Author Note: So sorry about the slow update. I have school and dealing with a bit of writer's block. I noted and written out how the chapter should go. But it was hard executing it. But here it is. Hope you enjoy.

"Master Jim! Tobias! Claire!" Blinky shouts. He and AAARRRGGHH! run towards us. Just like what I saw in my dream last night and my vision a few minutes ago.

Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! run faster and closer to us, looking panicked and exhausted. I turn to Jim, and he looks shocked and worried. I turn to my friends, and everyone is the same. Expect Darci and Mary. They look scared and pale like a ghost, frozen with fear.

"Blinky! AAARRRGGHH!" Jim shouts, running up to them and hugging his mentor.

"AAARRRGGHH!" Toby cries and runs up to hug his wingman.

But I stay still in horror. Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! look like a mess. They're covered in huge bruises, cuts, and burns. Their hair is messy with dirt, and so are their stone bodies. Blinky did look scruffy, dirty, and hurt after the ambush of the Green Knight, needing a sling for one of his arms, but this looks worse. I run over to the two trolls and two boys.

"The gang is back together!" Toby says with joy, smiling happily.

But Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! don't look joyful.

"How did you guys find us?" I ask curiously. They couldn't have found us by guessing.

"We were led by a wolf to your location when we looked in Arcadia, but why didn't you guys tell us you were here?" Blinky answers and asks.

A wolf? Jim, Toby, and I glance at each other with confused looks and raised eyebrows. "We're here on vacation with Claire's family: this is their home. We didn't know you would come here, but what are you two doing here?" Jim asks in confusion. "You're supposed to be in New Jersey, and what the hell happened to you two? You both look like a mess."

Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! look at each other with worried faces. They nod their heads, and Blinky looks at us. "Claire, Tobias, Master Jim, seeing you again is excellent, but despite the heartwarming reunion, we're here to tell some bad news." He says calmly but a little shaky.

Toby, Jim, and I look at each other with worry, but something else draws our attention. I hear hyperventilation and see Mary and Darci freaking out; they look horrified and shaken as I walk toward them.

"Is that..." Darci tries to speak, but it comes out as a squeak, and she continues hyperventilating.

"Are they here to..." Mary squeaks with horrified wide eyes.

"Girls! Shhh! It's ok. They're not going to hurt us." I say calmly but harshly, trying to reassure them. I can't have them scream to wake the town or the manor, but they keep hyperventilating and look like they'll faint. I place my hands on each of the girl's shoulders. I feel them shake against my palms. "Mary! Darci! It's ok! These trolls are me, Jim, and Toby's friends. They're not going to hurt us. They're gentle and kind. Calm down!" I hiss, gripping them tightly.

Toby rushes next to me and takes Darci's hand. "It's ok, Darci! Claire is right. AAARRRGGHH! and Blinky won't hurt you guys." He says calmly.

Darci looks at Toby, Mary, and back at me with calmer but scared eyes. "Are you sure?" She asks more clearly.

Toby and I look at each other and back at the two fearful girls. "Yes! We know them, and they're nice." We reply calmly and nod our heads, giving them reassuring smiles.

Darci relaxes, and I let her go. Toby leads his girlfriend slowly to AAARRRGGHH! while Mary hides behind me, shaking and gripping my shirt. "He's going to hurt her!" She hisses.

I shake my head. "No! Watch." I whisper, looking at the troll and my two friends.

"AAARRRGGHH!, this is my girlfriend, Darci. Darci, this is my wingman, AAARRRGGHH!." Toby introduces his friends to each other.

I see Darci stay still while AAARRRGGHH! slowly walks closer to her. "Hello!" He says deeply but softly, smiling sweetly at Darci.

Darci does the same and reaches out a hand to touch him. She presses a hand on AAARRRGGHH!'s big stone arm. "Hi-Hi!" She says softly but a little bit scared.

