My vision cleared, and I was standing in my granmam's kitchen. Dylan leaned against the kitchen table, wearing a three-piece suit. Streamers and balloons were decorating the kitchen.

Beside Dylan stood his Japanese half-sister, Kira, in a black cocktail dress. I hadn't seen her in years but recognized her from pictures. Then, a future version of me swept into the room. 

I looked slightly older, maybe twenty-two or twenty-three. My hair was longer, and I wore a long silver and gold dress. 

"You're a vision," Kira said, pushing a blue streak of her hair behind her ear. "Every giant will be jealous."

"Is everyone meeting us at Redwood or the Ethesis estate?" The future version of me asked. 

"Your brother called ahead and told us Victor is expecting us all at Nikone," Dylan said. "And Moreno is already there with his entire family."

"I'll tell the rest of the family," Kira got up and headed towards the living area. 

Dylan stood up and grinned. "You nervous? Cause I have the keys to an ATV, and we can blow this popsicle stand. You don't even have to get married at the wedding of the century today. Moreno would understand. You guys can elope later."

My eyes grew big as I stared at the future me. My cheeks burned. Here I was in a vision, wearing a wedding dress, hours away from walking down the aisle with Moreno. 

"You still hate him, don't you," future me laughed. 

Dylan winced. "I mean, he's stealing you away forever. How do you want me to feel?"

My future self laughed. "Be happy. I'm getting married, Dylan. Sure, it's a big political statement to everybody else, but to me, this is just a day I'm making a commitment to my life partner."

"Wish it wasn't a circus," Dylan said. "But if Moreno really makes you happy..."

Future me laughed. "There's no If, Dylan. Moreno makes me better. I love him."

As the vision broke up, I could feel my present cheeks burning. In a moment, I was back at Moreno's bedside. 

He grasped my hand tighter. "Terri, Terri?"

"I'm here," I said. "Sorry, I had a vision. Just so you know, your future is lovely."

He chuckled. "I don't deserve that."

"Never say that," I said. "Rest. I'm right here with you. Tell me what you see."

It was nice not to be the one trapped in vision for a change. Here, I was able to stretch out my hand and help someone else. 

Moreno groaned. "My brother and I are at the ballpark with my father. Enrique is playing, and I'm sitting in the stands with Horus. He's laughing, and I'm happy I have a full belly because he bought me a hot dog."

"Your brother played baseball?" I asked. 

"Sometimes," he said. We couldn't afford him to play on a team, but there were neighborhood kids who played on Sunday nights. My father wanted to cheer him on. Enrique was excited, and I was glad Horus was around."

He'd told me how much he hated his father. Now, he was stuck inside the memories when he admired and adored him. 

I squeezed his hand back. "It's okay to be angry that your father threw away everything."

"And yet," Moreno's voice was pained, "I still miss him. Our family. Everything we could have been before my mother died."

"I almost wish I missed my mother," I said. "Or at least cared she was gone. Sure, she tried to kill me, but even before I met her, I never wanted her in my life. My dad is everything I've ever needed."

And after meeting my mother, I was so grateful he'd done such a great job. My father had done everything in his power to make me feel loved and safe. It made my childhood amazing, and I'd never lacked anything without Ellenora Nikone in my life. 

"My mother would have liked you," Moreno's tone was wistful. "She always wanted a daughter. Carisma would have made her so happy."

"Tell me about your mother," I said, trying to keep him distracted. 

"My mother," he sighed. "She was tall and looked a lot like Carisma. She had Enrique really young. She met my father at her waitressing job, trying to pay the bills to take care of Enrique. My brother's dad never supported either of them. My grandparents kicked her out when she was pregnant with me. She was poor, but her boys made her happy. She loved it when my father visited but was always afraid he wouldn't come back like Enrique's dad."

I could imagine that as a lingering fear. Giants lived in their own world. They rarely crossed over. Alana was separated from her father in Jontun, and he wanted to be in her life. It must be worse for humans who fell in love with giants. 

"She was the full embodiment of her name, Esperanza Carisma," Moreno said. "Hope and charisma. My father insisted we name my sister after her. It was all he could do after her death that was good."

"Have you visited your father?" I asked. 

"Not recently," Moreno said. "There've been rumors that rebels are taking commands from him. Doesn't exactly look good for me to go up to Gorgon's Keep to see him. I thought it was hearsay until we found you in those tunnels. Some of his friends were there."

I remembered Lysander and Zäna. I hadn't thought much of it at the time, but they had mentioned Horus.

"They said they followed my mother because they didn't have any other options," I said. "Zäna and Lysander didn't like following Finn's orders, though."

Moreno frowned. "Zäna was a friend of my father. I met her a few times. She had a human husband, too. They had three little girls. The oldest is in the training class at Half Circle right now. Zäna was a third cousin to her noble house but came out with magic. I'd heard rumors she defected to Ellenora, but I wasn't sure I believed them." 

