Ok, so I already guessed the secret, and I'm not gonna give away any spoilers, but I do have to say one thing: OMFG this blew my f***ing mind. 
 This might as well be the grand climax of the entire series and it has cemented my undying love for it. I know there's more story before the end of the season, but holy hugalamunda I laughed and I cried as I read this. Talk about surprise upon surprise. Sure, all the super-powery stuff was fun, but to what ultimate end? I just couldn't believe it as I was reading it. 
 Romance fiction people, take note, you probably ought to review all your Buffy and Angel tv watching, get the hell caught up with season 8 here, and be prepared to read and weep.