The cold wind whisks me away as I hold up the crystal to light-leap away to the Neverseen's old lair. The mission is simple, all I have to do I collect information on the Lodestar Initiative. It sounds simple, but you are completely wrong. If the Neverseen find out in playing double, I might as well jump off a cliff and attempt to teleport like Sophie Foster. 

This is so dangerous, I'm not sure I made the right decision. I had only been with the Black Swan for a week, enough to get to know them and semi-trust them. I'm still unsure about my  discussion but it's for the best. I hope. 

I enter the winding cave and turn a few more times until I find Gisela. 

"Gisela, can I-" I say.

"Shay! There you are, you've been gone for ages." Says Gisela harmlessly. 

"Yeah. I accidentally, uh, leaped to the wrong place." I stated nervously.

"Come. We have to talk. About your legacy." She dragged her cape into the next room. Gulp. Legacy? This can't be good.  I reluctantly followed her, but kept a strict face. I had to be focused on the assignment. 

"It's too bad you didn't know the truth earlier." She said sharply. A rush of cold air made me shiver. 

"I don't know what you mean..." i said, sticking my hands into the pocket of my long cape. 

"Your legacy, Shay. Don't be so naive. You're our Lodestar, our suldreen."  I let out a small gasp, but she didn't hear it. 

"Let me walk you through it," she stood up and walked towards me. "When we got word from a spy that the Black Swan was creating a super-elf, I tried to make Keefe this so called super-elf as we got more information from our spy. Keefe was obviously a fail, so we attempted again. This time you have larger and more powerful powers. Bigger and better." 

"And I was a successful Lodestar Initiative." I finished for her, my heart starting to race. "And, what happened to the spy?" 

"Oh," she said briskly, "we killed him. He turned on us and joined the Black Swan." She examined her deals like it was no big deal. What a cold-hearted snake. 

"I've...head word of the Moonlark searching for her parents." I say softly. "Will you let me know my own parents?" Gisela waited to respond. I could feel that she was feeling conflicted between telling me and not telling me. Then she suddenly calmed down. 

"I don't know if you're ready yet to know." 

"Gisela, please. If I know, I could be more powerful." She took this into consideration. The persuasion might not work. I still wasn't sure if she would give in easily. It's like trying to push a really heavy rock to move it. You can't unless you really try hard. Then, suddenly I remember a tool that Keefe taught me while I spent a week with him training to be a spy and a good empath. 

"You can try to change someone's emotions. I'll show you on Foster." 

"Keefe, don't do anything stupid."  Sophie said, clearly annoyed, rolling her eyes and blushing.

"Trust me Miss F, I won't." He turned and winked at me. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, from clearly annoyed, Sophie suddenly looked peaceful and calm. 

"I didn't even know that Empaths could do that!" Shocked, I ruffled my hair. I looked at Keefe, and he looked back at me. He had the same eyes as Gisela, and strangely the same hair color as I do. Probably just a coincidence, I thought. I shook the thoughts out of my head as Keefe told me to try. Sophie was still calm, and then I closed my eyes. I concentrated on the calm feeling she felt. It was like surrounding myself in a deep pool of water that was still and silent. I thought of a feeling that would be the complete opposite. Anger. I  concentrated on the emotion. I had felt it before, countless times, even. I thought of burning flames and eruptions of volcanoes. 

The anger boiled inside of Sophie, suddenly her eyebrows knit together. She opened her mouth, but then she was slowly calmed down by Keefe. She was back to her normal self. "That's a wrap on training for today." She said, and laughed a bit. She had dark bags under her eyes, and I assumed she was going to bed.I looked at Keefe, and he looked back at me. "You did good, Shay." he smiled and then left the room.

I stared at Gisela as she went on and about how she doesn't think I'm ready to be told quite yet. I focused on her boastful emotion and then thought about the emotion confidence. I forced myself to send the emotion to Gisela. Suddenly she stopped talking. I snapped back into the real world, where the scent of rocks and dust filled my nose and the bitter taste of rubble and dust filled my mouth. 

"I suppose you're ready." She sighed heavily. I honestly didn't know if I was ready. I braced myself for the answer I was about to receive.

The words slipped out of her mouth. 

"I am your mother. Cassius is your father. Just like Keefe." 

A cold rush of fear and shock flashed through my body. The words hit me hard. It felt like my brain and body had stopped working. Bum. Bum. My heart raced rapidly. The hairs on my body froze, and it felt as if ice had covered my heart.

"Welcome home, Shay."

This can't be happening. This. Can't. Be. Happening. 

"Or should I say, Shay Sencen?"