“You’re right. It’s time you knew the truth,” she says.
Her eyes lock on mine with the eerie calm of someone about to detonate a bomb, and I brace myself for the implosion. Whatever she’s been hiding, it must be bad. Really bad. Because what kind of manwalks away from a woman like my mom? From two baby girls?
“Why did he really leave us?” I ask, heart thudding in my chest. “Was it drugs? Alcohol? An affair?”
“Oh no. Nothing like that.” Her throat bobs as she swallows hard. “Your father was—is—the most amazing man I’ve ever known. We were happy. But he isn’t like everyone else. He’s… different.”
“Different how?”
She leans in, voice dropping. “Your father’s a Titan.”
My skin prickles uneasily.
“Awhat?”
“A Titan,” she repeats. “They’re an ancient race of god-like beings who existed before the Olympians. You’ve heard of the Olympian gods, yes?”
“Like… from Greek mythology?”
“Exactly.” She nods, looking pleased. “Many years ago, there was a great war between the Titans and the Olympians. The Olympians won, and your father—Sonar—was imprisoned in the Underworld by Zeus and his brothers Hades and Poseidon. But he escaped. Came here. Fell in love with a human woman…Me.” She presses a hand to her heart. “And we had two daughters together.”
I stare at her, willing the words to stop, a slow pressure building behind my ribs.
This cannot be happening…
“I was pregnant with your sister when they found out he’d escaped,” she says. “Zeus sent the Watchers—Olympian guards—to drag your fatherback. He was terrified. Not for himself, but for us. Children with a mortal woman are forbidden, and he was afraid of what they’d do if they ever found out about you and your sister. He said he had to go, that he’d come back when it was safe.”
Her voice catches, and a single tear slips down her cheek.
“I—I never saw him again.” She draws a shaky breath. “But he was right. The danger, I’m afraid, is very real. It’s why I’ve been so protective, so scared for you all these years.”
My head spins as she finishes her story. I can’t believe it; she’s not denying any of it.
Crystals and aura paintings are one thing. Weird, sure, but harmless. Kooky. Eccentric. Something embarrassing to whine to Hayes about.
But this?
This is the kind of thing people get strapped into straitjackets for. The kind of thing that gets you committed.
“Mom… you know this isn’t real, right? Titans? Olympians? They don’t exist.”
“Of course they do. Have you not been listening to me all these years?” She stiffens. “The tourmaline bracelets? The protection pouches? What did you think it was all for?”
“Those were just stories,” I say, my voice faltering. “Silly little fairytales.”
“I can assure you, Alysander, it’s all as real as you and me.”
I can only stare at her, stunned into silence.
My mother has held down a steady job, paid bills, raised two kids on her own. She functions in society, mostly. Yet all this time, she’s genuinely believed she had children with a god from another realm. And somehow she’s looking at me like I’m the one who’s out of touch with reality.
“Mom… have you ever thought about talking to someone about this?” I ask gently.
“You mean a therapist?” She scoffs. “What for? So someone can tell me I’m crazy when I already know I’m not?”
I rub my temples, my headache from earlier returning with a fury.
“I really think it could help. I could even come with you,” I offer.