AAARRRGGHH! smiles sweetly. "You are Wingman's girlfriend. You are my friend." He says gently, making Darci giggle.

"Come on, Mary! He's really sweet!" She calls to her, much more comfortable and giddy.

I turn to Mary, still trembling and digging her nails into my skin. "No, no! I don't trust it!" She squeaks, widening her eyes as big as possible in horror.

I roll my eyes. The first time Mary met trolls, stalking grabbed Darci and flew away, and the Eternal Night made her horrified of trolls. Of course, Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! look scary, but the way they look seems like Mary and Darci have no memory of not seeing trolls before. "Mare, they are nice and won't hurt us," I say flatly.

Blinky sees how scared Mary is and steps closer to us, making her more agitated. "You must be Mary Wang, am I right? Since our travels to New Jersey, Claire has told me so much about you, and I must say, it's a pleasure to meet you finally. I'm sorry if you see my appearance as intimidating." He says calmly and intelligently.

I turn to Mary, who slowly takes her hands off me and steps out. "You told him about me?" She asks softly and is a bit confused.

I laugh and nod my head. "Yes! I told all the trolls I knew about you and our friends; they were curious about it."

Mary smiles slightly and looks at Blinky. She slowly steps closer to him. "It's very nice to meet you too." She says meekly.

I smile but change when I turn to Jim, who looks concerned. "I don't mean to break up the good mood, but what is this bad news you're talking about, Blinky?" He asks, looking worried.

We all turn to the trolls, and they look nervous. Blinky turns to Jim and steps closer to him. "Master Jim. We send some terrible news from New Jersey-"

"Kids!"

We all turn around to see Mom, Dad, and Barbara. They all gasp when seeing Blinky, and AAARRRGGHH! "What the hell is going on out here?" Dad asks with confusion.

"Mom! Dad! What are you doing out here?" I ask back, a bit nervous about them being out here and two trolls standing behind me.

"We heard your name being shouted by all your friends, saw them run out the door, and heard you talking out here. So, we had to check it out." Mom replies sternly, crossing her arms.

I sigh and roll my eyes. Of course, someone heard something, and it just happened to be my parents and Jim's mom.

"Blinky! It's nice to see you again!" Barbara says with excitement, walking up to him. "What happened to you? You look beat up." She asks, drawing back with concern, raising her eyebrow.

Blinky smiles. "It's nice to see you too again, Barbara. Don't worry; we've just been through a long journey. How is the changeling doing?" He replies, answers, and asks nicely.

Silence falls on everything. Jim and I glance at each other nervously. Barbara looks at Blinky with severe eyes and a straight posture. "Walter and I decided to go our separate ways; we won't be seeing him for a while." She says sternly, crossing her arms.

I quietly sigh. I couldn't imagine Jim having a stepfather who intentionally and not intentionally tried to kill us more than once.

"Oh..." Blinky reads Barbara's expression and words. "I understand." He says politely. Then, he turns to my friends and me with worry. "Now, for the serious reason why we're here. Master Jim, Tobias, Claire. I'm sorry to say, but..." He looks to AAARRRGGHH! with sadness. AAARRRGGHH! is the same. Blinky turns to us, and I feel something wrong I saw a few weeks ago. "New Heartstone Trollmarket has fallen. The Heartstone was destroyed." He answers clearly.

Jim, Toby, and I gasp. We glance at each other in horror, and I rush up to Jim. "What?!" We shout with confusion.

AAARRRGGHH! lowers his head. "It's true." He mumbles. "They came and destroyed."

"Who?" Jim asked, staring at them with wide eyes. "Who came and destroyed?"

There is a brief pause. "...The Arcane Order." Blinky hesitantly answers. "They came and destroyed the Heartstone and captured all the trolls. Me and AAARRRGGHH! were the only ones to escape. We ran and walked back here to tell you three the news."

