As it turned out, less than twenty-four hours was not enough time for Moreno to teach me to fly. I'd only fallen three more times, but Moreno had caught me each time. By the time lunchtime rolled around the next day, I couldn't do much more than float.

Petra reassured me it was normal as she helped me with my makeup. According to Alana, I couldn't just wear concealer and flannel to meet the Prince of Jontun. Petra had volunteered to help me out, and the moment I walked into her room, I felt overwhelmed.

As it turned out, Petra was an artist. Every wall in her room was a different color. There were a dozen projects of all shapes and sizes going at once. Her desk was scattered with enough makeup to fill a Sephora. She'd spent two minutes just staring at my face and trying to decide how to compliment my newfound heterochromia.

I insisted she try something basic. Based on the edges of Petra's own eyeliner where she'd drawn butterflies in her own face, I knew whatever she thought was basic would still be extravagant.

I wished Jilly had been able to stay. She and Dylan left after a dinner break last night. My stepsister was looking forward to bragging to our brothers that I was learning to fly.

"You look lovely," Petra said, handing me a mirror.

She'd gone for a natural look with pink lipstick and subtle eye shadow. I was wearing more makeup than I usually preferred, but I still looked like myself.

The door burst open, and Gayle walked inside. She was carrying a jumpsuit that surely she wasn't about to make me wear.

"At least gold is your color," Gayle said. "Just imagine if it wasn't."

"And you're sure I have to wear gold?" I asked.

Petra sighed. "It's the color of the Nikone house. Every giant wears their house colors. You're nobility. In order to enter a giant household, you must act according to their customs. Just be glad Gayle altered the dress into pants."

I changed in the bathroom as quickly as I could. The sleeves were sheer gold, and a circular cut-out was in the back of the pantsuit above an embroidered golden eye.

The front was modest and all gold, with a small amount of white lace over the bodice. I zipped the back up and walked out into Petra's room.

"You did a good job," Petra said to Gayle. "You'd never be able to tell that was originally a dress."

"Where did you even get the dress to start with?" I asked.

"Your grandmother made it," Gayle said. "But I thought it was a little old-fashioned, and you couldn't fly in it."

"Well, let's pull your hair back, and you'll be ready to leave," Petra said. "Cause you'll want that out of your face when you fly."

She was right. I let the girls bicker as Petra pulled my hair into a braided bun. Gayle handed her some pins, and she tucked all the loose strands of hair away.

When they were done, I followed both of the girls to the sitting room, where we found Moreno without his uniform. He wore a formal silver jacket decorated with dark gray embroidered swirls. His pants were a dark gray with a silver stripe up the side, and his boots were plated with silver toes.

"Well, Moreno," Gayle said. "You look dashing."

He did clean up nicely. He was freshly shaven, and his hair was pulled into a neat bun. Cufflinks sparkled at the ends of his sleeves, and when he smiled, he looked like a prince.

"You weren't kidding when you said you altered that dress, Gayle," he looked me up and down. "Not exactly old-school nobility, but I like the rebellion."

"You would," Alana walked into the room from behind me. "Moreno will walk you through the traditions at the Ethesis manor. Do. Not. Leave. Her. Side."

Moreno smirked at her friend. "You think I'd throw her to the wolves? Even I'm barely welcome in my ancestral home."

Alana handed him a backpack that I recognized as one of the wing packs, but this one had more straps in the front. Moreno put it on, and I realized the front was a harness.

"It's a short flight," Moreno said. "But it'll be easier if we use the launcher and strap you in."

Alana led us into a room off the sitting room. This room looked like it had some kind of massive crossbow pointed at a grated hatch. Beside it was one of those walls you could run up that they used on fitness gameshows.

Moreno launched the wings and motioned for me to step forward. He moved so that we were toe to toe, wrapped me into the harness, flattening me against him, and crossed his arms over my back.

My body flushed as our breaths mingled. I was only a little bit taller than he was, but I could see directly into his eyes.

He folded the wings back up, and they disappeared into his backpack. He used his body weight to steer us over to the massive crossbow.

"Do you trust me?" He whispered, letting his breath curl into the shell of my hair.

Alana shook her head. "Enough theatrics. Load up and fly, Moreno."

I was curious if she ever let any emotion through. From what I'd seen of the commander, she was nothing but a cold walking calculator.

Something latched to my feet, and suddenly, a bit of machinery loaded the two of us into the crossbow like an arrow. Moreno seemed to squeeze me for a brief moment as the machinery moved us into firing position.

