“On my fourteenth birthday when the sakura was in full bloom, the men came to kill us.”

“Trusting anyone can get you killed.”

“All humans are made, in essence, of starstuff, and I sometimes wonder if the starstuff still calls out to us.”

“I never knew my mother's name.”

“My first memory is of the smell of sunwarmed earth.”

“I thought then that you were the bravest girl I’d ever met, and nothing that’s happened since has changed my mind.”

“I know what evil looks like under the surface. No matter how beautiful the exterior, how good the lies, I don’t fool myself, not any more. You carry a terrible burden that no one – not even me – can really understand. But that doesn’t change who you are, Frost. You’re a good person. And I love you.” “I wish…” My voice cracked. “I wish I could believe in that.” Luca brushed the dishevelled strands of hair away from my face again and looked into my eyes. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll keep saying it until you do.”