Kara listened to what Amina told her, and felt sadness for the people of Janna. It must have been beautiful before life began to fail. She could not imagine the fear the djinn felt as the desert beauty around them began to die. The image Amina's words brought to mind, of her father being just a child and playing among the palm trees brought a smile to Kara's lips.<br/><br/>She latched on to everything Amina told her of her father and what Janna used to be like. Her hatred of Kaseem grew when she learned that he was behind the death of her father. Kara believed that if not for Kaseem, her parents could have been together. Even if her mother still died from sickness, she would have grown up knowing her father. That future had been stolen from her by a power hungry monster.<br/><br/>Kara's eyes widened with surprise to learn that there had been a war between the djinn and the vampires. The love her parents had found must have been extraordinary to break that old hatred between the two species. It hurt her heart to learn of such a painful past, but Kara was thankful that Amina was answering her questions.<br/><br/>She looked down at her ring as Amina held her hand to gaze upon it. Kara's gaze snapped up to meet Amina's, and she could not find her voice at first. Hallbjorn had never told her that he wouldn't be allowed to come with her. Tarek had not told her that, either. But Kara remembered Hallbjorn saying that Tarek told him everything.<br/><br/>Kara shook her head as she went over everything they said to each other after meeting Tarek. Hallbjorn had started being distant right after that meeting. Could Tarek have told him he wasn't invited? Tarek had manipulated her. It was not so hard to believe he had done the same to Hallbjorn. Knowing what the king wanted from Kara, there was no way he would have allowed her mate to come with her.<br/><br/>Hope soared inside of Kara. Maybe Hallbjorn did still love her. Tarek could have planted the seeds of discord between them, and that would explain Hallbjorn's behavior. At no point did he deny his love for her. She began to see everything in a new light. Kara's gaze sought out Amina's. She leaned towards the woman, and took her hands in her own. Desperation touched her features as she said, “Hallbjorn, my mate. He didn't leave me. He didn't cast me aside. We were tricked by Tarek. Hallbjorn thinks I left him.”<br/><br/>Her voice was tremulous when she told Amina, “I have to get back to him. I have to explain. I need to escape from here.”