I freeze up and feel like I'm going to faint. I place my hand on Jim's shoulder to keep me steady, but I can feel him shake. He looks like he's in shock. I cannot believe what I just heard. New Hearthstone in Hoboken, New Jersey, is destroyed by the Arcane Order, and everyone but Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! is captured. I feel like I can't breathe. Is this what my visions were saying? Is what I saw and heard true? After three months of searching, trolls walk underground, weak and exhausted from no life force to live on. After three challenging and risky months, we get a small Heartstone. It's not like Arcadia's, but it manages all the trolls. After all Jim's, Blinky's, and the trolls' hard work, the Arcane Order destroys everything.

"The Arcane Order was also looking for someone. A witch. They said, 'Skin the color of golden sand, hair as dark as night, and eyes the color of cocoa beans.' What human in the world looks like that?" Blinky states and asks.

I feel like I've been stabbed in the gut. I want to throw up. Shit! Either this is a dream or a nightmare reality, but I feel this will worsen when I see Douxie, Archie, and Nari walk up to us with concerned expressions.

"Claire, what Blinky just said is what I wanted to talk about," Douxie says clearly but nervously.

I'm more confused now but still worried. "What do you mean?" I ask, raising my eyebrow. "Do you know something about this?"

Douxie takes a deep breath and walks closer to me. "Claire, I didn't come back to Arcadia because I was homesick or to protect Nari; it was to protect you." He says seriously, staring me in the eye.

My eyes widen, and I let go of Jim. "What?" I gasp, having so many questions spinning in my head. But I can't let them slip off of my tongue or catch one of them to ask.

Nari steps toward me and looks scared. I kneel to meet her level. "About a month ago, I had a dream. About you." She says softly but hesitantly, trembling. "I first heard Skrael's voice wakes me up, and I saw miles and miles of darkness. But then he started to talk about a prophecy."

"Can I hear it?" I ask clearly, but shivering from head to toe. I most likely know what it is, but I have to be sure.

Nari gulps but nods her head. "A birth of a child in the middle of the 10th month of the year. Another wizard was born 900 years later on the same day. Skin the color of golden sand, hair as dark as night, and eyes the color of cocoa beans. With the power between light and dark. The child is born out of the blood and magic of one of the two elders sorcerers of mankind's history. Holds a staff of shadows and emotion. They will either be the world's savior or doom. The choice is theirs to make." She replies clearly.

I gasp and look at her in horror. My heartbeat starts racing; I jump up but keep staring at her. "I've heard that in my head for the past two weeks." I squeak. She explains what she saw and what happened in her dream, making me feel worse and worse since Blinky said a line from the prophecy. I'm too afraid to talk or to think.

"I woke Douxie, and we packed up to leave for Arcadia, and that's where we will lead to the current time with everything that has happened these past weeks," Nari adds.

I breathe in heavily. I look up at Douxie and feel both horrified and mad. "You know about this?" I ask clearly. I want to scream at him, but I just glare at him.

He bites his lip and nods his head. "Yes. We think the prophecy is about you, but we didn't know at first. I've been researching your powers and monitoring everything I can in Arcadia. Last week, Jim told me about a creature ambushing you and him the day when you came to Hex Tech. The creature talked about the Arcane Order." He turns to Blinky. "When did the Arcane Order attack you?" He says more calmly.

"About more than a month ago. It was a hard walk to make with nothing to work with." He answers clearly.

Nari gasps. "Douxie, that's when we heard the explosion from New Jersey!" She adds, making things worse.

Douxie looks at her and back to me. "If I am correct, the Arcane Order is after you. This creature Jim told me about is working for them. The Arcane Order destroyed New Heartstone because they thought you were there, and now the creature was either searching for you and/or following me, Nari, and Archie to Arcadia." He explains.

I gasp and cover my mouth. I can't cope with this. I feel this is my fault. My responsibility. That's the exact description the half-troll gave me. I was back to the girl in the shower almost three weeks ago. This isn't true; this isn't real. I feel my necklace glow, but I don't care. My emotions are spinning out of control, and I hold my powers at my fingertips.

