Redwood compound was just the way we left it. I crashed into my bed almost the moment we got back. Sleep was starting to really be something I needed, but maybe that's because the last few nights I'd been running myself ragged trying to stop my mother. Especially because I so rarely got peaceful rest.

This night seemed to be no different. The moment I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, I was quickly consumed by mist and smoke. Instead of waiting around for a vision, this time I decided to go straight to the wellspring of magic. After all, Victor had claimed that most of the family avoided the pool.

He was almost right. The dark blue waters were serene and the strange green rocks around its edge seemed to glow. However, at the edge of the pool, dipping his smoky feet into the water, was Ric.

His misty form seemed to clock me almost at once. He stiffened and looked up at me. There was something stiff and sad about his posture. Like he'd once been trained to sit up straight, but he hated to do it.

"You're back," he said.

"So are you," I replied, walking around the pool to approach him.

He shrugged. "I sleep a lot more than you do, mostly out of boredom. This place just sucks us in, doesn't it?"

"I guess," I said, and I sat down beside him. "Who are you, Ric?"

He set his smoky hand on top of mine, and warmth filled my misty form. I wasn't expecting Ric to feel like flesh and blood. After all, hadn't any of the other attempts to touch people in this place just passed through like mist? Ric was different, though.

"You know who I am, Theresa," he said. "I'm like you. We're of one. Even if we never meet, I'm grateful we at least have this."

"You know it's not fair when you say stuff like that," I said. "I really have no idea what to make of you. Ric isn't even your name, is it?"

"In part," he said. "I don't mind it, actually. There is so much pain in names. We carry the sins of our fathers like baggage. Not that I've ever met my father."

He still wasn't making sense. I thought that since he was helping me that maybe he would open up. Even though I trusted him, he was still secretive and strange. I wasn't sure what more I could give him to let him know that whatever he told me, I wouldn't judge him.

"I mean, my mother lost her mind long ago," I said. "Last I saw, they were taking her to the king. Ellenora standing trial before Tytan. Can you imagine it?"

"I try not to think about our family," Ric said.

I smiled. "So you are a Nikone."

Ric pushed away from me. Without his hand on mine, everything felt absent and cold. His touch had lit the only candle in this dark place, and he'd suddenly snuffed it out by withdrawing.

"Why else would I be here?" He asked. "It's the curse of the throne. We're all tied together, body, mind, and soul. The price of being god and king is the madness which binds us all to one another."

God and king. I remembered those words from the vile voice in my mind. Ric knew them, too. He'd heard those words before and he said that we shared a mind.

"Who told you that?" I asked. "The god and king part."

"An old man with a hatred for everyone and everything," Ric said. "We all have our demons. He's always with me."

"I heard him in my mind," I said. "But I didn't realize that all these words came from something that you remember."

Ric reached out and his hand touched my cheek. Warmth jumped between us at the touch, and I could feel the texture of his rough hand against my face. Then suddenly I could feel a thousand thoughts that weren't my own.

Most were too fast to track and fleeting like speed skaters. Others floated delicately while words pounded beside them like angry storm clouds. There was confusion, anger, jealousy, panic, fear, and sadness that all swirled together in a maelstrom. I almost felt my mind buckle under the onslaught.

The thoughts softened and I could feel one powerful emotion, like a warm blanket behind it all. The love enveloped me, and I could feel it repairing my mind. Even though his mind was a hurricane, this was the eye and here I was, safe.

Outside, though, he was drowning over and over. Water seemed to fill my lungs. There was someone I was carrying, and I knew I needed to get them air, but I couldn't breathe either. A wave slammed me against a wall and I couldn't out swim the tide.

"Don't listen to the demons," he said, bringing me out of his mind. "Stay here in the center. Don't venture out to find me. Stay with the halfants. Moreno will keep you safe. In reality, you don't need me."

"What—" I shivered and spluttered. "Ric, who are you?"

I reached out to him and touched his face as he pulled away from me. His mind slipped into mine and his misty form seemed to quake. My hand warmed as it drew down his jaw where I found an unkept and scraggly beard. He jerked away at my touch and pulled his mind out of mine.

"Stop this," he said. "We can't... it's too dangerous. You need to stay away from me. Even in this place."

"Ric," I said. "Why are you pulling away? Ellenora is locked up. The king should leave us alone now that she'd been neutralized."