 "How many giants have magic?" I was curious. 

"Not many," Moreno said. "Japhros runs the prison, and Loki's used his power of invisibility to stay off the grid for almost twenty years. Victor's friends all have it. You saw it in their eyes. Beyond that, it's pretty secretive."

"Bet Zäna was surprised when you showed up to rescue me," I said. 

Moreno laughed. "I don't think she recognized me. It's been a long time since she's seen me. Her daughter Dawn, though, is the spitting image of her mother. The other two daughters still live with their father."

"Must be awful only being able to have one parent because of giant laws," I said. "I mean, I'm guessing most giants don't disclose who or what they are in the human world. With those wonderland berries, do they even have to?"

"Most interspecies couples don't last a year," Moreno said. "Zäna stopped coming around her girls much after my father got locked up. Some first-generation halfants are abandoned by their human parents. The humans feel tricked or that they gave birth to monsters."

I thought about what I knew about Alana. She'd mentioned not wanting to leave her room at Half Circle, and she had been removed from her mother's care. 

"I'm guessing Alana was one," I said. 

Moreno nodded. "Her mother didn't take the news that she had a fling with a giant well. She didn't much care for being a mother, and Alana suffered under the care of her mother and aunt. She doesn't talk about it much, but from what I know, it was really bad. If Theoden hadn't gotten involved, Child Protective Services would have eventually."

I shuddered. I wasn't a stranger to bad parents. Granmam had been arguing with Kira's mother, Sunni, for years about letting Kira come live on the ranch with Dylan. Sunni refused because then Kira's welfare checks, which she rarely spent on her daughter, would stop coming if her daughter moved away. Even Aunt Sue working the lawyer angle hadn't helped. 

"Some people just shouldn't be parents," I said. 

"Your uncle is a piece of work," Moreno said. "So sometimes humans are the worst without giants."

"We're lucky to have at least one good one," I said. 

Since I'd found out that Uncle Chris stole some of the half-giant's tech ideas, I'd grown to hate him even more. How could he grow up knowing about this world and throw it all away to make a little money?  

"You should try and rest," Moreno said. "My visions are nearly gone."

"You sure?" I asked. 

"I know things aren't easy for you here," Moreno said. "Seeing things you can't control must be hard."

"The visions are sometimes unexpected," I said. "Like that guy Victor and I keep seeing in our visions. I still don't know anything about him. I'm not even sure his name is Ric."

"Strange," Moreno said. "I wonder who he is, Terri."

The question sent me spiraling. Ric was a mystery. An unknown. Victor said we'd meet him, but I couldn't help but wonder what I was missing about him. He was so familiar, but I was certain that we'd never met. 

I blinked, and suddenly, I was in a small room with a cot and a small rivulet of water dripping down the wall. An old dark-skinned man sat across a table from a young man in a yellow jumpsuit. 

I didn't know this older man, but his partner was Ric. He looked exhausted and stared fiercely at the gambit board spread between them. 

Ric moved a touret-looking piece beside what looked like a rook and knocked aside a small triangle-shaped piece. 

"Your move, old man," Ric said. 

The old man wound one of his long gray braids around a heavily ringed finger and sighed. His silver eye seemed almost unfocused while the brown one watched Ric suspiciously. 

"A true master doesn't bait his opponent, little prince," the old man flexed his fingers and made three moves in quick succession. 

Ric shifted to reassess the board. "Not bad, but you're already losing. Catching back up at this point is impossible."

"You could consider letting me win once in a while," the old man sighed. "I don't enjoy coming down here to play with you only to have my behind tanned."

"I thought you liked our gambit matches, Japhros," Ric said. 

The old man shook his head again. "You're as cunning in this game as your grandfather, boy. Should I tender your regards?"

"Better they all forget me," Ric said. "After all, that's why I'm here."

I wished I could crawl through the vision and throw my arms around him. Despite all his bluster about gambit, I could see suffering in his multicolored eyes. Wherever he was, Ric was hurting and in pain. 

The old man stood and swept the pieces into a small bag. "Good day, little prince."

The vision dissolved, but I didn't return to the present. I could feel my body, but I wasn't back in it. Instead, the images in my mind assaulted me so fast I couldn't tell what they were. 

My mind felt stretched and pained as colors and shapes swirled across my eyes, but nothing solidified. I didn't know what was happening, but a scream pierced my ears. I tasted blood. Someone shouted, and strong arms crushed around me. The colors were burning my retinas, and they kept going on and on. 

Suddenly, there was a stabbing pain in my arm, and slowly, the colors started to fade. Then, I was plunged into darkness.

Hey friends!! Updating this book always makes me feel a little better when I'm having a bad day. So does reading your comments. I hope you liked this chapter. Until next time!!!