all the horror stories growing up. But there's a hell of a lot more than that. They're weird, yes, but not all evil."

My mother suddenly joined the conversation, eyes wild and frantic. "Yes! They are! You don't know what you're talking about. When did you have this revelation? A day ago? A week ago? I lived with them for