Granmam sat us all down at the kitchen table once were inside. I hadn't seen my grandmother or Dad this sour since Christmas when I was eight. That had been one of the few years we'd gotten the whole family all together at once.

Aunt Suzie only came to the ranch at Christmas. She and her partner, Bex, had moved to Wales, where they both worked as lawyers and raised their adopted daughter Claire. That year, it was our first Christmas with Elise and Jilly as a family. Uncle Chris had not only invited his girlfriend but also insisted he fly out his old mistress Sunni and his daughter Kira from Japan.

Uncle Chris had abandoned Kira before she was born. Sunni had a heated argument with Aunt Suzie, insisting that as a lawyer, she could make Uncle Chris raise Kira's child support payments. Dad sent me and Jilly, Kira, and Dylan outside to play while Granmam berated Uncle Chris for neglecting his children. She called him half a dozen other names in Welsh that I later learned, if I repeated, would get my mouth washed out with soap.

Today, the kitchen smelled of coffee and something warm baking in the oven. Dylan hopped up on the kitchen barstool and let his legs dangle. Granmam gestured for the rest of us to sit at the big family-sized kitchen table.

Dad sat without protest. "Is Doc coming?"

I sat down across the table. Granmam pulled a kettle from the stove and began pouring water into mugs and adding tea bags before sitting beside Dad.

"There isn't time," Granmam said. "But Terri needs to know. Doc agrees that it's time to break the silence contract."

That was ominous. While Granmam exuded a sense of tranquility, Dad appeared as if he might have to consume a live snake.

"Tell her," Dylan said. "Get it over with."

Granmam gave Dylan a steely look. "There's not a good place to start. You've known practically your whole life. Where would you begin?"

My cousin seemed to take that as a challenge. "A long time ago, there were two species that roamed the Earth that were at war. The giants were losing badly and were nearly hunted to extinction. It was then that their king used the remaining magic left in the world to separate their lands from the humans. He left four anchor points in the human world and gifted the protection of each entrance to those he trusted."

"And you started writing a book when?" I gaped at my cousin.

"One of those protectors was a young man named Jack," he continued. "He guarded the portal, and his family after him took up the mantle. They built a ranch around the portal and eventually took on the name Oakeley."

I was expecting him to laugh. It was ridiculous, but everyone around the table looked serious and almost anxious. Even Moreno was nodding at the story.

"You want me to believe there's a realm of giants," I said. "And our family is the protector of some portal?"

He nodded. My jaw dropped. He was serious. I didn't even know how to respond to such insanity. Dad and Granmam didn't contradict him.

"Did you put us all in your fanfic?" I asked. "Me? Moreno? We're just tall, Dylan."

"Just tall, princessa?" Moreno laughed. "Is that all you are, princessa?"

"Don't push it," Dad snapped.

Moreno's bronze eyes hardened as he whirled on my father. "You're lying to your daughter. She deserves to know what she is."

The way he said the word what made my skin crawl. Dylan had said there were two species: humans and giants. I took a deep breath.

"Am I some kind of giant?" I frowned.

I was half hoping that Granmam would hop up from the table and tell me that I was special, but not in that way. Instead, the silence confirmed the question. Even if it was true...

Giants.

How did they even exist? Where was this realm? Did giants still come and go into our world? And if I was a giant—

"Are we all giants?" I asked.

"No, but my mother was a giant," Granmam said. "That's why I barely knew her. She left after my twin sisters were born. When I was older, I joined a group of other half-giants. I left that group when I married James Oakeley. I passed a quarter giant blood to each of my children, and they passed it to theirs."

"It's why the family is on the tall side," Dylan said.

"What about me?" I paused. "I'm way taller than you are."

Dad shifted uncomfortably. Granmam set her hand on top of his in a reassuring manner. He looked me in the eye and opened his mouth.

"When I was younger, I planned to stay here on the ranch and take over operations protecting the portal," Dad said. "At that time, I encountered a charismatic and dynamic giantess of great renown and standing. She had her own agenda, and I was foolish. Nine months later, Granmam's sister delivered you to me in a basket."

My eyes widened. "Does that mean what I think it does?"

"Yes, Terri," Dad said. "You are half-giant."

I was silent for probably longer than was necessary after that bombshell. So, apparently, my absentee egg donor was a giant. The idea was a lot to swallow. Granmam handed me a cup of tea, and I sipped the strong chamomile. It was easier to focus on the tea than on the sea of thoughts swirling in my head.

"I know it's not easy to process," Dylan said. "I mean, I didn't really believe it until I saw the realm when I was nine."

My brain froze, and I stared at my cousin before I almost blasted out of my seat. "You've known since you were NINE?"

"Hey, hey," he held up his hands in surrender. "Everyone said it was safer that you didn't know."

I thought long and hard about throwing the mug in my hand at my cousin, but I took another sip of tea instead.

"Well, it's wrong that you didn't know," Moreno said. "But you were much safer in ignorance. However, that giant in the elevator forced our hand."

My eyes widened. "That pervert was a giant?"

"And not a nice one," Moreno said. "Probably sent by your mother to kidnap you and take you to her."

Dad held up his hand. "Terri, your mother is one of the most powerful giants in the realm, with a group of fanatics that cater to her every whim. We kept you away from her for your own protection."

So my mother wasn't just a giantess. She was a big deal in her realm, with power and followers. Why did she want a half-human baby?

"There's a hierarchy in the giant realm," Dad continued. "Powerful people have asked us to keep you far away from her."

