“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.”

“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.”

“I get to live forever," he repeated. Luce was still lost, but he kept talking, a stream of words pouring out of his mouth. "I get to live, and to watch babies being born, and grow up, and fall in love. I watch them have babies of their own and grow old. I watch them die. I am condemned, Luce, to watch it all over again and again. Everyone but you." His eyes were glassy. His voice dropped to a whisper. "You don't get to fall in love--""But...," she whispered back. "I've...fallen in love.”

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

“The voice sank through luce's skin and straight into her heart. Daniel's voice. He was calling to her. He wanted her. Needed her. Luce moved towards the sound”

“Don't worry," she whispered. "You're going to make it.""I know." His whisper came so quietly, and sounded so impossibly sad, that Luce wasn't sure she'd heard him right. Until then,she'd thought he was unconscious,but something in her voice seemed to reach him.His eyelids fluttered. Then, slowly, they opened.They were violet.The jug of water fell from her hands.Daniel.Her instinct was to crawl in next to him and cover his lips with kisses, to pretend he wasn't as badly wounded as he was.At the sight of her, Daniel's eyes widened and he started to sit up. But then the blood began to flow from his neck again and his face drained of all its color. Luce had no choice but to restrain him."Shhh. She pressed his shoulders back against the stretcher, trying to get him to relax.He squirmed under her grip. Every time he did, bright new blood bloomed through the bandage."Daniel,you have to stop fighting," she begged. "Please stop fighting. For me."They locked eyes for a long,intense moment=and then the ambulance came to an abrupt stop. The back door swung open. A shocking breath of fresh air flowed in. The streets outside were quiet, but the place had the feel of a big city,even in the middle of the night.Milan. That was where the soldier had said they were going when he assigned her to this ambulance. They must be at a hospital in Milan.”

“There was nothing mean about his voice. In fact it was almost too nice. Like she was too dim to grasp whatever was so obvious to him. Which made her absolutely furious.”