"I tried to tell you everything, but it either never came out, or I couldn't explain," Douxie says calmly.

"But why? Why is the Arcane Order after me? Why do they want me? Don't they want Nari? Not me!" I shout, confused and scared.

"I don't know, but we'll figure it out."

"No! No! No!" I panic, shaking my head in disbelief and wrapping my arms around myself.

"Shhh, shhh! It's ok, Claire. You're safe, and everyone is alright." Douxie replies, stepping towards me.

But I don't believe him. "No! It's not!" I scream, pushing Douxie away from me. "You've kept me in the dark and had many times to tell me everything. But you did because you were a coward!"

Douxie backs up, and his eyes widen, looking shocked and sad.

"Claire, calm down." I hear Jim says softly, placing his hand on me.

I harshly swat his hand away and turn to him. "No!" I back up to Jim, who looks at me in shock. "Don't touch me!" I look around, but my vision becomes blurry. I hear ringing in my ear. I start hyperventilating and feel sick. I can't cope with this. I run and push through everything and everyone in my way. I hear people say my name, and I forcibly block them out and continue to run. I run to the side of the manor and lean against the wall to catch my breath. No, no, no, no! This is not true! This isn't real! This is just a dream—a bad, terribly tragic nightmare. I look down at my feet. Tears coat my eyes. I'm scared. Horrified, panicked, shocked, appalled, in denial, rattled. I hear my parents, Blinky and Douxie's voices, but I don't care what they say, blocking them out. I feel my heartbeat in my chest. So fast and so hard. My mind is spinning with so many things. It's painful, too much, and impossible to swallow.

"Claire."

I open my eyes and look up to see my boyfriend standing a foot away from me with worried eyes. "Hi, Jim!" I manage to say out of my raspy throat. His eyes make me feel guilty, and I look at the ground again. "Sorry. I just had to clear my head." I try to hang on to my composure.

There is a brief pause and a sigh. "Claire, it wasn't your fault." He says softly, sounding hurt too.

I shake my head and straighten up to look up at my boyfriend. "No, it is! I saw it coming in my dreams. I saw the destruction of the Heartstone, trolls running in panic, and the Arcane Order there two weeks ago. I thought it was what happened to Arcadia Heartstone Trollmarket or just a bad nightmare, but it wasn't. What Douxie said is the reason why everything is destroyed! After everything you did, after everything Blinky did, the Arcane Order destroyed it all! I saw it coming, and everything happened because of -"

Jim walks towards me, grabs my upper arm, and pulls me to him. He immediately wraps his arms around me, one at the back of my head and the other on my back. "Shhh, shhh, shhh!" He shushes me, gripping me tightly. The tears don't come, but I wrap my arms around Jim and press my face to his chest. I gasp, a lump in my throat, and start crying softly. Jim continually shushes me, holding me as tight as he can. "It wasn't your fault Claire. None of what Blinky said happened because of you. You're not the one who caused this. Don't you dare put this on yourself." He says softly but seriously.

I shake my head again and pull off, looking at Jim. "But this is a Heartstone! It's the last one left! There is no Heartstone left in North America and maybe even the whole world! All those poor trolls who were captured didn't do anything wrong and paid the price from the Arcane Order!" I protest. "What are we going to do?"

Jim cups my face. He looks sad but tries to hold his composure. "I don't know." He sighs in hopelessness. But he takes a deep breath, releases my face, and intertwines our hands. "But we figure this out. Together." He says confidently, looking determined in his eyes. "It's going to be ok."

I want to tell him this won't be. Everything isn't alright. This is bad; this is a disaster, but seeing into Jim's eye makes me want to believe him. His sapphire eyes are gentle and kind, but they also calm me down and give me the strength to pull it together. I pause my thoughts, take a deep breath to regain my composure, and nod. "Alright," I mumble and give him a small smile.

