• "Evon, you didn't really leave Dilrod just to find me, did you?" Jana asked. Evon paused before shaking his head.
    "No, that wasn't the real reason," he said quietly. "There's another reason I left."
    "If you do not mind us asking, what was your real reason for leaving Dilrod?" Gihan asked.
    "Before I say anything, I want the two of you to swear that you won't tell anyone, anyone, what I'm about to say," Evon said. Gihan and Jana exchanged a look and then nodded.
    "We give you our word that we will tell nothing of what you are about to say," Gihan said. Jana nodded her agreement, and Evon spoke quietly.
    "Coming to find you was not the only reason I left Dilrod," he said. "The other reason was to find Gihan. I'd heard that he was a seer, and I knew I needed to find him as quickly as possible."
    "Why were you searching for me?" Gihan asked, although he felt he already knew the answer before Evon spoke.
    "I'm sure you already know, Jana, but Gihan does not," Evon said. "I'm a changeling."
    Jana gasped when her brother spoke, surprised by his revelation. She hadn't expected him to say that, although she knew he was telling the truth, since there was no flash of red as he spoke.
    "How long have you known, Evon?" she asked.
    "I've known since Jany told me and Joel that we were both changelings," Evon said, "which was about four years ago."
    "What about Jany?" Jana asked. "Is she one, too?" Evon nodded.
    "Aye, she is," he said. "She's the one who discovered it first."
    "How did Jany find out?" Jana asked. Evon shrugged.
    "I'm not sure," he said. "She never told us how she found out."
    "I wonder where she and Joel are now," Jana said to herself. "Evon, did Jany and Joel know about Gihan?"
    "No," Evon said, shaking his head. "I never told them, since some of the people we knew from Dilrod disappeared over the last few weeks."
    "What about Jason?" she asked. Evon nodded.
    "He was one of the ones that disappeared," he said. "Although I don't know why or where he went."
    "I believe he may have been one, as well," Jana said quietly, and Gihan and Evon turned to look at her.
    "How do you know, Jana?" Gihan asked.
    "When we first moved to Dilrod, I sat down beside him on the first day of school, but he moved away from me," she answered. "And when I finally got a chance to ask him what was wrong, he told me he smelled something weird every time I got close to him. Yet when I met Luke and Jona, I asked them if they smelled anything weird, and they said no. So that right there tells me Jason was one, as well."
    "You could be right, Jana," Gihan said. She looked over at him.
    "I believe I am, because I smelled something weird every time I got close to him," she said. "Evon, what do you know about our kind?"
    "You're not a changeling, Jana," Evon said. She blinked, surprised by his words.
    "What do you mean?" she asked.
    "Mom and Dad weren't like Jany, Joel, and me," he answered. "They adopted the three of us before you were born. You are their only birth child."
    So that voice was right, Jana thought. Why didn't I see the signs before now?
    "If they were not like you, then what were they?" Gihan asked.
    "Don't say it out loud," Jana said. Evon and Gihan turned to look at her again.
    "Gihan will tell you," she said.
    "Jana has the ability to hear the thoughts of those around her," Gihan said softly, making sure that no one outside the room could hear his words. "It would be best if you say what you want to say in your mind, and then Jana can relay it to me later."
    Evon looked from Gihan to Jana and back, not sure if they were playing a trick on him.
    Evon, if you don't believe me, then you might as well leave now, Jana told her brother in her mind. He looked at her, surprise written clearly on his face.
    How did you do that? he asked.
    I can communicate using telepathy, Jana answered. Anything you don't want others to hear can be said this way safely.
    I see, Evon said. In that case, you should know that our parents weren't changelings. They were dragons.
    What do you mean they were dragons? Jana echoed, confused. Evon nodded.
    Exactly what I said, he told her. They were dragons, golden dragons, to be exact.
    Wait, our parents were golden dragons? she asked. He nodded again.
    Aye, they were golden dragons, he said. I thought you knew by now. She shook her head.
    No, I had no idea, she said. So it's true then. My destiny is set apart from the rest of the changelings.