Alana promised she would sort it all out. She led Moreno to the camera station where Tres sat on duty, staring down at the monitors. Then, she started going through the footage inside and outside the compound.

It hadn't even occurred to me that there were cameras inside the complex, but it didn't surprise me. Halfants weren't lax on security. Alana mashed buttons, and a frown formed on her face as she tried to pull up what she wanted.

"Someone tampered with this," she growled. "All the footage from before four this afternoon has been deleted. Indoor and outdoor. Who would have done this? Tres, call a compound-wide meeting now. We need to sort this out."

Tres pressed a button on the desk, and a loud alarm sounded through the compound like a fire drill. Alana crossed her arms and continued mashing buttons on the keyboard as if that would magically make the footage reappear. Moreno paced the floor, and I reached out a hand to stop him from panicking any further.

"We're going to find her," I whispered. "I promise."

The remaining compound members entered the lobby in varying dress. Abel, Kaleb, and Cullen were in gear, while Petra and Kimmy both wore pajamas. Daleron towered in the back above the others as the only giant in residency. No one looked happy to be dragged here, and they all looked at Alana with wary eyes after she slammed her fist against the keyboard.

"Doc is patching in," Tres said. "And the other war leaders are connecting on a call. Alana, give the report."

She stiffened. It was easy to forget that she was in command here. That meant she handled everything that happened in the compound, and everyone was under her charge, including a ten-year-old girl.

"Lieutenant Commander McDonald," Doc's voice crackled through unseen speakers. "State your reason for the alarm and give your orders."

Alana took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "After returning home from an outdoor sweep, Lieutenant Moreno discovered his sister Esperanza Carisma Ethesis missing from her bedroom. Her wrist unit was found abandoned. On further inspection, the cameras in and outside of our building have been tampered with and a sizable chunk of the daily surveillance is missing. At this time, I believe these events correlated."

"Yes," Doc said. "Would the child know how to access those computer systems to delete the footage herself?"

"She's young," came a male voice over the speakers. "Carisma doesn't have a habit of running off. She is, however, associated with one who has been deemed a flight risk."

I blanched when I realized they were talking about Milo. He'd run away from Alana multiple times and she'd had to house him with her giant father to keep him from running. He was a little older than Carisma, but there was no doubt they'd have met since their siblings were so close.

"My brother isn't at the compound," Alana said. "And Carisma has shown no signs of wanting to leave."

"Carisma Ethesis is a ranking member of the peerage," came another female voice over the speakers. "It is possible she is a target, just as Theresa Oakeley was recently. We all know that Horus Ethesis associated with rebels before his incarceration."

I tightened my grip on Moreno's hand as he shook beside me. He looked like he might scream or give the commanders a piece of his mind. Neither would help, and it certainly wouldn't find his sister any sooner.

"Alana," the male voice spoke again. "Are all the members of the compound present at this meeting?"

I looked around. Everyone was here except—Alana seemed to realize it the same moment I did. She turned as white as a ghost.

"Gayle Bruno is missing." Her voice was small.

"Abel, Cullen, find Miss Bruno," Doc said.

Before they could move, Tres spoke up. "I don't think they will. According to the log records here, Gayle got rid of this footage. I'm guessing she was covering her tracks if she took Carisma and she had command of the cameras before I took over."

Someone cursed over the speakers. Cullen looked at his boots, and Petra wrapped her arm around him. Moreno stood completely frozen, just staring at the cameras. The life in his eyes was dead.

"Run search patterns across the skies," Doc ordered. "I want Gayle and Carisma found. Daleron, report to the nearest way station and put your ear to the ground. Alana set the Oakeleys on alert and activate the ground support. We need a ranking peer to go to the House of Magnetism to report Carisma's disappearance as well."

"I'll go," my mouth moved without hesitation.

"Absolutely not," Doc said. "Moreno—"

"I'm going," I said. "As a princess of Jontun, I'm more than a ranking peer."

"You can't stop her," the male voice said. "I'm too far away to go, and this is too delicate to send a Frost. Moreno needs to be grounded until his sister is found."

"He's right," a second male voice said. "She can go at dawn. I'll send down Monty and Ezra to support Redwood in their search. Pacifica should spare Ashton in case we have to interrogate Gayle. I doubt she'd keep the little girl with her."

"You have your orders," Doc said. "Make them happen."

The audio crackled and ended. I let out a breath and squeezed Moreno's hand. Alana slumped against the wall and hung her head.

"That was an absolute dragon circus," Tres said. "Anything to add Alana?"

The young commander shook her head. "Abel, Cullen, start those rotations in the sky. The rest of you comb every inch of this compound and the surrounding areas. Message me if you find anything."

The entire compound jumped into action. Their skill and efficiency impressed me, but then I remembered they were soldiers. They trained for this.

Alana ordered Moreno to check Carisma's room for clues. He knew his sister better than anyone, after all. I followed him and Petra down the hall. She had orders to toss Gayle's room.

I stayed by Moreno's side. He tore his sister's room apart. I didn't know what we hoped to find, and Moreno didn't seem to know either. Sometimes, he'd stop and stare at a toy or other trinket, and his body would shake for a moment before he stiffened again. Then he'd restart looking through the room with military precision.