Jim smiles back and gives me a peck on the forehead. "You feeling better now?" He asks sweetly.

I nod my head. I'm calming down, and I'm not hyperventilating. My head isn't spinning anymore. And I feel better than five minutes ago. "Yeah!" I reply quietly. I rub the back of my neck. "I'm sorry I hit you," I say with guilt.

"It's alright. I know you're scared and mad at Douxie; he feels sorry, and I'm not mad you hit me."

I sigh and nod my head. We peel apart and walk toward the group; everyone is the same as I left them, but they look at my parents, who are arguing with Douxie.

"So, you're telling me this creature thinks that two 'demigods' are hunting down my daughter?" Mom says with worry and fear, looking pessimistically at Nari.

Douxie nods his head. "Yes." He says clearly but hesitantly. "We don't know why the Arcane Order is after Claire, but she's definitely in danger, and I just don't know how much."

"Well, that's good to hear. Our only daughter is in danger, but we don't know why or how much." Dad says sarcastically, also looking worried and fearful.

I can see Douxie looks nervous. He may be my mentor and my surrogate brother, who is significantly older than me, but to me, he's just a kid who makes mistakes. "Mom, Dad, calm down!" I shout at them, making them stop and turn to me. The area becomes completely silent. I look at Jim, and he gives me a reassuring look. I take a deep breath and walk toward my parents. "Mom! Dad! Douxie didn't do anything wrong. This is out of all of our control! The best we can do is to prepare for what's to come." I say sternly.

Both Mom and Dad stare at me, stunned. They turn to Douxie. "We're talking about this later," Mom states sternly to him and turns to me. "Claire, are you alright?" She asks gently, but I still see fear and panic in her eyes.

"I'm fine, Mom!" I hiss before turning and stepping towards my mentor, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, called you a coward, and pushed you away, Douxie. I was just scared and mad at you then, but I don't think you're lying." I say calmly, relaxing my body.

Douxie smiles and relaxes. "It's ok, Claire. I'm sorry for not telling you about the Arcane Order earlier at Hex Tech or when I returned to Arcadia. But I will tell you if the situation becomes better or worse." He says calmly too.

I smile and nod my head before we hug. Suddenly, there's a scene of uneasiness still stirring around. I look at my parents, Jim, and everyone around me. "Douxie, I think I know who the creature that is chasing me is," I say clearly but trembling towards him.

"Who?" He asks.

I glance at Jim, showing on my face fear and worry. I take a deep breath and look back at Douxie, but Mary screams as I open my mouth.

"Guys, what the hell is that?" She squeaks, pointing up to the roof.

We look up to where her finger points and my eyes widen in horror.

I see a crouched, tall, shadowy creature in night's darkness on the roof's edge. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" It says in their deep and scary voice. I can't see the creature well, but I tremble when I hear it snarl.

"Who-who are you?" I hear Dad call out bravely but hesitantly.

The creature doesn't respond but laughs deeply. It leaps broadly over our heads and lands on the ground a few feet away. It slowly stands up tall, showing more of itself in front of us. Tall, muscular figure in black armor like a man. But his face is figured more like a troll. Sharp fangs, pointy ears, hooked and flat nose, yellow eyes, black hair, and possess large horns. I feel like I'm looking at the nightmare behind me—a Half-troll. I feel furious. I rush to the group and point at them. "Who are you? What do you want?" I shout proudly without fear, glaring at the half-troll.

The Half-troll chuckles deeply, sending chills down my spine and tensing up. "I told you I would visit you soon, Claire, but I didn't expect you to travel here." It says calmly, smirking. Again, the voice sounds masculine and dark.

"You were the creature that ambushed us in Arcadia, weren't you?" I hear Jim shout. I glance out the corner of my eye, glaring with anger.

"Yes. Took you a week to figure it out; it looks like Shadowdancer is smarter than you." He scoffs.

