Jinn Durand huffed a sigh. "Just be back in time for Brad's presentation— he and Dr. Gershwin have been collaborating on that project, and it's important that this goes well. He needs all of our support."

"I will, Mama," Elodie assured her mother as she zipped up her garment bag. "I packed everything I need to get ready in the morning, and Kira's dad agreed to drive me in with Dr. Gershwin to the presentation."

"And call me if you go out," Jinn added. "I want to make sure that you are somewhere safe every second."

"We're just staying at Aideen's." Elodie put the garment bag inside the large duffel bag decorated with Sanrio characters, and turned to face her mother. "It's just a classic sleepover— popcorn, movies, girl talk— you know."

"I'm just a little concerned," Jinn confessed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You never talk to your old friends anymore."

Elodie's chest felt as if it were tightening. But that was no matter. "We just don't really click together anymore, Mama. It's a part of growing up, you know."

"You just seem obsessed with your new friends," Jinn said, stepping closer. "You're always over at this Aideen's house after school."

Jinn tilted her head to the side, as if considering her own daughter from a new angle. "Is everything alright? Is there anything you need to tell me about?"

Elodie felt as if her bra were strangling her, her heart racing. She thought of the smoothie, of how Brad didn't have her powers, and how her mother always wanted her to hide the birthmark that Elodie now knew revealed who she truly was.

For a moment, she considered telling Jinn.

It would be so much easier than lies of omission.

But Jinn went to so many lengths to hide the truth— Elodie wasn't certain that her mother would ever look at her with the same pride or love again, if she became what her mother didn't want her to be.

One day, she would have to explain.

But for now, she couldn't tell the truth. Even if it broke her own heart. 

"No, Mama." Elodie looked her mother straight in the eyes.

Jinn relaxed, but only slightly. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

I can't.

"Yes."

"Good." Jinn nodded sharply. "I suppose I should get you to the Wentworths, shouldn't I?"

"Thank you, Mama," Elodie said.

Jinn smiled. "You know I'm proud of you, right?" 

Elodie nodded and smiled back— even if it made her feel sick.

Kira sat outside the house. It was a beautiful autumn day. Her dads and her set up the Halloween decorations throughout the week— for Halloween was a favorite of all of theirs. Cobwebs, glowing pumpkins, and various animatronic monsters were scattered all over the yard. 

With her backpack on her pack and a pillow tucked under her arm, she was waiting for her dad, Seth, to return from the news station. Her house key was in her pocket, but she wanted to enjoy the days before they turned to the bitter cold that made her mind into a series of icicles and shards, too sharp to focus on any of it. 

"Hey! Kira!"

She looked up to see Galileo, holding a stack of books in his hands. 

"Be careful!" Kira stood at her warning, noticing how close he was getting to a rigged animatronic zombie.

"Oh, thanks," he said, darting away. "You guys really like Halloween, don't you?"

Kira smiled. "Yeah, it's Abba's favorite time of year."

"Well, I just wanted to stop by and give you some of my personal books on dragons," Galileo said as he finally made his way to the front porch.

"Thank you," Kira said, taking them into her arms. "I'll get them back to you as soon as I can—"

"Take your time." Galileo waved his hand casually. "I'm just happy there'sanother cryptozoologist in this town. Everyone was starting to think I was weird."

"I don't think talking to me helps with that," Kira said seriously. "Everyone else thinks I'm pretty weird."

Galileo coughed. "It was a joke— I don't mind the weird and the strange."

Kira took in his ensemble, which was practically identical to the one she saw him wearing at school— just with different jewelry and different colors. 

"Hey, you ordered earrings like mine," she said, noticing the clip-ons on his ears, identical to the ones she'd worn back on the previous Friday.

"I thought they were cool." He looked to his boots and shoved his hands in the pockets of his ripped jeans. "So, yeah. I hope you enjoy those."

"Thanks," Kira repeated. "Me too."

"So, I was wondering," Galileo said after a moment, "if you wanted to come over tomorrow night. I ordered a new telescope and I wanted to try it out. And I saw you were in the Astronomy classes, so I thought maybe you'd be interested—"

"Of course," Kira said. "I'd love to."

He was about to say something else, but then Seth's car rolled up, and he honked his horn.

"I gotta go," Kira said. "Thank you for the books— I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Yeah," Galileo said. "Tomorrow."

Kira then ran up to the car and hopped inside, sitting the books, pillow, and backpack in the well at her feet.

"Who was that?" Seth asked.

"Neighbor kid, Galileo," Kira said, not looking at him. "He's at my school—lent me some books about dragons."

"Does he know?" Seth asked.

"No."

"I won't be angry if you decide to tell him, but do be careful," he said. "Some people have no tolerance for what is different or strange."

Seth kept his eyes on the road, but Kira recognized his stony expression. 

"Did someone say something, at the PTA meeting?" Kira asked. "Or at the station—"

"I'm a big boy, Kira, I can handle it," Seth assured her. "And no, no one's been outright rude. . . Just snide."

"I'm sorry they're being snide," Kira whispered. 

"I've seen worse," Seth said with a shrug. Then he smiled, although it was forced. "But things have been better here, than they were in other places."

Kira remembered when her fathers eventually did get legally married. The fact that she was old enough to remember that, even though her fathers were seven and nine years older than her mother and presumably her biological father, was testament enough to what had happened. 

"Did my mother know about any of this?" Kira asked.

"I don't know," Seth admitted. "I think we all knew something strange and supernatural was going on— and that stuff fascinated Brennan. I wasn't really in contact with her after she left home— you know that. Our parents had kicked me out, and I was making my way as a journalist, dating— making a life for myself. For me and Abner."

Kira remembered the first time she'd been told that particular story. That for some reason, some stroke of luck or fate, Seth's name was listed as her emergency contact. It turned out that Brennan Goldstein had been kicked out of the house for converting to Wicca, and had been living on her own for five years.

She had died in the hospital, giving birth to Kira. With no father in sight— a thing that Brennan refused to give up before she died— the hospital had no choice.

Kira didn't even have a name, then— her mother had died before she even had a chance for such a thing. 

Her mother could have known about being a dragon. But the last of her secrets, the secrets of those five years, died with her. And beyond what a few friends who came to her funeral had said about her interest in superstition and her conversion, there was no one who knew her during those years to tell them.

No one that would speak up, anyway.