Moreno sighed. "They don't want to risk getting in trouble. The Oakeley family has always been respected, but they are still human. I have no such limitations, and my connections will shield me from any repercussions. Not that the king of the giants will care that a bastard lord is running his mouth."

"You don't know that," Granmam said.

Moreno laughed. "What are they going to do? Lock me up like my father? She can't go into the giant world without knowing. Like it or not, I'm the highest-ranking noble here."

I stared at Moreno with new eyes. It sounded like he was ready to risk it all again on me. Or maybe he didn't think there'd be consequences.

"You are a giant noble?" I asked.

Moreno smiled. "My father is the youngest son of the Duke of the House of Magnetism. Makes me a half-giant lord, much to the family's chagrin. I'm not invited to many family dinners, but I outrank most giants. Gives me the right to do a great many things. A pleasure you'll soon have."

He seemed to enjoy the power. It brought him joy to outshine everyone in a room and assert his authority by reminding them of his family title. Still, he looked much more like a soldier than a lord.

"Your mother is a part of the royal family," he said. "Since Princess Ellenora is the king's daughter, that makes you Princess Theresa Elizabeth Oakeley Nikone of the House of Premonition."

I was a princess?

I half expected a prank show to pop out of the walls and tell me this was all a big joke, but my family all waited in silence as if they all had nothing to say.

It was finally Dylan who broke the silence. "Your mother has been trying to steal control of the giant world. Most consider her crazy. At best, she's delusional, and at worst, she's a radical. That's part of the reason we kept you so far from her. Why I... why I didn't tell you."

He looked sheepish. Usually, my cousin was confident and cocky. Seeing him so nervous was so wrong.

"This isn't your fault," I said. "Dad is the one who didn't tell me."

My father looked at me. Until I was six, it was just us against the world. I trusted my dad with everything, and he'd kept the truth from me.

"Princess Ellenora has fallen out of favor with her family," Moreno said. "Her father, King Tytan, refused to consider her for succession because of her gender. Then, about three years before you were born, she broke away from the family entirely because the king had a son. Having you, a half-human baby, was a big act of rebellion. Since then, she's been trying to raise support against her father. My people have her on our watch list of dangerous threats."

That did not make this better. Not only was my mother absentee and a rebellious kid with daddy issues, but she was also a dangerous threat? I was starting to understand why Dad had kept me away from her, but not why I needed to be completely in the dark.

Unfortunately, Moreno said another detail that teased my brain. "Your people? How many half-giants are there?"

Granmam smiled. "We have a sizable half-giant community that helps with border patrol to keep giants inside the realm. Most half-giants, or halfants as they like to be called, like Moreno, live at the bases that help guard the portals. Some work in our world and catch giants who've made it past our borders. It's good work, and the community is tight-knit."

"It's probably the safest place for you presently," Moreno said.

Dad banged his hand on the table. "Hold up. I don't agree. King Tytan said Terri could never enter the giant realm. We conceded to keep Terri away from her mother. It's protected her this far."

"Chuck," Granmam set a hand on the top of his.

"Well," Moreno said. "Kimmy got bored on guard duty and pulled up Jack's Compact. She believes that the ancient agreement giving those with Oakeley blood permission to come to and from his realm, is a loophole around the king's verbal warning. Terri is an Oakeley. She's protected under the compact. She's also a halfant like me, so she's also covered under the Human Blood Treatise."

"And you're so willing to annoy Tytan?" Dad frowned.

"He'd have to recognize me to punish me," Moreno said. "And since he needs my grandfather as an ally, he would be foolish to try to formally reprimand me. Also, there's the small matter of my cousin Hellene's engagement to Crown Prince Victor."

"It's a pretty big if," Granmam said. "King Tytan has been known to overlook the laws of his predecessors. He's never liked having his authority undermined."

Moreno held up his hands. "The blame can fall solely on me. She'll be safe. I promise."

He sounded sincere. Still, the idea of being shipped away to some military base seemed rather extreme. I barely understood anything going on, and my family was beginning to talk like I wasn't even in the room.

I was so confused that I didn't notice the room folding in on itself. There was a sharp pain in my new gold eye, and when I blinked, I was inside a foggy room. I could vaguely see the outlines of two women in the fog, but their voices were clear.

"Sweetlove, I came as soon as I knew," the first voice was sickly sweet and fake. "I moved heavens to get to you, my little princess."

The second voice made me do a double take. "You've repeatedly tried to kidnap me."

The voice was my own. It was like hearing myself recorded and played back all wrong, but I knew it had to be me.

"Theresa, my mean daddy took you away from me," the first voice said. "I mean, what could I do? I was just a lost little girl. Baby Victor was getting all the attention, and I wanted some fun. Maybe it was to annoy Daddy, but I never imagined you'd grow up so far away. You have to forgive me, and you can have everything. Anything I have is yours, sweetlove."

My voice was angry. "I don't want your empire. I don't want any of this, Ellenora."

"You don't mean that, baby," the first voice sounded distraught. "I know you don't mean that."

"You never wanted in my life before, Mother," I said. "So I suggest you stay out now."

I blinked, and I was once again sitting at the kitchen table. Granmam was holding my mug of tea, and Dad was as pale as a sheet.

Moreno's grin was feral. "What did you see?"

"I think," my mouth was dry. "I think I just met my mother."     

Hey friends!!! What do you think of Terri's family? I'm making little character profiles as the story keeps going. Let me know if there are any characters that you want to see included. Until next time.