Kara nearly sobbed with relief when Hallbjorn sat up and told her to pull over. Worry tore at her again when he began to cough so violently. When he climbed back into the truck, her gaze roamed over him, and it seemed as though his wounds were healing. She was going to tell him how scared she'd been for him, and how she wished she could have done more, but his praise made her hold her tongue. Her Hallbjorn was alive. That was all that mattered.<br/><br/>She longed to feel his hand stroke her cheek, but the moment passed. Kara still worried about touching him, because it looked as though every part of him must hurt. When he told her it was his turn to drive, she did protest at first. But then the exhaustion she'd held at bay took her over. Kara switched seats with him, but not before saying, “Hallbjorn, I can't lose you.”<br/><br/>As they drove, she kept gazing at him, just to make sure he was recovered enough. But Kara could not fight the lethargy that seeped through her bones, and soon she fell asleep in the passenger seat.<br/><br/>She was only faintly aware of being lifted up into his arms. Kara's arms circled his neck by reflex, and she nestled her face against his throat. Sleep took her again before they entered his home.<br/><br/>As she slept, she dreamed of the rose colored stone that had been carved to make a beautiful temple, right into the side of a mountain. Then her dream shifted. Kara was swept into the past, into a poorly lit, smoky building with what could only be Viking men in some sort of celebration. Or perhaps they just drank and ate and were raucous like that all of the time.<br/><br/>Kara saw Hallbjorn as a boy. He was never small, but he was so young, and his serious expression reminded her much of the man she loved. She knew she was dreaming, and that it had to be one of Hallbjorn's memories, but that did not stop her from trying to protect the boy when one of the big men came for him. It was shocking at how well he fought, how at so young an age he had slain other berserkers. Hallbjorn had told her that he killed the ones that had come for his brother, but she had thought he was much older when it happened.<br/><br/>Everything she saw only made Kara want to cherish Hallbjorn and make him happy. It was with those thoughts that she awoke to find herself in a strange place. Kara sat up in the lavish bed, and immediately began to look around for Hallbjorn. When she didn't seem him, she slipped out of the bed and tried to orient herself.<br/><br/>The bedroom was so large, it dwarfed her own back in Arizona. Even though the decorations were sparse, it was well furnished. Kara wanted to find Hallbjorn first, else she would have explored the room. As she made her way out of the bedroom, she became disoriented again. The home she was in was huge, and while the few furnishings were high quality, it felt almost as if no one lived there.<br/><br/>“Hallbjorn?” Kara called out as she swept down the staircase. She knew he would not have left her, not if he could help it. The thought that he might have been hurt further or worse had her rushing through the mansion without noticing much of it in her question to find her mate.