I trailed slightly behind Moreno in the air. I hadn't quite got the hang of navigation in the air yet. He kept glancing at his wrist unit to check the direction or a map, but he seemed to have a pretty good idea where we were going. 

After about ten minutes of flight, he descended. I followed him down, and the moment we dipped towards the ground, I realized where we were. The edge of Jontun was jagged and waiting there for us. 

I landed on the ground beside Moreno and sucked in a breath. This was a different spot on the border of Jontun than the one we'd found Moreno at yesterday. A small stream trickled across the ground and off the end of the world into the abyss, making a strange waterfall. 

"This was one of the first spots in Jontun that I found beautiful," he said. "Hellene brought me here before the rest of the Ethesis clan threw me out. I was eight years old, and I felt so lost, but I was reminded that my mother always said that the impossible was only that until the odds changed."

I stared at the stream and watched it fall into nothing. "Where does the water go?"

"Who knows?" His wings closed back into his pack. "There's a lot of things in Jontun where the only explanation is magic."

"Magical," I repeated. "Does my power bother you?"

Moreno shook his head. "Giant powers don't bother me. Yours at least can't hurt anyone. Not like the Ethesis gifts."

Magnetism. I'd seen powers like that in science-fiction movies. I couldn't remember a single character who could do things like moving metal that was categorized as a hero. 

"Hellene isn't hurting anyone," I said. "She's sweet."

Moreno bit his lip. "Can I tell you something I've never told anyone?"

There was a hint of fear in his eyes. I let my wings collapse and leaned in closer to him. He wrapped an arm around me and enveloped me in his spicy warmth. 

"What is it?" I whispered. 

"Hellene isn't the only Ethesis with that gift," he said. 

That didn't surprise me. Magic for giants was hard to hide because of the eyes being two different colors, but I didn't suppose it was impossible. Not to mention that those who could use magic were controlled and regulated. 

I looked up at him. "You're not... don't tell me you have powers."

Moreno shook his head. "No, but my father Horus does."

It took a moment for my brain to process that. Moreno's father was locked up in a giant prison. He'd been there almost ten years, and all this time, he had magic.

"Couldn't he break out?" I asked. 

Moreno winced. "He promised me he wouldn't commit any more crimes. He promised me he'd finish his sentence, and then we could be a family."

"I hate to ask how long his sentence is," I said. 

"Twenty years," Moreno said. "I think the king wanted him to miss the childhoods of his children. So far, he's kept his promise to me, and he hasn't broken himself out of Gorgon's Keep."

"How did you keep this a secret?" I asked. 

"He didn't develop powers until late, like you," Moreno said. "And he had an accident that left him blind in one eye when he was young, so the color change didn't develop quite like the others. He didn't use his powers much because it was his secret. I never told anyone because it never really mattered to me. My mom sure didn't care."

He set the pack on his back on the ground and spread a picnic blanket on the clouds. Moreno patted the ground, and I sat down beside him. Then, he produced two bags of Doritos, two sandwiches, and sodas from the depths of the bag. 

"I'm sorry you lost your mom," I said. 

Moreno popped the soda open. "She would like you. Even if you weren't a princess, she would have said, 'Jordan, treat her like royalty.'"

He handed me the open soda and then opened the second for himself. I leaned against his warm body and took a long drink. The soda popped against my tongue in a sweet symphony accentuated by Moreno's arm snaking around my waist and pulling me closer. 

He'd mentioned before that his father named him Jordan, but he hadn't discussed his mother in relationship to the name. "Why lose a name your mother gave you?" 

Moreno sighed. "My mother always said names were windows into the soul. I took her name to honor her."

"But that's not what she called you," I said. 

"Being Moreno reminds everyone what happened to me," he said. "Esperanza Moreno was murdered on everyone's watch. I watched her die, Terri. Enrique saved Carisma at the cost of his life, and I ran. I ran, and I ran, and I was too late."

I set my hand on his cheek. "It wasn't your fault. You were a kid, and you were facing a giant."

"Gia said that too," he said. "Every time I woke up from my nightmares, she was there telling me it wasn't my fault, but I always wonder what would have happened if I stayed. Would he have left Enrique alone because he was human?"

I wiped his tears with the pad of my thumb. "I can't imagine losing a sibling."

"You won the lottery with your family," Moreno laughed. 

"Have you met half my family?" I asked.

"We only count the good ones," he said.

I remembered what Petra said: "The compound is your family—Alana and the others, too. You've got a lottery-winning support system, Moreno." 

He smiled slightly. "I suppose you're right. Half-giants support each other. I guess that's why I stayed with them over my father's family. I hope we did a good job welcoming you. I know coming here couldn't have been easy, Terri. You're really brave."

My face heated. Moreno was easy to talk to, but I wasn't used to getting compliments. I was the family height freak, but I didn't feel like that when I was here in Jontun. If anything, for the first time, I felt small. 

Moreno leaned in close and took my hand. His fingers were strong and calloused from hard work. I wondered at what age they turned from a young, carefree boy's hands into the hard, rough hands of a soldier. 

I looked up at Moreno and was lost in his eyes. They were like pools of liquid metal. It differed from anything I'd ever seen. I could just stare at them for hours. 

