I followed Abel through the skies as we backtracked towards the compound. I wasn't sure exactly where we were going, but we soared directly over the compound and past the grove of trees with the portal.

Abel slowed down as the ground and sky came to a sudden halt. He landed a dozen paces from where the continent itself dropped into nothing. The ground beyond where the earth stopped was a void full of smoke.

I landed beside Abel and gaped at the vast emptiness. My wings folded into my back, and I stepped towards the edge and reached out my hand.

"Be careful," Abel said. "You go fully into that mist, and there's no ground. You'll fall into the great unknown."

I looked down. "How far is the bottom?"

"No one knows," Abel said. "You fall over the side, and you fall forever. As far as anyone can tell, Jontun's continent is removed from everything, and if it lost its portals, there'd be nothing holding it anywhere."

That was scary. Jontun's only connection to Earth was four portals, one of which was in my family's backyard. It was no wonder they were zealously guarded from both sides.

Abel walked us down the continent's border. I tried to look away from the misty darkness, but it kept drawing my eyes. Was it magic? What was beyond this point? If I stepped into the mist, would I really fall forever?

"The border is tricky on the mind," Abel said. "Giants who believe in Tusi, an omnipotent magic god, make pilgrimages to the continent border, claiming it helps them see what is and isn't. Personally, I don't buy into much of the mystical stuff, but you can't deny there's something holding Jontun together."

"Giants believe in gods?" I asked.

They already believed themselves superior to humans in most cases. I was surprised there was some sort of religion since so many giants were named after human mythologies.

"According to believers, Tusi is more of a force than a god," Abel said. "Their spirit allows giants safety. It was Tusi's mercy that created and removed Jontun from Earth. Tusi is thanked in quarterly festivals. Those who connect with whatever divine magic makes this continent run say that Tusi desires order and gives magic to the worthy of restoring love and peace across their land."

I thought about my own powers. That made me worthy, according to some. I certainly didn't feel worthy. I was an eighteen-year-old girl forced to leave home because I was hunted.

Even if I could see the future, there was no grand prophecy. Fixing Jontun wasn't my problem. I just had to stay clear of my grandfather and mother. That was how I stayed safe.

Still, I was reminded how Victor couldn't let his country fall apart. He knew how toxic the other members of our family were. Ellenora couldn't be allowed to rule, and Tytan wasn't making things easier on anyone by doubling down and causing a civil war in the royal family.

I was half-human, but that didn't make me belong here—at least not entirely. Still, I had power that somehow made me worthy in the eyes of giants.

I shook my head and focused on the ground below my feet. I was here and now. Abel and I needed to find Moreno.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I spotted Alana standing ahead of us. Moreno was slumped against her shoulder, and she was barely supporting his weight.

Abel ran forward and helped support Moreno's body with his shoulder. The soldier was limp between them, but as I jogged to help, I realized Moreno was awake and muttering something rapidly in Spanish.

"Is he okay?" I asked. 

Moreno was sweating, and his body quivered. I pushed his hair back and realized Moreno's pupils were blown wide. A sickly bitter smell, mixed with smoke and something earthy, radiated off his skin.

"This would be the stupid we were worried about," Abel said. "Do you know what color he ingested, Alana?"

"Purple," Alana shook her head. "Blasting poppies. He said he wouldn't do this again."

"What's he saying?" Abel asked.

Alana shook her head, and I realized neither of them spoke Spanish. I did, but I was out of practice. Dylan and I took six foreign languages together in our online school. Languages came naturally to me. I had a basic knowledge of Spanish, but I hadn't used it in about a year.

I could pick out a few words and phrases: hermano, esperanza, yo corrí, and Enrique. Then fue mi culpa over and over.

"He's blaming himself for what happened to his family," I said. "He's saying it was his fault."

Alana hung her head. "I sent Tres for the medical transport. We can't fly him back in this position. He's not going to snap out of this for a while."

This wasn't Moreno's fault. I'd pushed too hard. I'd made him open up and then suggested that maybe his sister wasn't safe. This was all my fault.

"What happened?" I asked.

Abel said something violent in what I thought was Welsh, then switched to English. "Purple poppies heighten memories. People like Moreno use it to unbury things that are better left forgotten. He's done this before to remember his family, and it always ends like this."

"It's against our rules, but it's never stopped Moreno," Alana said. But he promised Bryan he wouldn't do this again after the last time."

"And when has Moreno ever been known for keeping his word," Abel shook his head. "This boy is always trouble. He'll never grow up."

"Terri?" Moreno crossed his eyes. "¿Dónde estoy?"

"Hang in there, big guy," Alana said. "Tres is nearly here."

"We're taking you home," I said.

Abel groaned. I had a feeling he was getting tired of being the responsible one in the group. Petra had said he'd taken a place at Redwood to avoid expected responsibility. Now, he was stuck babysitting Moreno and Alana.

An engine revved. It was so out of place here in Jontun that I did a double take as a jeep drove towards us. Tres sat in the driver's seat with Kaleb beside him.

Tres parked the car directly beside where we stood. Kaleb jumped down and ran to Moreno.

"How long has it been like this?" He asked.

"Probably all night," Abel said. "He's going to be wickedly out of it for a while."

"Maybe," Kaleb said. "Let's get him back and on fluids. Load him in the back of the jeep, and we'll get him to the compound."

Alana and Abel helped support Moreno into the back of the vehicle. Moreno went quiet as they adjusted him across the back seats. Kaleb sat, turned around in the back of the jeep, and found his pulse.

