“For those we love, we can rise above that fear.”

“Live, Manon.”

“Be the bridge, be the light. When iron melts, when flowers spring from fields of blood—let the land be witness, and return home.”

“I will find you again,” he promised her. “In whatever life comes after this.” Lysandra nodded. “In every lifetime.”

“Once upon a time, in a land long since burned to ash, there lived a young princess who loved her kingdom …”