I hear Jim growl, but I grab his hand so he will stay calm. "What do you want?" I hiss.

The Half-troll walks a few steps closer to us. "I'm giving you a message, Shadowdancer and Nari of the Eternal Forest."

I cross my arms and take a deep breath. "What is it?" I reply impatiently.

"The Arcane Order is coming for you and Nari by the end of when everything began. Or if you both come with me, nothing bad will happen to everything you love." It replies calmly.

I feel Nari grab my left arm, trembling. I, too, am scared but don't show it. That message made my blood turn cold. No. No way in hell I'm going with this creature to the Arcane Order, but my family in the Manor and friends around me. What did the Half-troll mean about 'by the end of when everything began?' Before I could reply, Jim, Aja, and Douxie got in front of me.

"You not taking either of them anywhere!" Douxie shouts, sounding serious but furious. Dad comes up near me, and they look ready to fight, but only five of us know that not any of us can fight a half-troll.

The Half-troll groans. "I'm warning you, if you don't comply, you will soon suffer." He says more sternly.

"Again! We won't hand over my girlfriend and Nari to you no matter what threat you make!" Jim splits at the creature.

The Half-troll shakes its head and growls. "Well, you gave me no choice."

I thought the Half-troll would hurt my friends, hurt my parents, hurt everyone before taking Nari and me with them and wherever the Arcane Order was, but before it could strike, AAARRRGGHH! jumps in front of us. "Stay away from Claire!" He growls.

"Get out of the way, you brute!" I hear the Half-troll snarl at him.

"No!" AAARRRGGHH! growls and launches forward, causing them to start fighting. I watch in horror as the Half-troll punches AAARRRGGHH! and the engravings on his skin light up in green.

Jim turns to me, looking pale. "Everyone, get inside!" He instructs everyone seriously.

"But we can fight it!" Aja protests, standing in her fighting position.

"No, you can't! Get inside now!" Jim snaps back.

We all follow his orders. Steve and Dad open the doors, and we rush into the manor. I hear a crash, causing me to spin around. I see the Half-troll throwing AAARRRGGHH! several feet away, and AAARRRGGHH! coming back with a punch in the face. I want to help him, but how can I?

"Move it, Claire! We'll hold it off for you!" Blinky shouts at me.

I look at him, to the fight, and to the doors where all my family and friends are. I hear another crash and turn back to the fight. AAARRRGGHH! is defeated, and the Half-troll turns to us angrily. I gulp as our eyes meet. I can't let it near the manor. It will leap over the walls or destroy them to get in. It will hurt my family. All for Nari and me. I can't let that happen.

"Claire! Get inside!" I hear Mom hiss behind me.

"Claire!"

"Claire!"

I can't let it into my family. The Half-troll starts walking toward me. Adrenaline rushes through my body as the creature runs closer.

"You're mine, Shadowdancer!" The Half-troll shouts in anger.

I think of a place, plant my feet, take a deep breath, and as the Half-troll launches towards me, I raise my hand and open a giant portal in front of me. The creature falls for the trick and enters the portal. I quickly close the portal and feel a zap of pain in my head. My knees buckle and drop to the ground, but I catch myself from hitting it face-first. I feel my heart racing as my mind spins like crazy. I hear voices of concern rushing toward me and circling me. I feel arms on my back and one on my shoulder.

"Claire, are you alright?" I hear Dad ask.

I take a deep breath and look up at him. I see his soft eyes and concerned but composed expression. I feel a little bit shaken, but I smile and nod my head. "I'm fine, Papá!" I answer clearly and launch myself on him, wrapping my arms around him and sighing in relief. Dad returns it and holds me tightly for a few moments. We release each other, and Dad helps me up. Mom gives me a forced hug, making me groan. Douxie, Jim, Zoe, Mary, and Darci hugged me too, and we checked on AAARRRGGHH!, who is OK but sore.