"I know you've heard some halfants date for influence," he said. "I want to make it really clear to you that this—us—it's not a power play of any kind."

"I never thought it was," I said. "I'm not here for your title."

Moreno sucked in his cheeks. "You know you actually outrank me. I'd be the one accused of chasing a title. I don't care who you are or where you're from. I liked you from the moment Bryan banished me to 'princess duty,' as we'd so lovingly nicknamed it."

"Princess duty?" I laughed. "You were probably so bored watching me barely leave my apartment."

"A little," he shrugged and squeezed my hand. "But you were interesting. I mean, I watched you draw, and you were always pouring practice into your online school lessons. Way more than I ever did. I stopped doing math after I started halfant training when I was fifteen. You know how to do high levels of calculus and statistics."

I hadn't thought about school in weeks. "Fat lot of good it's doing me here. I'm not even going to graduate next month because I've been in Jontun. University is out, too. Not that I ever even knew what I wanted to study."

"Before my mom died, I wanted to be a fireman," Moreno said. "My dad never wanted me to join the halfants. My mom wanted me to do what made me happy. I do like what I do, and I have a family here, but I always wonder what might have been."

"We could have been different," I said. "But we're here now. Fate brought us together, a lord and a princess. We should enjoy what we have. Dylan always says it's better to live in the moment than choke on all the what ifs."

"Your cousin may be a pain," Moreno whispered in my ear. "But I won't deny he's right."

At that moment, he leaned in and kissed me. I wasn't sure what to expect, but his lips were soft, and they touched mine with almost gentle reverence. I leaned into the kiss and pulled my arm around him as he looped his hand into my hair. 

I wasn't sure how long we stayed there. Moreno kissed me over and over with more and more reverence. His arms dragged up my chest, and heat flushed my body. I could have stayed like that forever, but I had to pull away to breathe. 

Moreno's eyes blew wide. He was grinning like a madman as he continued to ruffle my hair. I smiled back at him and giggled a little. 

"This is so weird," I said. 

"Weird good and not weird bad, I hope," Moreno said. "I don't have a lot of experience kissing girls, so I hope that was okay."

I looked him in the eye. "That was amazing. It's just weird because I'm usually not this happy."

"Me either," he admitted. "So it's uncharted territory for both of us. I look forward to finding all the ways to make you giggle like that again. It was adorable."

He wrapped an arm around my waist, and we watched the water drip off the edge of Jontun for a good long while. When the sun finally faded, Moreno packed up the picnic stuff and held out his hand to help me off the ground. He zipped up his bag and held me close. 

"I really don't want to fly back," he admitted. "But If I don't have you back by sunset, Alana will never let us spend time together again."

As much as I hated to admit it, he was probably right. Alana was in charge of scheduling at the compound, after all. I was already on pretty thin ice for running off today. I didn't want to press my luck any further. 

We flew back with the wind in our hair. He let his bun down, and his dark locks floated around him like a dark, avenging angel. Strands escaped my braid and flew in the breeze, free as a bird. When we landed in front of the compound five minutes later, I was sure that more of my hair was out of the braid than in it. 

"I've got one more thing planned tonight," Moreno said as we walked through the front door. "Just let me check in on my sister real quick. I need to tuck her in. Wait for me in the kitchen."

He turned to walk down the hall, and I entered the kitchen with a silly smile on my face. I didn't know what Moreno had planned, but if it was as thoughtful as the rest of the night, it would be memorable. I didn't know how he made a house arrest into a wonderful date night, but I couldn't wait to see what else he had under his sleeve. 

I found Alana on a bar stool by the counter, nursing a coffee and pizza. I wondered if she was ready for a night of patrols or if she'd poured herself a cup of decaf since it was getting late. 

"You're back," she said. "I'm glad Moreno kept his promise to return you before dark."

"I had fun," I said. "Thanks for allowing him to take me out. And I'm sorry for taking off earlier today. I needed space, and it's hard to be here day after day when I can't leave."

Alana sipped her coffee. "I understand that. You both needed to blow off some steam. We all do from time to time. Even I don't spend all my time running this place. I detox with my crocheting needle. I've gotten good at making little animals."

My jaw dropped. I couldn't imagine Alana crocheting. She was so focused on her work as the commander. I hadn't imagined she did much more than sleep in her free time. 

"What's been your favorite project?" I asked, curious.

"I did some of Carisma's favorite cartoon characters last Christmas," Alana said. "I can make you one if you want. Or something else, if you'd prefer."

As I tried to wrap my head around the fact that Alana took requests, Moreno rushed through the kitchen door. He was out of breath, looked completely panicked. He looked from me to Alana. 

"Have you seen my sister?" He held up a child-sized wrist unit. "Carisma isn't in her room."

"She went to do her online schooling at noon," Alana said. "But I haven't seen her since. Are you sure she's not hiding somewhere?"

"I don't know," Moreno ran his shaking hands through his hair. "But she's missing."

Hey Friends!! This chapter went out with a bang. I've been writing like a madwoman because the next section of this story is so fun. I can't wait to share it with all of you soon. Keep an eye out and until next time!!