Gabriella found Aurel by the far window.
He had a cup in his hand and he was looking out at the night beyond the glass and she came and stood beside him and he did not startle, just turned and looked at her and the relief on his face at the sight of her was so unguarded and so immediate that she felt it move through her like warmth.
"You are here," he said.
"You are here," she replied.
He pulled her in with one arm, her side against his, and they stood at the window together looking out at the dark and the distant lights of the lower city and the sky above it all that did not know or care what had just been survived beneath it.
"More are coming," she said quietly. Not to spoil the moment. Just because it was true and they had both been thinking it and pretending they hadn't seemed like a waste of the time they had.
"Yes," he said.
"Then we are glad for tonight."