"I won't be responsible for another death in the family," he stepped backwards. "Not again. I swore I would keep you safe. Staying away is for the best. If you knew what I did, you'd be in danger."

I crossed my arms. "I'm exhausted of people keeping thing from me because it's supposedly keeping me safe."

"It's keeping you alive," he said. "Trust me. The future isn't easy. We've both seen that. You need to stay away until the time is right. You'll know when you can look for me."

"Ric," I said. "Just tell me. I don't care about the king or my mother. Talk to me. Tell me what I can do. You let me in your mind. You're in pain. Let me fix it."

"Some things can't be fixed," he said. "You should go, Terri. You have a bright future ahead of you. Tell Alana and Moreno... well, it doesn't matter..."

"Tell them what?" I shouted. "Tell them what?"

His body faded, and he disappeared, leaving me alone at the pool. Ric's mind was so broken and there was no way he didn't feel agony every second of his imprisonment. What had he wanted me to tell my friends? How did he even know them?

Someone shook my body. I could hear voices shouting. Something hard compressed against my chest. I couldn't breathe.

I woke up with a start in my bed. Moreno was doing CPR, and I felt like I was choking. I could finally breathe after I spit up water. Kaleb stood beside Moreno and the door to my room was open and several others had gathered.

Shivering, I realized I was completely soaked and wearing only a nightgown that clung to my body. Someone tossed a dry blanket over my shoulders. Kaleb pulled a device measuring my oxygen levels and heartbeat off my finger.

"Her heart rate is elevated," he said. "But other than that, she's fine. I'm not a professional, but she was showing symptoms for a moment there like she was drowning."

"Look her over again, Kaleb," Moreno said. "This isn't normal."

"Well duh," Kaleb said. "No one drowns on dry land. It's obviously some kind of magic. We need to get her on oxygen and get her dry."

"You're never sleeping alone again," Moreno said. "Not after this, princessa. I thought you were dead when I came in here and you were soaking wet and not breathing."

One of the twins found an oxygen mask for me. Kaleb fit it to my face and gave me instructions on how to breathe. Moreno found a towel and helped me into dry clothes.

My head felt dazed. All I could do was keep repeating one line Ric had said in my head over and over. "Don't listen to the demons. Stay here in the center. Don't venture out to find me. Stay with the halfants. Moreno will keep you safe. In reality, you don't need me."

But I needed Ric. The more I thought about it, I realized how familiar his mind felt. His demons were mine. It was more than the space where our power connected. It was like he was a part of me that was missing. When he touched me, I felt whole.

"Moreno," I took off the oxygen mask and reached out for my boyfriend to take his wrist. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, princessa," he said. "This isn't your fault."

"Ric was there," I said. "I touched his mind and went inside it. Everything was so... he's the one drowning, Moreno."

"You touched his mind?" Moreno frowned. "How? That's not a part of your powers, Terri. I've never heard of someone who could see the future doing anything like that."

"He knows you," I said. "Alana too. He wanted to give you a message, but he was too afraid. We need to find him."

He set his hand on top of mine, just like Ric had. "And we will, Terri. Right now, I need you to feel better. We still have to go to the ranch this afternoon."

I'd completely forgotten about that. I promised Dylan that I would help welcome Kira. Now that my mother was no longer a threat, I could actually go home. If I wanted to, I could head back to San Francisco and never look back.

That might have been appealing a few weeks ago, but now Redwood felt like home. The halfants accepted me. While there were a few kinks that I needed to work out with my powers, this place was perfect for me and what I wanted.

"Right," I said.

"Take it easy today," Kaleb said. "No flying or fighting. You can't overexert yourself. I'll want to check you over before you go to bed tonight, and I think Moreno is right about one thing. You shouldn't be sleeping alone. At least not until you can figure out what caused this and stop it from happening again."

Moreno didn't look like he minded this arrangement at all. His smirk spread when I glared at him. Then I rolled my eyes and handed Kaleb back the oxygen mask.

"I'm fine," I said. "But I want a hot shower and something to eat. I'm not seeing my family when my hair looks like a wet bird's nest."

With that, I walked into the bathroom and locked the door. I slumped against the counter, exhausted. Even with my mother behind bars, it didn't look like my life was going back to normal any time soon.

Hey friends!!! This chapter was really fun to write. I'm so excited to keep unwrapping Ric's mystery. Let me know all of your theories and what you think. Until next time!!