Origin Exposed: Descended of Dragons, Book 2 by Jen Crane

is…as it turns out…well…Gresham knew my father. And apparently he was an omni.”
    Stunned silence protracted in the room. I searched each of their faces for some clue to what they were thinking. Timbra’s mouth fell open in shock. Boone frowned with incomprehension, and Ewan’s expression was disturbingly calculating.
    “Damn,” Boone said. “I did not see that coming.”
    “Stella, are you serious?” yelped Timbra, her fawn ears twitching with nervous excitement. The movement caught Boone’s eye and a goofy grin spread across his face.
    “So, that makes you an omni?” Ewan’s eyes had reduced to slits. He squinted so long that I suspected he was trying to look within me. To my knowledge, that was not possible. At least I hoped not.
    “So they say,” I said casually. “Half, anyway.”
    “Who’s ‘they’?”
    “Gresham and Professor Lochlain. I met with them earlier tonight. I overheard Lochlain ask Gresham how someone felt about having a niece. Said whoever it is wants to meet me. Lochlain thought it was a good idea. That this ‘Gaspare’ could teach me the ways of an omni.”
    “Gaspare?” gasped Timbra.
    “That’s what he said. Why? You know someone by that name?”
    Boone was struck silent, a feat in itself, and Ewan had gone pale as the moon. He worked his throat several times, as if he couldn’t swallow the information.
    When he found his voice he asked, “Stella, did you learn your father’s name?”
    “I did.” I nodded. “Gabrio. Gabrio Shaw.”
    “Good gods on a green bean,” Timbra panted before slouching onto the bed.
    Ewan shook his head in slow denial.
    Boone’s big lips, which until then hung open in shock, snapped closed. “So, you’re saying that your uncle, the one Gresham and Lochlain said wanted to meet you, to teach you the ways of an omni…is Gaspare Shaw. Is that what you’re saying?” He turned one ear toward me, his head listing to the side. Like if he just listened hard enough, the answer would be no.
    But the answer was yes. “What the hell’s going on, guys? Who is Gaspare Shaw?”
    “And what of your father?” Ewan almost whispered. “Does he know of your existence, too?”
    I had to be careful. I could only tell them so much. Nothing about my mother or her family. I wasn’t ready to reveal the dragon angle. I might never be.
    “I’m told my father died long ago.”
    “I’m sorry,” Timbra and Boone put in at the same time.
    I nodded my head in acknowledgment, but wouldn't be sidetracked. “Who’s Gaspare Shaw, Ewan? Why are you all acting like it’s a big deal?”
    “Because it is a big deal, Stella. Gaspare Shaw is the most powerful person in Thayer.”
    “No,” I scoffed, though the contents of my stomach threatened to make a reappearance.
    “Oh, yes. If what they said is true, you’re the prime minister’s niece.”
    The blood drained from my own face and I ran a hand across my forehead, which was suddenly covered in a cold sweat. “No,” I repeated. First my mother’s loaded background and now this. My life could not possibly get any more complicated. The prime minister? Of Thayer? Surely this was all just a very bad misunderstanding.
    I was so tired. Tired of questions, sick of surprises, and fed-the-eff-up with secrets and lies. I pressed the pads of my hands into my eyes and tried to force the bad news from the front of my mind.
    “At least things are starting to make sense now,” Ewan said. “This certainly explains Gresham’s excessive interest in you.”
    “Excuse me?” I bristled and looked up.
    He gave me an exasperated look. “Now we know why Gresham latched onto you, Stella. He works for Prime Minister Shaw. He always has. Getting…close to you…was a way for him to keep tabs on you.”
    The sting of his words cut into me like a steel-tipped whip. “For your information, Ewan, we discovered who my father was only recently. He didn’t know who my father was, who I was, only that I existed out there