“We were all that mattered back then, or have you forgotten? Do you not remember that night? How we stood beside the river and followed the Shawnee way? Do you remember what I whispered to you?"She shook her head, refusing to look at him. She tried to wrest her wrist free, but he held fast."You are lying," he accused quietly. "You can't forget.""How do you know?" she threw back at him.Alex smiled. "Because I can't," he admitted sadly.”

“I can't get you anything?" He asked. She shook her head and smiled. "Just you.”

“How can I judge?" she said at last. "To me, he is a hero. To the world a monster." She let her head fall into her arms and started crying quietly. "I miss him! Curse him! I miss him!"Mithorden put a hand on her shoulder and let her cry for a few minutes. A sad smile slowly spread across his face. "I'm glad you can forgive him," he said at last.Luthiel lifted her head. "How do you know?"Because you miss him.”

“Do you truly believe that you care more for me than I do for you?" he murmured, leaning closer to me as he spoke, his dark golden eyes piercing.I tried to remember how to exhale. I had to look away before it came back to me."You're doing it again," I muttered.His eyes opened wide with surprise. "What?""Dazzling me," I admitted, trying to concentrate as I looked back at him."Oh." He frowned."It's not your fault," I sighed. "You can't help it.”

“He stared at me. "She liked you, boy." The intensity of his voice and eyes made me blink."Yes," I said."She did it for you, you know.""What?""Gave up her self, for a while there. She loved you that much. What an incredibly lucky kid you were."I could not look at him. "I know."He shook his head with a wistful sadness. "No, you don't. You can't know yet. Maybe someday..."I knew he was tempted to say more. Probably to tell me how stupid I was, how cowardly, that I blew the bestchance I would ever have. But his smile returned, and his eyes were tender again, and nothing harsherthan cherry smoke came out of his mouth.”

“I love you," he whispered, kissing her. She smiled. "I love you, too."He was suddenly aware of Kaden lying right there. He looked at his friend. Kaden smiled. "Still not doing you.”