I spent almost every moment I could for the next week learning to use wings. After the ride back from the Ethesis manor, where I'd had to look Moreno in the eye for an entire flight, knowing that I'd kissed him in a vision of the future, flying on my own quickly shot to the top of my to-do list. 

I worked with almost everyone at the compound in the training gym. Abel was able to teach me how to take off and land. Kimmy and Petra gave good advice on steering. Cullen and Tres taught me how to do aerial swoops and dives. Even Gayle was helpful in her own way, showing me how to fit the backpack properly. 

Moreno was in and out of the training gym to give pointers when he wasn't helping Alana with patrols. The two of them seemed to keep the entire compound running on very little sleep. 

Carisma joined me, training in some of the lighter halfant drills. The ten-year-old could beat me to the top of the climbing wall in a race. I was getting better, but she would always outpace me by about thirty seconds or more. 

Like her brother, Carisma seemed to delight in rebel rousing and proving herself. However, everyone at the compound seemed to hold genuine affection for the little girl, unlike for her brother. 

There were limits to what she was allowed to do. Moreno only allowed her to use her own body weight for weight training, and she wasn't allowed weapons. Instead, she ran sprints, used the climbing wall, went swimming, and occasionally used the obstacle course. Basically, she liked anything that distracted her from her online school. 

At first, she was quiet. Then she started to ask me a lot of questions about living on Earth. 

"Are school buses really yellow? Have you ever been popular? Why do humans use plastic straws if they hurt sea animals? Have you ever seen a kangaroo?"

I liked humoring her until her questions got a little more personal. 

Once, when she reached the top of the rock wall, she asked, "Do you know why my brother hates giants?"

"I don't think he hates all giants," I said. "He likes Hellene. I don't know about the rest of your family. I only met Genevieve."

"Hellene is nice to us," Carisma said. "And Genie isn't a real Ethesis, but no one is supposed to know that." 

I frowned. "What do you mean she's not a real Ethesis?"

Carisma gave me a conspiratorial whisper. "Uncle Osiris isn't her daddy. I'm not supposed to know, but I listen. Genie's real daddy is the king. That's why Jojo says she's so angry."

My eyes grew wide. I wasn't sure what to make of that. Andromeda had mentioned that the king had three legitimate children, but I was more focused at that point on Andromeda's mother being the sibling between my mother and Victor. 

Knowing Genevieve was also a child of the king was strange. Victor had called her something strange, but she had seemed to hate me, not her legitimate half-brother. 

"Jojo doesn't let me visit my father, but we do visit the Ethesis family," Carisma said. "I'm not old enough to visit the giant prison."

"You're young," I said. "Do you miss other kids since you're stuck here in the compound?"

Carisma smiled. "I've got friends. My bestest friend May lives at Half Circle, and sometimes Milo is here, though he's older and annoying. Alana sent him away."

"Who's Milo?" I hadn't heard that name before. 

"Alana's annoying little brother," Carisma blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Every time he's here, he runs off. He hates her, but she's the only family he's got."

Alana struck me as an only child. Most of the halfants did, actually. They were all so fiercely independent. 

"Where would you even run?" I asked. "Back into the human world?"

Carisma cocked her head. "They don't talk about him much. He came here a year ago, and he ran away four times. They sent him to Half Circle, and he ran again. Not sure where he is now. This is my home. I'd never run. The giant world is dangerous, especially for a human like Milo."

"They let a human live here?" I asked. 

"Nobody is going to tell Alana no," Carisma said. "She's awesome. Sometimes, they say she's going to run everything one day."

"That's nice, Carisma," a voice at the door made me jump. 

I turned to see Alana leaning on the frame. She was dressed in her uniform, but her hair hung limply around her head without the gelled spikes. 

"Hi Alana," Carisma waved. "Did you sleep?"

Alana gave a curt nod. "Care, could you tell your brother to get some sleep and then make sure you're getting your school in."

"Okay," Carisma immediately scampered from the room. 

Alana watched her go. I could almost see the calculating gears turning inside her head as the little girl ran off. 

"Thank you for training with Carisma," Alana said. "She really likes you, and she needs positive role models."

I smiled. "I have younger siblings, too."

Alana's face darkened. "My experience with younger siblings is... complex. She was telling you about my brother."

"She said he was human," I said, not quite believing that fact.

"My human mother had a human affair shortly after I was removed from her care," Alana said. "I met Milo after she passed away. He's twelve and a handful. I sent him to people who could better keep an eye on him since I was put in charge of running this compound."

I briefly wondered who Alana trusted enough to leave her brother in their care. My vision blurred, and I stumbled. Then I realized my mistake. I really had to stop wondering, especially since Victor had taught me that as a trigger word. 

"Terri?" Alana's voice sounded like it was underwater, and I felt her catch me before I lost contact with the present plane.

I stood inside a small house. It was still giant-sized, but it was a large open room. I saw a boy with sandy hair covered in a green beanie crouched beside a large wood-burning stove that sat in the center of the room. 

A woman a few inches taller than me handed the boy a metal tool. If she'd been human, I would have said she was maybe from India, though I doubted giants conformed to human ethnicities. Her hair was dark purple, her eyes were gray, and she wore a green tunic over pants.

