“Lys," he whispered. "Do you know what's coming?""Yes," she whispered."And you know that I'll be with you until the end?”

“At last." He breathed into her, finding her lips. "You found me," she whispered. "Always.”

“Are you okay?" Daniel whispered, his voice soft, his lips so close to hers. "Yes." She could feel the beating of his wings. "You caught me." "I will always catch you when you fall.”

“Will you stay with me ” she asked. Her voice was the thinnest whisper almost canceled out by a low groan of thunder.... Forever ” he whispered back. The sweet sound of his voice filled her up.”

“You're in there somewhere." He tapped at her collarbone. "You'll pop out again when-Well,when the time is right. But for now,you've slipped entirely inside your past. Like a cute little turtle in a borrowed shell.Except it's more than that.When you're in Lys's body, your very beings are entwined, so all sorts of good stuff comes with the package.Her memories,her passions,her manners-lucky for you.Of course,you also have to grapple with her shortcomings.This one,if I recall,puts her foot in her mouth with some regularity.So watch out.""Amazing," Luce whispered. "So if I could just find Daniel,I'd be able to feel exactly what she feels toward him.""Sure,I guess,but you do realize that once I snap my fingers,Lys has obligations at this ball that don't include Daniel.This isn't really his scene,and by that I mean,no way the guards would let a poor stable boy in here."Luce didn't care about any of that. Poor stable boy or not,she would find him. She couldn't wait. Inside Lys's body she could even hold him, maybe even kiss him.The anticipation of it was almost overwhelming."Hello?" Bill flicked a hard finger against her temple. "You ready yet? Get in there,see what you can see-then get out while the getting's good, if you know what I mean."Luce nodded.She straightened Lsys's black gown and held her head a little higher. "Snap to it.""And...go." Bill snapped his fingers.”

“Do I love him? Yes. But when the final battle comes, I'll have to kill him. That's just our reality. We both know exactly where we stand."- Francesca”

“She didn't really know what any of that meant, but she did know it could be very bad. Like erase-your-whole-existence bad.Or maybe kill-your-angel-boyfriend bad.That was when Luce panicked. Grabbing hold of Daniel's shoulders, she began to shake. Lightly, gently-he'd been through a war,after all.But enough to let him know that she needed a sign. Right now."Daniel," she whispered. "Daniel?"There.His eyelids began to flutter. She let out her breath.His eyes opened slowly,like they had last night. And like last night, when they registered the girl in front of them,they bulged. His lips parted. "You're...old."Luce blushed. "I am not," she said, laughing. No one had ever called her old before."Yes,you are. You're really old." He looked almost disappointed. He rubbed his forehead. "I mean-How long have I been-?"Then she remembered: Lucia was several years younger. But Daniel hadn't even met Lucia yet.How would he have known how old she was?"Don't worry about that," she said. "I need to tell you something. Daniel. I'm-I'm not who you think I am. I mean, I am, I guess, I always am,but this time,I came from...uh..."Daniel's face contorted. "Of course. You stepped through to get here."She nodded. "I had to.""I'd forgotten," he whispered, confusing Luce even more. "From how far away? No.Don't tell me." He waved her off, inching back in his bed as if she had some sort of disease. "How is that even possible? There were no loopholes in the curse.You shouldn't be able to be here.""Loopholes?" Luce asked. "What kind of loopholes? I need to know-""I can't help you," he said, and coughed. "You have to learn on your own.Those are the rules.”