"What the hell was that?" Zoe asks in shock.

I catch Jim and Toby's eye, and we share concerned looks. "A half-troll," I say flatly.

"What is a half-troll?" Krel asks curiously.

Jim groans and rolls his eyes. "It's what I was about a few months ago and what was just in front of us." He says flatly, too, making my stomach sink.

"And that's the creature that's been stalking me," I add.

"Where did you send them? Or it? Or... whatever gender it is?" Toby asks in shock as well.

"Away." I breathe and think about where I opened the portal; I don't know where, how, and/or why. "Far away. But hopefully, it's somewhere I can keep them at bay for a while."

We need to get back inside to go to sleep. Since of the daylight and not wanting anyone to see them, AAARRRGGHH! and Blinky go to Arcadia to look out for the Half-troll. I, Toby, and Barbara hug Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! and leave for their former home.

"We'll figure out how to get the trolls back soon, Blinky. I promise." Jim says determinedly, hugging his mentor.

"Thank you, master, Jim, but right now, you worry about protecting Fair Claire from the monster and enjoying your vacation," Blinky says calmly, returning the hug.

They let go, and Douxie walks up to them. "And we'll reach for a way to fix these problems." He says determinedly. Jim, Blinky, and he shakes hands, smiling in agreement.

Blinky looks up at me, and Jim turns in the same direction. I walk over to them and hug Blinky. "Despite what just happened, seeing you again is very nice," I whisper to him. Blinky replies by wrapping his arms around me, whispering, 'It is nice to see you as well.'

We say our goodbyes and go our separate ways for now. We enter the manor, and NotEnrique crawls to my room from the outside, but Diego, Olivia, and Lucas come out to the courtyard.

"What's going on out there?" Olivia asks harshly. Mom is in her dressing gown like she's just scolding one of her children.

I tense up and look at Mom, who doesn't look happy at her. How are we going to cover up this from her?

Mom huffs and crosses her arms. "It's fine-"

"Alejandro and his gang returned to the manor and challenged the boys to a fight. Don't worry, no one fought and ended up with Alejandro's gang leaving." I hear Abuela's voice interrupt Mom.

We turn our right and see her in a light orange nightgown and light blue dressing gown. Her presence makes me feel more relaxed, but it is suspicious that she's covering for all of us.

"I didn't ask you, Mamá!" Olivia hisses harshly, pointing at Abuela. That felt like a punch in the gut.

"No one talks to Abuela like that," I speak up, making Olivia growl.

"Don't get in the middle of this, Claire!" Olivia snaps at me with evil eyes before looking back at Mom. "And as for you, Ophelia-"

"Olivia Gaberiela López! Hold your tongue and leave your sister and niece alone!" Abuela snaps sternly at her daughter.

I, Diego, and a few of my friends giggle. Abuela just snapped and used my aunt's, her, and Mom's maiden and full name, which Olivia hates. She holds her tongue and steps back, fuming with rage.

Abuela turns to us. "Everyone, get to bed." She orders softly but sternly.

We all obey without arguing. We walk to the stairs, and I see Olivia stare at us with scary eyes. I pass Abuela and turn to her. She smiles slightly at me and winks. I blink, and her face turns back to being serious. I turn around and feel a chill come up my spine. My friends and I say our good nights and walk to our rooms. My head is still spinning with so many questions as I walk. What did the Half-troll mean? Why is it working for the Arcane Order? What's going to happen to the trolls of Heartstone? What are we going to do about it? But the most important question as I walk into my room is why the Arcane Order wants me.

Author Note: Man, that was intense. Again, this was really hard to execute. I though of Douxie not telling Claire about the Arcane Order and the Half-troll not showing up. But I'm glad to do it in the way I did. Also, I want to know who figured the mystery out of the half-troll out and which chapter before I revealed it in the last chapter. I really like to know. As for the story. Think of what the half-troll meant? Please review.