Mimi led me into a room that looked like a combination of Redwood's sitting room and the commander's office. Halfants of varying ages were crammed on big leather couches, and someone had even brought in folding chairs, so everyone had a place to sit. The room was full, and I spotted the members of Redwood on the far side watching a presentation.

At the front of the room, Commander Lyssa Johnson was pointing at a map of the surrounding compound. Her white hair was braided back and there was a dangerous gleam in her eyes similar to the one Alana got when she was angry. She pulled a leather ball from her belt and bounced it off the floor and into her hand.

"According to our tunnel schematics, the giants should come out here," she pointed at the map. "We want to mount defenses here and here."

Lyssa rattled off a bunch of numbers and coordinates that meant little to me. From what I could tell, they were trying to cut the giants off from where they would exit the tunnels rather than defend the portal itself.

Every halfant looked battle ready. Each was decked in gear and carried varying weapons. All the half-giants from Pacifica wore the same shade of blue somewhere on them. Some had bandanas while others wore it in their jewelry or armbands. It was a nice sign of solidarity—like they were a real family.

A lot of them looked very similar, and I remembered how a lot of halfants were actually related. My late great aunt Alastra had lived here, and some of her family, like Ashton, still worked and fought here. Being a halfant was a family business because this was the only place we truly belonged.

I understood that now. The halfants had my back. They protected their own. Guarding the borders was their way of life. It was a place of acceptance they'd carved for themselves against societies that hated them. My mother's rebels threatened their very purpose and existence. We had to make sure she couldn't wreak any more havoc.

"Is there anything else we should know?"

After several beats of silence, I realized Lyssa was staring at me with her frosty eyes. I shook my head and blinked in shock. She was asking my opinion?

I realized that was silly after a moment. I was Terri Oakeley. My job was to see the future. I'd arrived at their compound, passed out in a vision.

"I don't..." I tried to think. "My mom wants to have a conversation with me. Maybe there's a slim chance I can talk her down. Or at least slow her down."

"Against Eccentric Ellenora?" A halfant I didn't know called. "Fat chance in the void."

"Peace, Ron," Lyssa said. "You know your defense stances. You have your orders. Make it happen. To battle stations, everyone."

The halfants all scattered. I stood aside as most of the Pacifica and Redwood members walked out the door. Lyssa stood speaking with Alana and Ashton. The one halfant who'd spoken up earlier leaned against the wall.

He stood a full head taller than me, and was roughly my father's age. His inky dark hair was speckled with dark blue strands. His face seemed familiar and his almond-shaped blue eyes looked at me with a piercing gaze.

"So you're my cousin's little girl," he said. "He never stops talking about you and your siblings."

"Father," Ashton broke away from her conversation with Lyssa. "Don't scare Terri off just when we've got her here."

I raised an eyebrow. So this was Tres and Ashton's father. He was Alastra and Daleron's son and my father's cousin. Ron twisted a black ring on his finger and stared at me with his dark blue eyes.

"You know your father and I used to run wild back in the day," Ron said. "Before that mess with your mother. Honestly, I wish I hadn't asked him to meet me in the bar that night."

My eyes widened. "You were there when he met my mother?"

I'd never heard the story of how they met. Dad refused to discuss my mom at all before I knew I was half-giant. Even after I learned what I was, I didn't want to press my dad for details. I knew he got cagey and unwell when anyone brought up my mother and that was before I knew she was a megalomaniac.

"We needed some information from an informant, so we met at a giant bar that allowed halfants," Ron said. "We got a drink, and I wandered off to talk to a friend. When I got back—"

"You don't have to tell me," I said. "In fact, I think I'd rather not know."

Ron shook his head. "It was a bad night, but your father had never blamed you for it. You're the light of his life, Terri."

I wiped back a tear. I wasn't sure why that would make me cry. Maybe it was just because Ron reminded me of my father. Ashton gave me a funny look, but I didn't care.

"Sorry." I said. "I-I just haven't seen my dad in a while."

"I know how to fix that," Ron said. "Come with me, cousin."

Ron led me out of the room and down a hallway that looked like the bedrooms for Pacifica. He pushed open a door with a placard that said Ron Sims and Karis Jones. A bed was present in the room, resembling my guest room at Redwood.

He pulled a small white flip phone from off the bedside table. He slid open a keyboard and pressed a button. Then he handed me the device and smiled.

