Love is for those who know the griefs of time, for it goes hand in hand with loss. An eternity, so burdened, would be a torment. And yet—” He broke off, drew breath. “Yet what else to call it, this terror and this joy?

Stand aside," said the Bear. "I will have the old witch's children."Pyotr deliberately stepped forward. "I know no witches. These are my children.

You are not alone either. By all means, let us continue repeating it until one of us believes it.

Olga smiled a little. Vasya remembered that years before, her sister had been a girl who had dreamed of love and raven-princes. Olga had laid aside the dream, as women must. Perhaps she did not regret it. For the raven-prince was strange and secret; he would draw you out into a dangerous world.