"Terri, I need you to keep him awake," Kaleb said. "He can't sleep at this stage."

Alana nodded at me and unfurled her wings. I climbed into the back of the jeep just as Tres peeled back towards the compound.

I looked back to see Alana and Abel flying behind us. Moreno groaned as Kaleb attached a tube to Moreno's wrist attached to an IV bag that he hung from the roof of the car.

"Moreno," I said. "Talk to me."

His eyes fluttered. "Where? You... you aren't supposed to be here."

"His hallucinations are breaking in and out," Kaleb said. "Keep his attention. Don't let him drift off."

"Moreno," I squeezed his hand. "I'm here. Stay with me."

"Esperanza," he groaned.

"Can you hear me?" I asked.

Moreno shook his head. "Get out! Get out! Corre hermano."

Kaleb grunted as we went over a bump. "He's lost in his memories. It's going to be a while until he's back with us. Purple Poppy is immersive, but it's horrible on human blood. It doesn't have as rough side effects on giants. My grandmother's spent years studying it in the lab."

"How long will he be like this?" I asked.

"Not sure," Kaleb said. "My grandmother might have left a few vials in the lab at the compound from her research. Lab work isn't my specialty. I've picked up a lot of skills from my grandparents, but I'm just a medic."

Kaleb spoke with such authority it was easy to forget that he wasn't any older than I was.

The entire compound was young. I briefly wondered why Doc thought it was smart to leave them all unsupervised, but then again, for the most part, they were doing a good job.

Tres drove the jeep into a side garage off the compound door. I helped Kaleb haul Moreno inside and into the main hall.

"Dale!" Kaleb shouted.

Daleron came running. The giant took Moreno from us with ease. We followed him down the hall and into a room I'd never been inside, across from the gym, labeled infirmary.

Kaleb jumped into action as Daleron set Moreno across a medical cot. He moved Moreno's IV bag and dug through a mini fridge in the corner of the room.

"Poppy is nasty stuff," Daleron said. "When I was first around the halfants when I was newly married, there were halfants who loved going into poppy traces. Eventually, the hallucinations killed them."

My face blanched. "Is Moreno going to die?"

"No," Kaleb grabbed a syringe and a vial from the fridge. "He just needs to let the stuff out of his system. It'll be easier if he's hydrated and cool."

Kaleb filled the syringe with the bright green liquid in the vial. He tested the plunger and moved to find a vein in Moreno's arm.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Enzyme blend that helps human blood break down poppy," Kaleb said. "It won't get rid of it, but it should at least make him lucid. It's going to hurt, though. My grandmother couldn't get around that part."

The syringe needle plunged into Moreno's arm. I watched in horror as Moreno's body lurched and seized, and he screamed.

Kaleb held up his hands. "He's ok. The pain doesn't last. We'll keep him here for an hour, and then we can get him into bed. Dale, could you check on Carisma? She shouldn't see her brother like this."

Daleron nodded. Kaleb was right. Carisma was too young to understand what her brother was going through. She'd blame herself.

When I was eight, I remember Jilly and I were playing one night when Dylan's father, Uncle Chris, stumbled into our apartment drunk. He was angry and upset about some girl cheating on him.

Elise had shuffled us out of the house while my dad took care of his brother. Only when I was older did I realize the danger Uncle Chris put us in that night.

I watched as Daleron shut the door behind him. Kaleb sat down on the spare cot and set his head in his hands.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Purple poppy destroyed my mother," he said. "After my human dad died in a car wreck, she came back to the giant world to take poppy over and over. Eventually, it killed her. That's why I moved in with her parents, Monty and Dalia. My grandmother has been working on a cure since then with little luck."

I stared at him. He had every right to break down or walk out of the room and leave Moreno to his fate, but he was still here trying to help.

"I can stay with Moreno if you can't stay here," I said.

Kaleb stiffened and looked straight at me. Something hard was in his green eyes as if they might catch or spark at any moment.

"I'm a lot of things, but I'm not afraid," he said. " Moreno only did enough to lose himself for a day. He's going to have to let it wear off. There's not much else I can do."

Moreno gasped, and his eyes went wide. I walked to his side, and he grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard.

"Terri?" His voice was raspy. "How are you here?"

"If you're breaking into his visions, they aren't as lucid," Kaleb said.  "Sit by him and keep him talking. I'll check in on you later."

I squeezed Moreno's hand back as Kaleb walked out of the room. Moreno looked at me and blinked slowly.

"You ate poppy," I said. "But we found you. You're in the infirmary."

Moreno shuddered. "My brother was here. My brother was here. My brother was here."

His body shook. I pulled a blanket from a chair in the corner of the room and placed it over his legs. Moreno clutched the blanket, but he didn't stop shaking.

"Stay with me," I said, pulling the chair forward to sit beside him. "Talk to me. Tell me what you see."

He took my hand again, and I could tell he was drifting away again. Unfortunately, I had a little too much first-hand experience in seeing things that weren't there.

"Terri," he said, "I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I'm broken. I always will be."

"You're not broken," I said. "You're strong, and I've seen your future. It's bright."

"You saw me?" He frowned. "Why?"

"It was an accident," I said. "But I promise you, it was good. Your future is a happy one."

The room lurched. The pit of my stomach dropped. I felt everything start to spin, and I knew I was about to have another vision.

"Terri?" Moreno's voice was strong as the fog enveloped my vision, and I was gone.

Hey friends!! What do you think will happen to Moreno?  I hope you liked this chapter. What will Terri's next vision be? I'd love to know your theories. Until next time!!!