Leaving Jontun was far easier than I expected. I knew exactly how to get to the grove of trees where the portal was from dozens of flying patrols. Every time I went over it someone would point it out as if I'd never once been there in my life. 

 One pinprick of blood transported me straight from Jontun to my family's ranch. I breathed in the gorgeous redwood-scented air on Earth for the first time in weeks and felt myself grinning like a madwoman.

I was home.

It didn't take long to get to Granmam's house. No one ever locked the front door of the big ranch house, so I walked straight inside and right into the kitchen.

Elise nearly dropped the coffee pot she was holding when she saw me. My stepmother looked exhausted, and there were dark shadows under her eyes, but it didn't stop her smile. 

"Hello, Terri," she said. "Welcome home."

"Thanks," I said. "Where is everyone?"

Elise sighed. "Dylan took the boys out to patch up one of the fences. Your dad went back to San Fransisco yesterday for a board meeting, and Clarissa went with him for some kind of intervention with your Uncle Chris."

That didn't sound good. Anytime Granmam got involved with Oakmore company meetings, she was there to guilt and shame her oldest son. She didn't mess around, and she wasn't afraid of tough love. 

"What about Jilly?" I asked. 

"She's upstairs," Elise said. "You look good, Terri. What are you wearing, though?"

I glanced down at the outfit Gayle made me. "There are halfants that tailor clothes."

"You look nice," Elise said. "Jilly will want that outfit the moment she sees it."

I smiled at that. My stepsister found cute clothes with such ease. I'd never been able to walk into any store and find clothes quickly. 

"And how are you?" Elise asked. "I mean, really. Tell me how you've been."

I didn't want to scare her. A lot of stuff had happened since I'd left, and I was sure Dad had told her about all of the things happening to me. 

"Training is easy," I said. "I learned how to fly. I'm stronger, and I'm learning how to take care of myself."

Elise smiled. "I knew the training would be good for you. Your father was so afraid that you'd be overwhelmed and forced to hide."

"I'm doing okay," I said. "Really, the halfants have been great. Moreno has been sparing with me, and I'm ready to defend myself."

Elise sucked on her lip. "He hasn't been too hard on you? I know that boy is troubled."

I almost laughed. "Moreno and I have become good friends."

"Friends, huh," Elise raised an eyebrow. "Can't say I'm surprised. He can be charming when he wants to."

My cheeks heated. "It's not like that, Elise."

"There's nothing wrong with that, Terri," Elise said. "You're a beautiful young woman, and he's a fool if he doesn't see that."

Elise was right. I could do what I wanted. I wasn't entirely sure if Moreno wanted me, but I had a strong suspicion that he might. 

My stepsister walked into the kitchen, yawning. Jilly wore a flannel top and old jeans, which was usually my look, but it didn't look bad on her. Her eyes widened when she saw me. 

"Terri, what are you doing here?" She asked. 

"Came to see the family," I said. "The compound was too boring today, and I was feeling a bit cooped up."

"Cooped up in that big compound?" Jilly frowned. "With flight training?"

"I flew here," I said. "Is it a crime to want to see my family?"

Jilly walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a mug. Her mother gave her a side eye over drinking coffee at the age of sixteen, but she didn't say anything. 

"I'm supposed to go back to the city to visit my father next week," Jilly said. "And Granmam and Chuck are in another custody meeting with Chris about Kira. It must be heated if they took Granmam, but Mom won't tell me  anything."

"It's not your business," Elise said. "I just hope they come to an agreement soon. One that hopefully doesn't cost the family too much."

I wasn't sure what could be done about Kira. Dad and the rest of the family had tried to get Uncle Chris to fight for custody of her before. Chris never wanted to pursue it, and Kira's mother wanted too much money in exchange for her daughter. 

I'd seen Kira in one of my visions. We'd win someday, and Kira would be with her family.

"I think we'll see Kira sooner than we think," I said. 

"Ooh," Jilly smiled. "Is that a prophecy?"

"Prophecy?" I laughed. "I don't do prophesy. I see the future in weird flashes. No riddles or anything. Besides, the future is always changing around me, and I don't even understand half the stuff I see."

"Mystery," Jilly waggled her fingers. "Ooh, keep it all to yourself."

I eyed Elise. I had no idea if the compound had informed my father about my epic collapse dream. I didn't want to worry him, but if Alana or one of the others told him, he'd most certainly told his wife. 

"It's not worth the headache seeing the future," I said. "I'd rather live in the here and now. Where's Dylan anyway?"

"Working," Jilly said. "He's out walking the cattle or something or other."

I almost laughed. I'd spent a fair amount of time on the ranch every summer of my life. Dylan taught me all his chores, and I knew the ranch like the back of my palm. 

Jilly, on the other hand, mostly visited her dad on our long Oakeley vacations to the ranch. She was always welcome on the ranch, but she didn't like to do much other than ride horses.

"I'll see if I can find him," I smiled. "Tell Dad and Granmam I said hi when they get home."

I headed out to the main pasture to begin my search. Even though the ranch was in a pretty remote area, I decided stretching my new wings would be foolhardy. The last thing I needed was to be the Oakeley who accidentally revealed giants to the humans.

Granmam's ATV was parked in the side garage. I knew the paths that looped around the ranch from chasing Dylan down the dirt roads when we were kids. They were burned into my memory right along beside hundreds of hours of farm chores. 

I followed the main path up to where it curved around a large field full of cattle. Most of the cows were minding their own business. The main water troughs were full since the pond was still low because of drought. 

