I was in the front room with Recah and my brother.

Recah ran her fingers through her hair. "Why did you guys want me to tag along to your meeting with Hannah?"

"I got in contact with her last night." Ali put his hands behind his head. "She insisted on meeting an Engrad civilian."

Why hadn't he mentioned that when we discussed who we'd bring before we went to bed? He'd called her before that happened. I was sure of it.

"That takes our brother out of the equation since he's a prince." He glanced into my eyes. "We wouldn't wanna involve him, anyway, since he doesn't know what's going on."

She raised her eyebrows. Recah must've questioned why we kept our brother in the dark.

"I don't wanna bother Natalie with something so trivial." Ali folded his arms. "It might wind up feeling like watching paint dry for her."

She sighed. "You have a point there..."

"As for Duke, he's in a similar camp. As much as he cares about her, I don't know if he'll be able to understand everything."

I took over from there. "As for your brother—"

"—It wouldn't feel right if we brought him."

"I see what you mean..." She frowned.

What was going through Recah's mind? I couldn't glean anything from her eyes.

"We should get going." Ali checked for his phone and keys. "Hannah's a busy woman. I don't wanna keep her waiting."

The walk only took ten minutes or so.

I rang the doorbell, my heart banging inside my chest.

A woman about as tall as Recah answered with a smile. "Come on in." she stepped aside. "I've been excited to meet you since I talked to Noelle last week."

Recah leaned into her boyfriend.

Why had she been so nervous? I didn't know her as well as her brother or mine, but I couldn't imagine her like this a year and a half ago.

"Meeting Earth KKs and their friends is always fun." Hannah's eyes sparkled. "Most have incredible adventures while they're away."

Ali followed her. We lagged in the doorway.

"What do you want, princess?" Recah scowled. She had bags under her eyes I hadn't noticed before. "Won't they think we're doing something suspect out here?"

"Not if we're only out here for a minute." I took a breath. "Don't be surprised if she makes a big deal out of the Soulmate thing. Noelle told her about it last week."

Recah rolled her eyes. "Does Lain know?"

"Nope. I wanna mess with my little brother." I smirked. "Watching his reaction should be fun."

We then went into the living room.

Hannah held a necklace in her hands. "Recah, I want you to have this." Even her eyes smiled. "I love giving civilians presents whenever possible."

I'd seen something like that before. Why couldn't she remember where? It was special. Somehow...

"Thank you..." Recah looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Ali smiled and put it around his girlfriend/Soulmate's neck.

I sat on one couch with Hannah while my brother and his Soulmate took the other. There was a coffee pot and teapot and mugs on the table between them.

"Uh..." Hannah poured herself a cup of tea. "Can I ask why you want to travel into Taradita in the first place?"

"I have a mission." Ali poured himself a cup of coffee. "I need to find out what happened to this girl I grew up with." He gazed at his reflection in the brown liquid. "Not just her, either. An Engrad girl I met named Natalie lost her parents to Taradita, too."

Recah eyed the coffee pot. "Is there something on your mind, Hannah?"

"It's nothing." Sweat beaded her brow.

I raised my eyebrows. Something wasn't right. What was Hannah hiding?

Recah had poured herself coffee. She scrunched her face as she gulped some down. "How do people drink this?"

"They usually add things like milk or sugar." Ali smiled. "Black coffee is awful."

Tiana knew her brother well enough to know he meant to say, "disgusting". She took his word for it with that. The young princess never had any interest in coffee.

A weight was lifted off Hannah's shoulders. "The kitchen's over there." She pointed to a hallway in the corner behind her.

He got up first. "Thanks."

Recah followed her boyfriend into the kitchen.

Hannah waited a minute before asking her question. "How long has this girl been in Taradita?

"I don't really know. Ms. Sarah didn't tell him when it first happened." Raising an eyebrow, I crossed my arms. "Why?"

"I may have I sensed the moment she was sent there." She drew a long breath. "Something feels so familiar about him, despite the fact this was our first meeting."

I had trouble keeping a neutral expression. "Couldn't that be the KK-Protector link?"

"I doubt it." Hannah met my gaze. "This only happens with people who have friends or loved ones who were sent to that wretched place."

Hannah contradicted Noelle by saying that. Noelle told me there was more to that. Alain felt familiar to her during their first encounter, too. She didn't know if their tie to him played a part in it or not, but it was there, nonetheless.

"Hannah." I paused and grabbed the Protector's hands. "What aren't you saying?"

"He's different from any other KK I've met." Arms folded; she kept a neutral expression on her face. "They usually find Taradita within a week of an incident. Especially if they're in tune with their powers or have ties to the victims."

The princess's cheeks reddened. "That wasn't... where my little brother's priorities were... two years ago."

"Your little brother?" Hannah's jaw dropped. "Kayleigh... I had no idea you two were so close."

"I was the little girl they all spoke of. I was his priority." Heat rushed into her cheeks. "He'd just turned five. Right before that terrible day."

How had Hannah not put two and two together?

I did keep one relief in mind. My brother had gone home by then. He didn't have to watch us be sealed away. Who knew how traumatic that could've been?

Hannah set her cup down. "I didn't want to believe such a young child went through that and came out seemingly unscathed."

I didn't think that was entirely true. He shut himself off from most others simply because they were all they could think about. Not to mention, he'd battled nightmares. I could always sense them.

"Well, that's what happened." I poured myself some tea. "What he truly wanted was to free us, the people very dear to him. Still, he likely would've failed if he rushed in like he surely wanted to."

The Protector raised her eyebrows. "I could never imagine..."

"Is there a reason we had to look here?"

"Noelle mentioned that he was looking for a girl who disappeared around here." She moved a stray hair out of her face. "She also wanted me to watch over him." Hannah put her hand on my shoulder. "Don't get me wrong, she trusts you and Recah. Still, she worries about him." The young woman smiled. "Noelle seems to have developed a strong bond with him. One I haven't seen her have in ages."

Tiana wondered what "ages" meant. Alain's reaction told her that the photograph Noelle had was really old. How old was that technology?

I folded my arms. "Naturally, she's seen how he handles conflict."

"Do you happen to know the girl's name?"

I shook my head.

The pair came in and returned to their seats.

"Sorry that took us so long." Ali adjusted the neck of his pullover. "Should we get back to business?"

Hannah relaxed into a smile. "Yeah."

"How do we get into Taradita?"

A shiver ran down Recah's spine prompting her to scoot closer to her Soulmate.

"You need to find an access point. I can sense when someone is captured but not always where." She sipped her tea. "Most access point discoveries are made by KKs or someone close to them."

"How does someone do that?" Ali asked.

"You'll know." Hannah smiled. "Most find it when they aren't looking."

What was the point in not giving him the hint she gave me? She knew he wouldn't know where to start without it.

"Is that all you can tell me?" He finished the small cup of coffee.

"I'm afraid it is." She rose to her feet. "Don't be afraid to call me if you need anything."

"Right." He rose and pulled Recah up with him.

"Thank you." I curtsied again but failed to avoid her gaze.

I saw it in her eyes. There was more to get into Taradita? What was it?

We all headed for the door.

Hannah smiled with her eyes again. "Good luck! Please keep me posted on what you're doing!"

"We will," Ali replied. 

***

And Hannah has made her debut! Thoughts on the Protector? Theories? Predictions?

~Shino out!