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role. He—Aidan—attended our last show. He was so impressed with my performance that he waited outside of the stage door for over an hour to talk with me.” She smiled, her eyes distant and full of light, as if she were re-living the moment. “We ended up talking until the sun rose. It was a perfect night. For the next two months, we were inseparable.”
    “Did he ever do anything … different?” I asked. “Anything special?”
    “He was the most impressive man I’d ever met,” she said. “He was so talented—it was like every instrument he picked up he could play perfectly. I couldn’t believe that he’d noticed me. I felt so average next to him, but during those few weeks when we were together, it was like living in a dream. Then I found out I was pregnant with you.”
    I knew I hadn’t been planned, but I wrapped my arms around myself, guilt filling my chest at how I’d ruined my mom’s happiness with Aidan.
    “It was unexpected, but I was looking forward to the three of us being a family.” She picked up a clean paintbrush, running her finger across the bristles. “I told Aidan about you, and he said he was happy, but the next day he just … disappeared. I hated him for abandoning us. But my parents helped me through it, and I moved back home after graduation and reconnected with Jerry—you know we dated in high school—and he helped me find happiness again. He promised he would love you as if you were his own, and he’s done that every day. So yes, there are times when I wonder how Aidan could leave us like that, but if it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have had you. So for that, I’m grateful.”
    “Aidan just … left?” I swallowed, my voice cracking. “So easily? Have you heard from him since?”
    I knew the answer, but I needed to hear her say it out loud.
    “No.” She shook her head and turned back to her painting. “It’s like he fell off the planet.”
    I nodded, knowing I shouldn’t have hoped for anything else. If Aidan had wanted to be in our lives, he would have reached out to us. But he never had. He probably never would. The reminder of that hard truth stung every time.
    “Anyway, your dad’s going to be home soon,” Mom said. “How about we check out that restaurant near the cove for dinner? It’s supposed to be beautiful—floor to ceiling windows looking out over the water.”
    With that, the conversation was over, and I headed to my room to get ready for dinner.
    I hadn’t gotten the information I was hoping for, but I had a gut feeling that Aidan had to be a witch. It could be why he’d left. And now I was more determined than ever—I was going to get answers.
    If that meant staying in Darius’s homeroom, then so be it.

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Darius strolled into homeroom the next morning wearing another brown tweed suit. “Good morning,” he said, smiling when he saw that I was still there. “We have a lot to cover today, so let’s jump straight to it. Who can tell us about the event happening tomorrow night?”
    “Tomorrow’s the night of the Olympian Comet,” Blake answered smoothly, not bothering to raise his hand. “It’s coming around for the first time in three thousand years.”
    “Correct.” Darius said. “And who can explain the importance of the Olympian Comet?”
    “The comet is very powerful.” Danielle also hadn’t bothered raising her hand, and she flipped her hair over her shoulder. “The Olympians used its power to lock up the Titans and banish them from the Earth.”
    “Thank you, Danielle.” Darius gave her a small nod. “But let’s backtrack. Why did the Olympians want to lock up the Titans to begin with?”
    Kate’s hand shot into the air.
    “Kate?” Darius lifted his chin and smiled, like he knew whatever she said would be correct.
    “The Olympians are the children of the Titans,” Kate said, like she was reciting the answer from a textbook. “The fight between the Olympians and the Titans started after a