"The stove pipe is clogged, but I don't see why Erik couldn't fix this," the boy grumbled. "He's small enough."

"Erik is out with the sheep, and you opted to stay in today," the woman said firmly. "That means you get to help me around the house, Milo."

"You're not my mother, Selena," the boy, clearly Alana's brother Milo spat. "You don't get to boss me around. I'm only helping because it's cold without the stove."

"Well, I appreciate the help," the woman said. "We need a fire before the sun goes down and Theo gets back, or it will be cold tonight."

Milo muttered something unpleasant about being practically a slave and stuck his head into the stove. He prodded the metal rod around and grumbled some more. 

"Cheerful words only, dear," the woman said. 

That only resulted in more swears. I was glad as the vision faded, and suddenly, I was back on the floor of the training gym. Alana sat beside me with worry in her violet eyes.

 "Was that intentional?" She asked. 

I shook my head and sat up. "But I think I triggered it. I saw your brother cleaning a stove under the instruction of a purple-haired woman. I mean, it had to be your brother. She called him Milo."

Alana bit her lip. "You are powerful, Terri Oakeley. I don't suppose it was important."

"Not sure," I said. "I've been keeping my dreams in a journal. It's hard to tell if they're visions or not."

Victor wrote all his visions down. I had a feeling that if I kept good records, there was a chance I could make sense of things. Or I'd go crazy trying to pull meaning out of every iota of information. 

"That's good," Alana said. "I came to tell you that your flying has improved enough to take a trip."

"Where are you sending me?" I asked. 

"The two of us are going to Half Circle tomorrow," Alana said. 

I frowned. "Don't they need you here? I mean, you run the compound. Wouldn't it be better to send Moreno as a guard?"

I'd only seen Alana ordering people about since I arrived. I knew she was well training, but I wasn't sure how I felt about spending a long flight with her. 

"We're going to see Doc," Alana said. "Moreno and Doc don't always see eye to eye. I thought it would be better if I were your escort."

"But this place needs you," I said. "You think Moreno can run it alone?"

Alana frowned. "I promise you, Moreno is far more responsible than he seems; however, that is not your problem. I sense you are more apprehensive about me."

"I'm sure you're great..." I said. 

"Terri, I know I'm no one's first choice for a social companion," Alana said. "My human family kept me isolated, and I didn't have social skills for a long time. When I came to Jontun, I was so overwhelmed and scared I locked myself in my room." 

She'd mentioned that before. I couldn't imagine what her family had done to her to force a little girl to make that choice for three years. 

Moreno had cracked her open and brought her back into the world. I didn't know how he'd done it, but he trusted Alana fully. I could, too.

"You aren't broken," I said. 

Alana smiled. "I know I've come a long way. This place is my family. It's a safe haven for people like us. Half Circle rescued me."

It was the first time I've ever seen her smile. She put on such a fierce face all of the time, but it was nice to see her vulnerable. Trust went both ways, though. 

I took a deep breath. "I'm not sure I'd want to do such a long trip with Moreno anyhow."

Alana raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you got along better with him than most of my peers."

"Yes," I said. "But I saw us together in the future."

Alana nodded. "I would assume that to be natural."

"That's not what I meant," I could feel my cheeks heating up again like they had nearly every time I'd seen Moreno in the last week. "We were... I kissed him...in the future..."

Alana pursed her lips. "I see. There's no shame in that."

That wasn't the reaction I was expecting from her. Even knowing the future of her best friend didn't ruffle Alana. 

A small squeal came from the doorway. Carisma skipped back into the room, beaming from ear to ear. There was no way she hadn't just heard what I'd said. 

"Carisma," Alana said. "Where is your brother?"

"In bed," Carisma said. "But I want to hear about Terri and my brother. Please carry on."

I gave Alana a look, asking what I should do. The commander looked unruffled. She just helped me to my feet and walked to the door. 

"We're leaving at five in the morning," she said. "Be ready."

And with that, Alana McDonald walked out of the room, leaving me with an over-hyper ten-year-old who was pretty sure I had a crush on her brother. 

"He talks about you a lot," Carisma said. "I really think you and Jojo would be perfect together. You should kiss him anytime, Terri. You even said it was going to happen."

"The future isn't set in stone, kid," I said. "And I'm not going to randomly kiss Moreno."

Carisma looked slightly crestfallen. "But you do like him, don't you?"

I walked towards the door. I wasn't about to discuss how Moreno made my heart race with his kid sister. 

Carisma stood obstinately in the doorway, stretching her arms to block my way. "Tell me you like him, Terri. I know you do."

"Carisma," I said. "He saved my life, and he's a guard. He's a good friend."

Carisma perked up and stopped blocking the door. "Then there's hope. You're going to fall in love with my brother. You'll make him happy!"

"Sure, kid," I tried to hide my laugh as I walked past her into the hallway. 

"I know I'm right," Carisma shouted after me. "You said you saw it."

I walked the fastest I could straight to my room and locked the door, cheeks burning. At least tomorrow, I was traveling with Alana and not Moreno. Thank goodness for small miracles.

Hey friends!!! I had too much fun working on this chapter. What do you think of Carisma? How do you think Terri and Alana's trip to Half Circle will go? Until next time!!!