"Most people will," Ulla agrees. "You know that's a big part of why Warren encouraged me to stay, don't you? He wanted to make sure I wouldn't... build my whole life around him, and collapse when I lost him. Hjerte will help. He's immortal as long as I live. The practice connecting with people helped."

She pulls Taylor's head in to rest on her shoulder so that Ulla can kiss her hair. "I'll lose you someday, but if I start pushing people away for that, Hjerte and I will have to spend our lives alone, for the most part. It's a waste, and it's bleak, and I don't want that."