They are orphans again, with no true home but each other and whatever life they can make together on the other side of the sea.

When evening fell the boy would bring the girl a glass of tea, a slice of lemon cake, an apple blossom floating in a blue cup. He would kiss her neck and whisper new names in her ear: beauty, beloved, cherished, my heart.

They had an ordinary life, full of ordinary things-if love can ever be called that.

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.

The moment our lips met, I knew with pure and piercing certainty that I would have waited for him forever.

Stay,” she panted. Tears leaked from her eyes. “Stay till the end.”
“And after,” he said. “And always.