The three-hour flight to Snowdon seemed to take forever, and it was almost noon before we arrived. The five of us flew in a V-formation high in the sky, and I watched as we passed over giant homes. It got colder the closer we got to Snowdon, and the mountains along the northern edge of Jontun were bigger than any mountains I'd ever seen.

We landed near the tops of one of those mountains. I could see the edge of Jontun staring not far from us like a looming void, ready to swallow us whole. I rubbed my hands together as Ezra pointed down the mountain at a gathering of tents surrounding a massive fortress much like Redwood.

A figure circled above us and landed. The woman had light brown skin and blonde hair twisted into long, skinny locs. I wasn't sure how old she was, but she wasn't taller than me, so I assumed between her gear, wings, and height, she was a halfant. Her pale purple eyes looked over at us and she lit up when she saw Ezra.

"You made it," she said. "The camp below has been quiet today. There hasn't been a lot of movement."

"What are our odds of sneaking in?" Ashton asked.

"The north route should be the easiest way to get in without being seen," the woman said. "I know one of your teams wants to be seen, so land near the big command tent. It's your best bet to attract a lot of attention."

"Thanks, Mom," Ezra said. "How's Dad?"

"He's tired," the woman said. "Are you sure you don't want me to go in with you? I am the daughter of a ranking noble."

"I think I'm enough heat in that department," I said, holding out my hand for her to shake. "I'm Terri Oakeley."

"The princess," the woman's grip was hard like steel. "I'm Kyleigh Station-Swan. My father is Bryan and Ezra is my son. It's a bit of a family adventure here since my father and my husband are manning the defenses at Snowdon. Tyler wishes you luck. We all want Carisma back."

"We're going to make that happen, Kyleigh," Alana said. "We can promise you fifteen minutes, Ezra. That's it. Terri described her visions as well as she could. Buzz the comm channel once if you're captured and twice when you find Carisma."

Ashton nodded. "We're going to find her, Alana. Trust me."

Her expression was determined. Ezra reached out and took her hand. Ashton pulled away like she was burned and rubbed the spot he'd just touched. Then she took off into the sky with Ezra on her tale.

"Those two have a few things they still need to work out," Kyleigh said. "But they're young. Halfant romances either burn fast or they last forever. There's little in between."

I eyed Moreno. Being with me didn't make his life easier. I wasn't even an ordinary halfant. My mother had targeted his sister in order to attract me. Our relationship was dangerous, to say the least.

He turned to face me. "We should find your mother."

"I can come if you want," Kyleigh said. "Bryan told me I should offer."

"We don't want to put anyone else in danger," I said.

And I wasn't entirely sure we'd get out of this. I was too nervous to look into the future since that gave my mother more of an insight into our plans. This plan was one of the most dangerous things I'd ever done.

"They landed on the ground," Alana said. "We should go."

She extended her wings, and they gleamed in the sunlight. Moreno and I followed her, and we all jumped off the cliff and flew down towards the giant camp below. I let loose a whoop that echoed around the mountain and did exactly what I hoped it would—let them know we were here.

We circled twice and landed in front of the big command tent. I expected to see giants come running the moment we hit the ground. I thought there would be guns trained on us and we'd be captured immediately.

Instead, it was silent. We didn't see a single person. I looked at Moreno and I could see the tension in his shoulders. He drew one of the blue guns at his waist and his frown tightened.

Alana moved towards the command tent with the stealth of a panther. She drew back the edge of the tent and allowed us to go in front of her. Then she followed us inside.

Empty.

The tent was empty.

No furniture. No giants. Not even a sign that anyone had ever been here. They'd cleaned out and left the tent.

Moreno swore in Spanish. "Where is everyone?"

"They couldn't have known we were coming," I said. "I was so careful. Maybe she guessed—"

"No," Alana said. "Don't think like that. The halfants here would have seen something. They have to be here, somewhere."

A rushing movement behind us made me jump. Zäna stood in front of us, her ruby hair glinting in the singular touch in the tent. She wore white camouflage and a curving smile spilled over her cold face.

"Well, well, well," Zäna said. "Looks like the little princess was right to clear out for once. You're a little late, Theresa."

"We just want Carisma," I said. "No one has to get hurt."

"I don't think your friends believe that," Zäna said as she looked at Moreno. "You've grown up, Jordan."

"Have you even visited your half-human daughters in the last ten years?" Moreno asked.

Zäna hissed. "Your father made that difficult after he murdered that guard. Anyone associated with him wasn't to be trusted anymore. That drove me here. You understand that Horus'son."

"Where is my sister, Auntie Zäna?" Moreno asked.

He pointed his gun at her, but I wasn't actually sure if he planned on shooting her. He knew Zäna from when he was a kid. She was a part of his past and an old friend of his father's. It didn't make her any less dangerous, though.

"On the other side of the camp," Zäna said. "The entire army cleared out this morning following Ellenora's next crazy delusion. I stayed because I wanted to make sure that Esperanza Carisma was returned to you."

