against her forehead. ?At least now we know we can?t be apart.?
?It was like being dead,? she said fearfully, as if even mentioning
the numbness she had felt would allow it to creep back into her
body.
?For me too,? he said in a strange, strangled voice.
?What about your mother? She won?t allow us to be together.?
?We?ll have to talk with her. We?ll have to talk to my whole
family.?
?And if they still want to separate us??
?Then we run,? Lucas said, his voice low and even.
Neither of them said anything for a while. They just watched the
beacon light flash across the foaming waves of the storm-churned
ocean. Helen could hear his heart pounding, but his grip on her
only tightened as if he was already bracing himself for the battle he
would have to fight to keep her close to him.
?They?ll chase us,? she whispered. ?They?ll think we?ve started the
war.?
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?I know,? Lucas said. ?But we won?t. We?ll keep the Truce, even if
they don?t believe that we can.?
?We don?t have to make the same mistakes that they did,? Helen
said defiantly. ?It makes me so angry that everyone assumes that
even though we know what would happen, we?ll still go out and do
the same stupid thing.?
Lucas laughed, but there was no joy in the sound.
?It?s almost as if we don?t need to live our lives or feel our feelings
at all, because someone already told us what the ending was going
to be,? he said bitterly. She could feel him tensing with indignation,
until a new and serious thought stilled him. ?Are you really willing
to do this? You know that it would mean you?d have to leave your