Hanna climbed into the jeep to sit next to Alonzo. Indri, Tara, Finn, and many others stood on the landing strip and waved. She waved back to them, her heart heavy. She knew she would miss Tara and Finn, but her heart lightened when she remembered that she still had Alonzo and her brother.

And best of all, she knew now that her brother loved her, always had, and always would. Alonzo loved her too, and that was all she needed. To be with two of the people who loved her the most in life was all she could ask.

Ali started the jeep, and Hanna nestled up against Alonzo, who wrapped an arm around her and rested his chin on the top of her head gently.

They drove through the Gate, and surprisingly, Hanna didn’t feel any nausea. Usually she did. She didn’t understand why she didn’t, but she didn’t care. She was just grateful she didn’t.

A minute later, they materialized on the other side.

And what met their eyes shocked them. A man stood there in the woods, gaping at them. “You just…” He pointed at the space where the Gate resided. “You just appeared…”

Hanna started. People weren’t supposed to be in this area. It was extremely well hidden just outside an animal preserve where not many would find it. And normal humans wouldn’t be able to see the Gate anyway.

Of course, it was always possible someone could stumble on one of the Gates. They might not be able to go through it if they didn’t have magic in their veins, but a few humans had just enough of a magical ancestry that they could see it.

This man was obviously not one of them. He didn’t see the Gate, just them, and in his mind, they had appeared in front of him for no reason.

He continued to stare a moment, rubbing his eyes. Had he consumed too much alcohol last night? Because he was sure he was seeing things. He promptly passed out.

Ali turned to look at Hanna and Alonzo. “Okay, then. That was weird!”

Hanna and Alonzo took one look at the man laying on the snow in his big, bulky jacket and snow pants with boots several sizes too large and started laughing. Ali couldn’t help laughing too. “We should take him to a tourist area or something.”

Hanna shook her head. “Look, his car’s right up there. He must be one of the wardens of the preserve or something. We can just put him in there and leave.”

Ali and Alonzo glanced over at the man. “Yeah… That sounds like the best solution.” Ali answered slowly.

Alonzo opened the door on the jeep and climbed out. Ali followed and between the two of them, they managed to drag the man to the car and hoist him into the driver’s seat. They turned it on so that the car would keep him from freezing, and then they walked back to their jeep.

Climbing in, Ali waited for Alonzo to get back in and then he drove off.

“Wonder what he’ll think he saw when he wakes up.” Alonzo muttered.

Hanna laughed. “Who knows. I wonder how many times something like this has happened to him before.”

Alonzo shrugged. “Like you said, who knows. But judging by his response to us, probably not many. Either people don’t check up on the preserve that much, or people coming here are really good and getting in without being noticed.”

Hanna raised an eyebrow. “We didn’t have much trouble. This place is sort of remote.”

Alonzo grinned. “Touché.”

They were silent for a bit. Hanna relaxed in Alonzo’s embrace, and he held her close. Ali sensed they needed time to themselves, so he let them speak in private without pushing in.

Then Alonzo broke the silence. “Hanna, I know it’s painful, but do you want to talk about… you know… Your time with Zane.”

Hanna inhaled sharply against him, tensing at Zane’s name. His face flooded her once more and she remembered his kisses. How much he loved her, and how much she had loved him. She remembered his proposal.

It was all so painful.

Alonzo gazed into her eyes. Her lips trembled slightly and her face was pale. “I… I don’t…”

He felt his heart tearing at the rigid pain in her body and eyes. He desperately wanted to know if everything he had dreamed about her and Zane was true. But he couldn’t justify pressing her. “Look, forget I asked. I’m sorry.” He wanted to kiss her to remove that haunted look from her beautiful eyes, but he didn’t. She had truly loved Zane, and he was unsure how she would react. He didn’t want to push her too soon.

She saw what he wanted, and to reassure him that she would be fine, she pressed her lips against his gently for a few moments before pulling away. “Thank you, Alonzo.”

He smiled down at her, feeling the tension ease within him as she smiled back.

“But I think you should know what happened between… me and… Zane.” Hanna’s voice lowered until he could barely hear it. He knew this was causing her incredible pain.

“Hey… If you don’t want to think about this…” He started.

She shook her head, fighting back the tears. “No, Alonzo. Don’t… I need to tell you and move on. But if you say that, I might not have the courage to do this. So… Just listen.”

“Alright.” He nodded.

