“I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina" He said. "You and I are going to change the world.”

“I'm sorry it took me so long to see you, Alina. But I see you now.”

“Did you miss me, Alina? Did you miss me when you were gone?""Every day," I said hoarsely."I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I'd catch myself walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I'd seen something I wanted to tell you about, or because I just wanted to hear your voice. And then I'd realize that you weren't there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I've risked my life for you. I've walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I'd do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don't tell me we don't belong together," he said fiercely. He was very close now, and my heart was suddenly hammering in my chest. "I'm sorry it took me so long to see you, Alina. But I see you now.”

“Just you and me.""Really?""It's always just you and me, Alina.”

“I don't care if you danced naked on the roof of the Little Palace with him. I love you, Alina, even the part of you that loved him.”

“I hope you don’t expect fairness from me, Alina. It isn’t one of my specialties.”

“I'm not like you, Mal. I never really fit in the way that you did. I never belonged anywhere.""You belonged with me," he said quietly."No, Mal. Not really. Not for a long time.”