Marie Lu

I hope,_ he replies softly, __o get to know you again. If you are open to it. There is a fog around you that I would like to clear away.

I turn even more flustered when I remember that I have actually pistol-whipped him in the face before. Romantic.

Day, the boy from the streets with nothing except the clothes on his back and the earnestness in his eyes, owns my heart. He is beauty, inside and out. He is the silver lining in a world of darkness. He is my light.

Yeah, something was wrong. That was the understatement of the year.

Then I realize from the hollow sound of her gun's click that her gun isn't loaded. Apparently she just wants to slap me around with it.

You should have taken me with you," I whisper to him. Then I lean my head against his and begin to cry. In my mind, I make a silent promise to my brother's killer.I will hunt you down. I will scour the streets of Los Angeles for you. Search every street in the Republic if I have to. I will trick you and deceive you, lie, cheat and steal to find you, tempt you out of your hiding place, and chase you until you have nowhere else to run. I make you this promise: your life is mine.

Sometimes, the sun sets earlier. Days don__ last forever, you know. But I__l fight as hard as I can. I can promise you that.

I__e been searching a long time for something I think I lost. I felt like I found something when I saw you back there.

The boy who walks in the light

You still belong on the other side of the looking glass. Someday, when you're ready to take the step over to our side, I'll come see you again. Live well, Daniel. Make that final step count.

What a joke! Poor little rich girl's fallen in love with the Republic's most famous criminal.

We can heal. Perhaps we can return to that same place we once stood, when we were both young and innocent.

You're brilliant,"he says."But you're a fool to stay with someone like me."I close my eyes at the touch of his hand."Then we are both fools.

You threw everything away."I bring a hand up to touch her face,to wipe the rain from her eyelashes."Your entire life-your beliefs...Why would you do that for me?"June has never looked more beautiful than she does now,unadorned and honest,vulnerable yet invincible.When lightning streaks over the sky,her dark eyes shine like gold."Because you were right,"she whispers."About all of it.

Then Day reaches out and touches my hand with his. He encloses it in a handshake. And just like that, I am linked with him again, I feel the pulse of our bond and his- tory and love through our hands, like a wave of magic, the return of a long-lost friend. Of something meant to be. The feeling brings tears to my eyes. Perhaps we can take a step forward together.__i,_ he says. ____ Daniel._ __i,_ I reply. ____ June.

Hi, I'm Day.Hi, I'm June

A free state is a corporate state.

I have everything I could ever want here, Adelina,_ he finally says. __ou__e handed me what feels like the world__ riches, a palace, a life of luxury._ He draws closer. __ get to be at your side. What more do I need?