The Rise of Endymion (Hyperion Cantos, #4)

by Dan Simmons

If there is a true secret to the universe, it is this . . . these first few seconds of warmth and entry and complete acceptance by one’s beloved.

‘Be kind to your love, Raul Endymion. Be good to her in the hours granted to you by the cycles of life and chaos.’

I was not with her. I was not with her.