It was quiet except for the occasional cry of a bovine. Finally, once I looped around the west side of the fence, I spotted Nath holding a patch of fence as someone lying on the ground repaired barbed wire. 

Geoff ran towards me as I parked the ATV. He was sunburned, and his hair was sticking out in every direction like he'd stuck his finger in a socket. 

"Terri!" He grinned. 

"Do I want to know?" I asked. 

Nath snorted. "Dumb dumb touched the electric wire around the pen before Dylan deactivated it."

I winced. I'd tripped over the electric wire once when I was ten. It was unpleasant, but it wasn't legal. Dylan thought it was hilarious at the time. 

"You dared me," Geoff glared at his brother incredulously. 

"And I told you it was a bad idea," Dylan said from the ground. "All right, I think it's ready to go back in place, Nath, once I get clear."

Dylan set aside the wire benders he was holding and got off the ground. The barbed wire was reset and straightened. Nath let go of the fence, and it fell into place perfectly. 

My cousin smiled at me but frowned when he took in my clothes. 

"Where's your uniform?" He asked. 

"Gayle made this," I said. "I'm not a soldier, Dylan. I can wear what I want."

"Okay," Dylan's eye focused on the sky. "Who came with you?"

I smiled. "I flew by myself. It was easy."

His eyebrow rose. "You're supposed to be guarded. Moreno said he was protecting you."

I shrugged. "He's on patrol. I don't always need a guard, Dylan. They trained me."  

My cousin glared daggers at me. "Terri, your mother nearly killed you. You were kidnapped recently. Of all the..." he stopped and looked between my brothers before biting his lip. "I want you to stay alive, Terri. Giants are dangerous."

"They seem cool," Geoff said. "I mean, what do they do up in their realm?"

"Giants are vain and petty," Dylan said. "They killed Great Aunt Alastra, Granmam's sister, and she was a trained halfant."

"Daleron's wife," I nodded. "How did that even happen?"

I hadn't wanted to ask Daleron, and Tres nearly jumped a mile when I mentioned his grandmother the other day. Great Aunt Alastra was just a mystery.

"You aren't the only halfant that giants have fixated on capturing," Dylan said. About six years ago, a little girl showed up wandering the beach in Guam. She had white hair, and she was standing in the surf, freezing the waves."

My breath caught. "A frost?"

Dylan nodded. "The little girl's name was Magdalena Howard. Her human mother called her a demon and abandoned her on the beach. It caused a lot of attention, and ripples reached the giant world that a little hoarfrost with powers was up for grabs."

Abel had described his family as controlling. They'd want that kid, especially if she met her family's sick criteria for perfection. 

"Aunt Alastra was sent to retrieve Magdalena," Dylan said. "She was able to get her to Pacifica compound, but when she was ordered to hand the girl over to the Hoarfrosts, she was ambushed on the road, and the giants killed her to take Magdalena. The Hoarfrosts blamed the halfants for losing their new daughter, and Aunt Doc blamed the Hoarfrosts for losing her sister."

"What about the little girl?" Nath asked. "Did the giants kill her?"

"The halfants retrieved Magdalena eventually," Dylan said. "Doc led the raiding party herself. Now the halfants mostly keep Magdalena since Doc is against halfants living with humans. It'll get messy when she gets older, but giants want to keep their magic close. Magic like yours, Terri."

He was right. My mother didn't value my life. She'd made that abundantly clear when she tied me to a pole. She only wanted me for my abilities and her insane notion that she had another child running around. 

She was dangerous, and I wasn't exactly sure how the giants could stop her. Her followers didn't even like her much, but she was the only giant who would listen to their voices. 

"I know they want my abilities," I said. "It's not like they want me on the throne."

Geoff's eyes widened. "You could be a queen?"

Dylan shook his head. "Jontun law sets up a male line of succession in all noble houses. Giants don't change easily. They have a thousand years of tradition. The king doesn't even acknowledge Granmam as the caretaker of our portal because she's a woman and an Oakeley by marriage. Insanely enough, he'd rather favor the law and an eighteen-year-old boy to run operations groundside."

I'd spent so much time over the past weeks adjusting to my new normal. Halfant culture was different than everything I knew. I hadn't stopped much to consider Dylan's place in this world and what he'd been doing for years. 

It was a little crazy how much fell on my cousin's shoulders. His father didn't want anything to do with the giant world. My father had been taken away from the family responsibilities because of me. That left Grandpa to teach Dylan everything before his passing. 

"Dad is talking about staying," Nath said. "I mean, I think that's what he was arguing with Mom about last night. I could only hear half of it through the door."

"He won't take over as caretaker," Dylan said. "He swore before a golden guard he wouldn't enter the realm of Jontun again. Giants take those oaths seriously."

"Like a slap on the wrist serious or expulsion serious?" Geoff asked. 

Dylan winced, and I knew the answer. Breaking that kind of oath ended in death, and giants showed little mercy. 

My wrist buzzed, and I glanced at the halfant screen set there. Other than the wing pack on my back, this was the only gear I carried today. 

Alana McDonald: WHERE ARE YOU?

My cousin followed my movement. "What do they want?"

I shook my head. "Nothing important."

I was here with my family. I wouldn't let the halfants take that away from me. I was safe here on the ranch for the time being, and if anyone showed up, I would flex my training. 

I wouldn't stay long. I knew it was selfish, but I needed my brothers. I needed Jilly. They were kind, and they loved me. They were my family and everything that Ellenora wasn't.

Hey Friends!! Welcome back to the ranch. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. A big part of Terri's life is her family, and I love having her explore each part of it. Let me know what you think. Until next time!!