She'd been open to the truth, when Ghia had presented it. Her mother, Hope, had been part Magi, as had her Aunt Chairty, Ghia's mother. That was the truth as far as they knew it. Accepting Ghia as her cousin had been easier and more of an honour than accepting her Exsil Vis lineage. Or the possibility that she was the product of an incestuous relationship -- Ghia had shown her the necklace with the crest of their family on it and shared her conclusion that Hope and Charity were not Exsil Visian by marriage alone. That combined with Lares' report of Hope's actual age seemed to cinch it -- Hope was probably of an older generation of the Exsil Vis family, and had married back into the line for some strange reason neither Ghia or Anala could fathom. It went against all convention and common de
