Kara smiled softly at Hallbjorn as he wiped her tears away. It touched her more then she could say that he was letting her see his emotions. But she wanted to erase the sadness in his eyes, and vowed that she would in the coming days. She wanted her mate to smile again. They had both been through far too much.<br/><br/>She gasped when he pulled her ring from his pocket, and fought to keep fresh tears from spilling. Kara's fingers trembled when he slipped it back on her finger. “I thought I would never see my ring again.” When Hallbjorn smiled, it was so vulnerable and sweet that she kissed his lips softly.<br/><br/>As they made their way to where her father was hidden, Kara remained close to Hallbjorn's side. She battled the ugly memories from dreams of Kaseem, and if Hallbjorn had not been with her, Kara didn't think she'd be able to face Kaseem's hidden lair.<br/><br/>Kara didn't know how to feel about the funeral for her father. She had never met him, but she wished she had. Through Kaseem's memories, she saw how regal and brave her father had been in life. It was one of the few good things that came from tasting Kaseem's blood.<br/><br/>Not wanting to stay anywhere near Kaseem's body after the funeral, she took Hallbjorn's hand and led him outside to the courtyard and the fountain that was filled with water. The rain fell upon them, but Kara did not mind. She turned her face up to the rain and sighed with pleasure. She could feel the land, and all that was Janna come alive. By the time the rain stopped, Kara felt as if much of the last few days had been washed away.<br/><br/>When Amina appeared before them, Kara hugged the woman and told Hallbjorn, “This is my friend, Amina.”<br/><br/>While she was nervous at first of the guard, Amina's explanation set her at ease. Kara would have hugged him as well, but he seemed so fragile that she ended up touching his shoulder with her hand. “I'm glad you are free, Raju. Kaseem will never be a problem again.”<br/><br/>Exhaustion hit Kara when she learned that the means to get home was so close. She leaned into Hallbjorn's side. “Tarek, I believe, will be a better man then he was, and I trust you Amina. I'm fine with him ruling. I don't want to be a queen, or even a princess. Just promise me that the people of Janna will be free to make their own decisions, and they can come and go as they please. The portal is permanently open.” It had been since she walked through it. Kara's blood had broken the control Kaseem had over the portal. It was another thing the Eternal Flame had showed her.<br/><br/>Amina gave her word, and this time when Kara walked through the portal, there was no pain and she was with her mate. She hugged Lyrata and smiled at Helgi, but felt to tired to do much more.<br/><br/>Then she and Hallbjorn were home and Helgi and his mate left for their own home. Kara leaned on Hallbjorn as they made their way up the stairs. She was happy to be back home, but the smile she gave Hallbjorn was very tired.<br/><br/>When Hallbjorn went to take a quick shower to wash the blood off, Kara joined him in the bathroom. She didn't want to be out of sight of him. After grabbing one of his shirts from the hamper that smelled of him, she quickly stripped and changed into it. She washed the khol off her face, and when Hallbjorn was finished showering, she climbed into bed with him.<br/><br/>Sleep took her instantly, and Kara did not even hear his offer to give her blood. She snuggled up against him and slept for a long time. Thankfully, there were no dreams.<br/><br/>When she woke, it was to find Hallbjorn holding her tightly to him and already awake. Kara needed to unload and share all she had seen and experience since she stepped foot into Janna. She spoke for hours. Kara told him of how the djinn once freely moved about the mortal realm. That her grandfather's daughter, the sister to her father, had fallen in love with a vampire. The vampire was one of the Horde, and whether it was an accident, or intentional, had killed her aunt.<br/><br/>Her grandfather hunted down the vampire and killed him, and in his anger and grief, he cursed the vampires with a plague that killed all of their women. Because he wanted them to know what it felt like to lose someone so dear. But her grandmother took mercy on the vampires, and gave a way for the curse to be broken. It would come from the union of a vampire and a djinn, from a daughter born to them. When that daughter reached immortality, the curse would be no more. In fact, it was already broken, and had been from the moment Kara reached her immortality in the Eternal Flame.<br/><br/>Kara's grandfather, who had gone mad with grief, sealed the djinn off from everyone. He would rather keep his people trapped in Janna then allow the curse to be broken. Such a powerful curse took its toll on her grandfather, and he perished.<br/><br/>Her father, who was only a child when his older sister died, came to rule the djinn. He was curious about the world, and his secret travels led him to Kara's mother. Inessa had come from a place called Dacia, a place the plague could not touch. Once she left Dacia, she could not return, and her father knew his love would suffer from the curse. He wished to bring Inessa to Janna, where she could live. He wanted to open the portal and Janna to the rest of the Lore.<br/><br/>Kaseem, in his hunger for power, seized upon fear and old prejudices, and led a civil war that killed so many djinn, along with Kara's entire line. Kaseem had already been corrupt, and his rule had been horrible.<br/><br/>Kara told Hallbjorn of Kaseem's violence to her, and his plans for her. It was like she experienced it anew, and she trembled and cried through much of it. But when she told him of Amina, and her kindness, Kara was able to smile again. She shared with him how Amina had begun to teach her to use her powers, and how she had seen signs of kindness among the other djinn who were so beaten down.<br/><br/>It wasn't until her stomach rumbled that she stopped talking, and then Kara turned a bashful smile up at him. “Do we have any pie left?”<br/>