Petra had more luck down the hall. She'd managed to go through everything Gayle owned in less than thirty minutes. It was mostly all fashion clothes and sewing nicknacks, but Petra managed to recover a tablet that looked suspiciously like an iPad.

The halfant powered it on and scowled. "Terri, how in Jack's beans does this work?"

"Really? All this tech in this compound and you don't know how to use this?" I took the tablet from her and looked at the password screen.

Petra shook her head. "I moved to Jontun full-time when I was fifteen, and when I lived in Wales, my mother thought technology would rot my brain. Is this one of those Apple things? Where would Gayle have even gotten this?"

I didn't know. Every piece of technology in the compound looked like it was custom. They didn't have human tech here. An iPad didn't belong. It had to be a clue.

"Any idea what code she might have set?" I asked.

Petra frowned. "We need Monty. Maybe he could hack it."

"Monty won't get here until at least tomorrow," Moreno said from the doorway. "Besides, things have a limited number of guesses. I'm not sure we can brute force it. If Monty has a way, we can't afford to wait that long."

I looked at Petra. "When is Gayle's birthday?"

"February 19," she said. "But how does that—"

"The year?" I asked.

"She's nineteen, so 2005," Moreno said.

We were all so close in age. I suppressed that thought and punched 021905 into the iPad. It lit up and unlocked.

I grinned. "Always a birthday."

Since my uncle owned a tech company, I had always been drilled to use complex passwords. Dylan, though, hated passwords and always used his birthday. I suspected Gayle was just as lazy.

"Let's see if she's any better with human tech than the rest of you," I said.

The first thing I checked was for unusual apps. They were all factory-programmed except for a drawing app that held designs she'd created. Then I opened the default browser and found the browser history. The last page that closed was a California website with a bus schedule.

"I didn't realize you could access the human internet in the giant realm," I said.

"Within the compounds, yes." Kaleb walked past Moreno into the room. "My grandfather set it up so we could better connect with the human world below, and it also gives our halfants access to the world wide web, which they can use for everything from a quick search to online school."

"Looks like Gayle was looking at California's bus schedules." I showed him the page. "Not entirely sure where she was going, but if she got on a Grayhound, she could get almost anywhere."

Kaleb sighed. "I was afraid of that. I went out and checked the portal. Someone dropped blood in it hours ago, and Dylan reported that one of the motorcycles in the halfant locker on the ranch is missing. The tracking chip was cut off and left in the locker."

So Gayle was loose in California. That wasn't good. Her whereabouts were uncertain as we remained unsure about the duration of her absence or whether Carisma accompanied her.

"We all knew Gayle was unhappy, but I can't believe she did this," Petra said. "What was she thinking?"

"Depending on what she did with Carisma, she might have made a quick buck with a giant and gotten out of Jontun," Kaleb said. "But I'm just guessing."

Moreno gripped the doorway so hard that his tan knuckles turned white. "I'm going to kill her."

"You don't have to, Moreno. Doc sent Ashton," Kaleb said. "That means you don't have to. She will."

Petra paled. "Don't say that."

I frowned. "What is Ashton's job?"

"Tres's sister Ashton was specially trained in the interrogation of giants by her mother, Sariah," Moreno said. "Occasionally, we need information from a giant we've captured about another giant on the run, and they won't talk. The specialists are very good at their jobs, and Ashton has a record of breaking every giant she's interrogated."

"You'll get it when you meet her," Kaleb said. "Everyone thought Doc was going to pick her as her replacement one day. Then Alana and Moreno showed up at training and managed to outscore her in everything."

"To say she has a chip on her shoulder about that would be an understatement," Moreno said. "But if she can get me my sister back—" he shuddered.

I set a hand on his shoulder again. "We're going to find her, I promise."

His expression didn't change. Something hollow raged and simmered in his eyes, and I could almost feel it by standing next to him. Moreno was dangerous.

"I'll take a look at the iPad further," Kaleb said. "Alana sent me down here to tell you three to get some sleep. Petra, you'll take over for Abel at two. Moreno, you'll take over cameras at the same time."

"My sister is missing," Moreno hissed. "You think I'm just going to sleep, Kaleb?"

"You'd better," Kaleb said. "Terri, I'm leaving you in charge of him."

It wasn't fair to ask Moreno to rest when his sister was missing, but I understood why Alana was giving the orders. They needed rested soldiers to trade shifts when those out were too tired to carry on.

I had a feeling that Alana needed me to keep Moreno in line. He was the sharpest soldier at the compound. His sister was gone and his feelings for me might be his last bit of grounding keeping him sane. I wasn't as important to him at Carisma, but at this moment Alana was commander so I had to be his friend.

I led him to his room and helped him into bed. He pulled me against him, and I lay down on the mattress beside him. Then we held each other there in the dark until I felt myself drifting off to sleep safely in the arms of the bravest soldier in Redwood Compound.

Hey Friends!! What did you think of this chapter? What happened to Carisma? Where has Gayle gone? I'd love to see your theories below. I'm so excited to show you all where this is going. Until next time!!!