She took a breath. “When I first woke up, I was terrified. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I’d hurt you and Ali, and how I wished I’d never fought with Ali or back-talked with you when we were in the tunnels. I wished I’d never left your side and…” her voice caught. “The one thing I wanted most was just to feel your arms around me again. To be safe with you and Ali. But I didn’t see how it was possible. I thought I’d never… never see you again.” A tear slid down her cheek as she remembered the pain. “And my head hurt too because Zane hit me with a rock to knock me out.”

Alonzo’s arm tightened around her waist.

She leaned into him, drawing strength from his closeness to continue the story. “When Zane came in for the first time, we fought. I was angry with him, but towards the end, he’d already begun stealing my memories, and I couldn’t remember why I was angry with him.”

Alonzo shivered.

“For the first week, I fought him and I dreamt about you every night. I could hear you calling me, but I couldn’t reach you or anyone else. I couldn’t remember your names, just your faces. I began to wish that I would forget entirely so the pain would stop, but my sub consciousness wouldn’t let me. I don’t know why. But into the second week, at least I think it was then, I grew warmer towards Zane. He always treated me kindly, fairly. And he was the only person I had left anymore down there. But I didn’t want to admit I actually loved him because I knew what he was doing, what he wanted.” She paused.

Alonzo knew he had promised not to interrupt, but he couldn’t help it. “Did he… Did he really kiss you all those times?”

She looked up at him, startled. “What?”

“I dreamt too while you were down there. And they were…” His cheeks colored. “They were always dreams of you with… with Zane.” His eyes looked tortured. “And he would kiss you and then give me this smug smile like he knew I was watching. He was jealous of me…”

Hanna blushed. “Well… Yes. He did kiss me… Many times.”

Alonzo nodded. “I just… Needed to know.”

She continued. “Then one night… I went to sleep, but unlike the nights before, I was restless and I didn’t sleep. I don’t know how I missed the agonized screams in the night while I slept all those other times. Perhaps I was too exhausted and slept too deeply. But they woke me that night. And when I rushed into the other room… I… I…” She couldn’t keep going.

She started sobbing remembering the dreadful scene. She hated remembering that part of Zane and the things he’d done before he’d changed.

Alonzo wrapped both arms around her, cradling her head against his chest as she wept. “It’s okay. You don’t have to keep going.”

She shook her head against his chest, taking a shuddering breath. She pushed back from him a little, and he let her go. “No… I need you to know this stuff.”

“Okay.” He whispered.

Her voice was soft as she continued on. “Zane was in his dragon form, and he was eating one of the captives. It was awful. I passed out and when I woke up, I was back in the bed he’d conjured for me. I was scared, but he looked so dejected and hurt. He was sorry for it all. And that was when he changed. He wasn’t the same anymore. He… He really cared about me. I could feel it and see it in his eyes. I asked him then what he really thought about me. He didn’t want to answer because he was afraid of how I’d respond. And… I still wanted to know, so he… he told me. He asked me to marry him.”

Alonzo looked away. “I know.”

She glanced up, feeling shy and uncertain with him now. “You do? I mean… You did? How?”

“I dreamed that too. I don’t know… It was like… Like it wasn’t even on purpose anymore towards the end. Zane was doing it on purpose at first because I could sense a malignant presence behind the dreams, a sense of loathing and hatred towards me. But that dream… It wasn’t like that. It was almost as if Zane had established a link between us and I felt everything, saw everything, he did. And… I know he loved you.”

“How?” She breathed.

“Because at that moment all I could feel were waves of joy and protectiveness for you. He was feeling that way, and he was feeling overwhelming love for you.  I didn’t trust the dream then. I didn’t want to believe that it was true because everything I’d heard about Zane was bad.” He admitted.

She smiled. “I… I don’t know what to say…”

His dark eyes filled with sadness, turning them several shades darker. “I thought you should know.”

She nodded. “Thank you for telling me.”

He shrugged. “The dream was about you, so you had the right.”

She touched his arm gently. “I’m sorry, Alonzo… I feel like… Like, I… I don’t know… Like I betrayed you.”

He looked at her sharply. “It’s not your fault. It would be hard for any girl to say no to Zane. You couldn’t even remember me, anyway, so there’s no reason to blame you for something you couldn’t control.” His voice was light, but his eyes told a different story.

She saw it too. “But you still blame me for it.” She looked away from him out over the cold country.

“A little. But I understand too, Hanna. And I’ve forgiven you for it.” Alonzo took her chilled hand in his warm ones. “I love you, Hanna, and I always will.”

She nodded, leaning against him. Both of them were silent and in a few minutes, the silence and their exhaustion lulled them to sleep.