The hatch above is opened into the bright blue sky. I bit my lip as the crossbow launched us at an angle out the open hatch and into the crisp air outside the compound.

The moment we cleared the opening, Moreno released the wings. My stomach dropped as we ascended into the skies.

There was nothing below us. We were flying much higher and faster than I had in the training gym.

Moreno had complete mastery over our movements. He steadied our movements and adjusted with the air.

"This is crazy," I shivered.

"You've got this," Moreno said. "If you need a distraction, ask me questions. You must have a million."

The air racing around us whipped against my face. Instead of thinking about the drop below us, I decided to take Moreno up on his offer.

"Tell me about your family," I said. "These people we're meeting."

Moreno chuckled. "You're not meeting all of them. They'll likely make themselves scarce if they've deduced I'm coming."

"They don't like you?" I asked.

His laugh deepened. "I'm an embarrassment. My father tried to marry a human. He was obsessed with Earth. My uncles followed all the rules, and their children are equally stuck up."

"Except Hellene," I said.

Moreno's face softened. "Hellene gave me a chance. She's the youngest of four. Achilles and Cadmus always follow our grandfather's example. Genevieve doesn't like trouble, and she's really protective of Hellene. We'll probably see her today. Genie tends to hang around Leni, so she doesn't go too far."

"What about the rest of them?" I asked.

"Sete is the house patriarch," Moreno said. "He's my grandfather. My grandmother Vasilisa is one of the few commoners who've married into a noble house in the past century. The two good sons are Uncle Osiris and Uncle Anubis. I doubt we'll see them or their wives today and Uncle Anubis's kids Care's age. They aren't around much."

I pondered if, behind his bluster, he really cared about his family. It probably hurt him to be pushed away and used as a bargaining chip, as much as he hated referring to his noble surname.

"What about your human family?" I asked. "Do you visit them?"

"My mother's parents threw her out when she was nineteen when she was pregnant with me," Moreno said. "It was the last straw for them. They even tried to take custody of my brother, but my mother spent every penny she owned to stop that from happening."

I frowned. "You have a brother?"

"I did," the words were hollow. "His name was Enrique. He was human, and he was my best friend. The giant who killed my mother killed him, too."

Losing a sibling was unimaginable. Even though Geoff and Nath got on my nerves at times, I still loved them. I would be devastated if something happened to them.

"So Carisma is the only family you care about then?" I tried to change the subject.

"She's what's good and right left in my world," Moreno said. "And I'd burn Jontun for her safety."

I could tell he was serious. He'd raised her. She was the only thing left of a time when he was completely happy.

That hasn't changed the subject enough, so I tried again. "And when did you meet Alana?"

"When I first came to Half Circle, I felt betrayed," Moreno said. "The Ethesis house wanted me gone, and with my dad locked up, I felt like an orphan. I wouldn't interact with the other children, so Gia introduced me to the other malcontent of Half Circle, a long-haired girl named Alana who refused to leave her room."

I couldn't picture Alana as a little girl any more than I could picture her with long hair. It just didn't seem possible that she could have ever been young.

"And somehow, an angry eight-year-old boy convinced Alana McDonald to leave her room," I said.

Moreno nodded. "It took a while. I convinced her to train with me. At least as much as they'd let kids train. We've been sparring partners ever since."

Somehow, despite both being angry and forced into the giant world, they somehow were the perfect balance for one another. They could call one another out, and they respected the other's opinion.

"Emma called her your person," I said.

Moreno grinned. "I guess you could say that. She's like my sister. When I need something, I always go to Alana, and if she needs support, I'm there for her."

"Dylan and I have been like that," I said. "I still don't get why he hates you so much."

"I'm chaos incarnate," Moreno said. "He likes order. Also, I'm a lot like you with rank and things. He blames the Ethesis family for making it harder for the king to want you to come to Jontun. My birth and my father's actions spat in the king's face. Dylan never wanted to keep this from you."

And I wish Dylan hadn't. My whole world would have been different if I'd known about giants. I might even be prepared for a day like today when I was about to meet my uncle, the prince.

Hopefully, he was better than Dylan's father, Uncle Chris, because I didn't have the greatest experience with him, and my visions weren't making me love the Nikone family as a whole.

"We're going to descend and walk the rest of the way," Moreno said. "Hang on."

And with that, my stomach dropped again as we headed toward the ground in a slow, controlled dive. 

Hey friends!!! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.  What do you think of Terri and Moreno's relationship so far? Are you excited to meet more giants? What do you think Terri's new uncle will be like? Until next time!!