QUOTE : The door opened, and it was<br />like an apparition materializing before me, some sort of heavenly messenger descended from above.<br />I’d never been away from her for this long, and after all this time, part of me wondered if I was<br />imagining this.<br />Her hand went to her mouth, and she stared at me wide-eyed. I think she felt the same way-and she<br />hadn’t even had warning of my visit. She’d just been told I was coming “soon.” No doubt I seemed<br />like a phantom to her, too.<br />And with that reunion… it was like I was emerging from a cave-one I’d been in for almost five<br />weeks-into the bright light of day. When Dimitri had turned, I’d felt like I’d lost part of my soul. When<br />I’d left Lissa, another piece had gone. Now, seeing her… I began to think maybe my soul might be<br />able to heal. Maybe I could go on after all. I didn’t feel 100 percent whole yet, but her presence filled<br />up that missing part of me. I felt more like myself than I had in ages.<br />A world of questions and confusion hung in the silence between us. In spite of everything we’d been<br />through with Avery, there was still a lot of unresolved business from when I had first left the school.<br />For the first time since I’d set foot on the Academy’s grounds, I felt afraid. Afraid that Lissa would<br />reject me or scream at me for what I’d done.<br />Instead, she drew me into a giant hug. “I knew it,” she said. She was already choking on her sobs. “I<br />knew you’d come back.