"Your father and I have always had an emergency line for the family," he said. "We always check in once a month. This communicator will reach in and out of Jontun all the way to his communicator. He always carries it with him."

The phone vibrated in my hand. I almost jumped, but I managed to find the accept button and raised it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Terri?" My dad sounded on the other end. "How—the call said you were Ron. Where did you get his communicator?"

"I'm at Pacifica Compound," I said.

"What?" He sounded shocked. "Terri, tell me what's happening? Is Ron okay?"

"Cousin Ron is fine," I said. "He just lent this to me so I could talk to you. There are some giants attacking Pacifica when the sun goes down. I'm safe and I even know what's going to happen. It's so weird, Dad."

"Take a deep breath," he said. "I knew about the attack. I didn't know that they were taking you to Pacifica. That's not safe. You're not trained, Terri."

"Moreno has been training me," I said. "Apparently, I'm a natural."

"It's not safe, Terri," Dad said. "You know I kept you away from Jontun to keep you away from all this. I don't know how I feel about you being in the middle of this."

"Dad, I need to be here," I said. "This is my fight. My mother is the one hurting halfants. I have to stop her."

"You don't," he said. "She's not your responsibility. Don't face Ellenora. Even if she is your mother, you don't have to play her game."

"If I can distract her long enough," I said. "Maybe she can't hurt the halfants if she's distracted. Besides, if she wanted to kill me, she could have done that already."

Dad sighed. "I'll only ask you one more time to consider staying away, but since I know you won't, I only ask that you stay safe. Don't take any unnecessary risks. I can't lose you, Terri."

"I love you," I said. "And I'm going to stay safe. I promise, Dad."

"You should visit soon," Dad said. "Your cousin Kira is coming to stay at the ranch permanently later this week. I think having you around might ease Dylan's nerves about his half-sister coming back into his life."

Dylan had mixed feelings about Kira. His father had never wanted her as a part of his life. Still Dylan craved family since he didn't have either of his parents. Still, he hadn't seen Kira in years, so I understood why he was anxious.

"I'll see what I can arrange," I said. "I'll have to arrange it with the halfants and bring a guard."

"Translation, you need to make sure Moreno is available," Dad said. "Elise told me you were getting close to him. I think that's great, Terri, and if he makes you happy, I'm happy for you."

My face heated. "Thanks, Dad."

Ron tapped at the communicator on his wrist and frowned. Then he looked at me and held out his hand. It was time to go. We were out of time.

"I love you, Terri," Dad said.

"I know," I said. "And we'll talk more soon."

I didn't want to hang up, but I handed the little communicator back to Ron. He returned it to the nightstand and escorted me back to the main room. Nearly everyone had cleared out except Lyssa, who was inspecting a live map complete with every halfants' location represented by a glowing dot. She stood beside Alana and they both wore headsets and were giving orders about different sections of the landscape outside.

"Pacifica isn't the mildest portal," Ron said. "I don't know why they would choose to attack us specifically. The portal literally spits out under water and several miles offshore of Guam. It's not an easy location to leave without help on the other side."

"No one said my mother was sane," I said. "And she's overconfident because of her visions."

I bit my lip. It was also possible that she was just feeding her followers a fantasy. They might believe they were going to win because that is what she told them she saw. It wasn't like my mother hadn't lied before. She was still gaslighting everyone into thinking I had a twin, after all.

"Ron," Lyssa turned. "There you are. I need you running the cameras here with Alana. I need to be on the front lines with our family."

She took off the headset and handed it to Ron. He took it and smiled before taking his place in front of the monitor. Lyssa looked me over and sighed.

"Where do you need me?" I asked.

"Moreno," Lyssa said.

My favorite halfant smirked and pushed himself off the wall from a corner where I hadn't seen him standing. Moreno looked ready for battle in his gear and he was twisting the gun at his waist. He looked at me and I could see all the love in his eyes.

"You're with me," he said. "You still want to talk to your mother?"

"If it'll stop the fight," I said. "You think you can keep me safe?"

"Always, princessa," he smiled, and the grin reached his eyes. "Let's go find your mother."

Hey friends!! I hope you liked this chapter. I thought it was important for Terri to slow down for a second, especially because we're getting to the beginning of some nonstop action. I hope you're ready for the ride because the future is not what it seems. Until Next Time!!