"So all the giants are gone," Alana sounded shocked. "How is that possible?"

Zäna shrugged. "Why would I care? Ellenora has lost her mind. I'm still waiting on Horus."

"Then you're going to be waiting for a long time," Moreno said. "My father is trapped in Gorgon's Keep."

"For now," Zäna winked. "I'll give him your regards."

Zäna was gone in a flash, activating her power to run away. She left us with our jaws on the floor. Somehow, if she was to be believed, all the giants were gone, and no one had noticed. It should have been impossible.

Alana stormed out of the tent. We followed her, alarmed, and watched as she grabbed the next nearest tent and pulled it down. Like the command tent, it was empty.

She swore and tore down another tent and then another. They all crumbled like sandcastles. Zäna wasn't lying. There were no giants in this camp. It was a ghost town.

"How could this happen?" Alana demanded.

"Calm down," Moreno said. "There are at least a hundred tents. It's possible they aren't all empty."

She kicked down one more tent. It fell with a satisfying crunch as the poles collapsed and the canvas tumbled on top of it. Then she screamed at the top of her lungs and the sound echoed off the mountains.

"Alana," Moreno said. "Do not make me relieve you of command."

She took a deep breath and glared at him. "I thought—the giants can't do something like this without us noticing. It should be impossible."

The communication channel buzzed, and Ashton's static-filled voice came through. "What happened?"

"The giants are all gone," Moreno replied into his commutator. "The commander was just announcing her displeasure to anyone in a five click radius."

"I noticed that too," Ashton said. "What about you, Ezra?"

There was a moment of static before he replied. "No giants here either. Do you want me to get Bryan and Tyler on the line?"

"Do it," Moreno said. "We need to sweep the camp and if the giants aren't surrounding Snowdon Compound, we need to figure out where they went, and fast."

"Wait," Ashton said. "I think—I hear Carisma."

"Where are you, Ashton?" Moreno demanded.

The radio channel went silent. Moreno swore and mashed buttons on the screen on his communicator. This time, it was Alana's turn to put a gloved hand on his shoulder. She didn't say a word, and he immediately took a breath.

"Can we track her?" I asked.

"In theory." Alana took her hand off Moreno's shoulder and touched the communicator on her wrist.

A holographic map appeared above the communicator. It was all a bunch of lines and dots to me, but Alana seemed to understand the data. Moreno nodded and his wings expanded. He pulled me in close and wrapped his arms around me.

"Let's go," he said and then he launched into the sky.

The flight was no more than two minutes. The tents below blew haplessly in the wind, their owners gone. Moreno landed in between three tents the color of tree sap. I spotted Ezra running over to where we stood. He was panting and pointed to a tent just past where we landed.

"She's in there," he said. "I made sure the area was clear."

"Thank you," Moreno said.

I followed him into the tent. There we found Ashton cutting the ropes on a plastic chair where Carisma sat. Mud and dirt clung to her clothes, leaving noticeable stains. Her hair was matted, and the side of her face was crusted with blood. She fell forward into Ashton's arms as the last rope fell free. The lieutenant commander caught the little girl in her arms.

"Carisma," Moreno moved to his sister and touched her forehead. "She's burning up."

"She must have some kind of fever," Ashton said. "The medics at Snowdon can help her out. We'll have to get her to the compound."

"Jojo?" Carisma's voice was faint. "I'm cold."

Ashton pulled a camping blanket out of her backpack and wrapped it around Carisma. Then she tipped a canteen in her mouth to let her drink. Moreno rubbed his sister's hands and tucked her close to his body.

"You're okay," Moreno murmured. "You're okay, Care."

Ezra popped his head in the tent. "Alana circled above, and there are no giants around. We should get out of here."

Moreno nodded. "Let's get her back to Snowdon."

We walked Carisma out of the tent. Alana and Ezra waited outside. They looked over Carisma for a few moments with a first aid kit. Once they had determined that Carisma didn't have any open wounds or broken bones, they were ready to move her.

"Dalia will have to determine if she needs to go to a hospital," Alana said.

I frowned. "You have a hospital in the giant realm?"

"No," she said. "But we do have access to the human ones through three portals. Dalia can usually handle anything that doesn't require specialized equipment."

"She's going to be fine," Moreno insisted.

The others decided he could carry his sister back to Snowdon Compound. We had to fly slower because of the weight and Carisma was delicate. Once we were in the air, I could see Snowdon Compound looming above us. It was a lot like Redwood, only surrounded by barbed wire and carved into the side of a mountain.

I looked at around at the fine snow. If it weren't for the signs of war, it would have been a picturesque place. I circled the compound twice with the others, and then Alana pointed down to the landing platform high up. I nodded and made my approach.

Suddenly, my vision blurred with smoke and haze. I tried to focus as I flew so I wouldn't get sucked into the vision, but it was too late. I lost my grip on reality and started to free fall.

Hey Friends!! We finally got Carisma back safe and sound. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As usual, let me know what you think. Until next time!!