We are stronger than we've credited ourselves to be. We have been the victims and the witnesses. We have said a lifetime of good-byes.

Rhine. The river that, somewhere out there, has broken free.

I can hear my brother's voice in my head. Your problem is that you're too emotional. But how can I not be emotional, Rowan? How can I not care?

He says one word, nodding into the daylight. "Look." It's an astounding word. It's a gift.

So many of the things I've wanted are the things I've been taught to fear.

But I know all the things you're too sweet to know.

Time was our very first king. We all live our lives to the aggressive ticking of the clock. We don't question that our lives are a grid of seconds; even our pulses oblige. No succeeding king can hope to hold this kind of power.