The Story of Us: The sweeping historical debut of 2018 that you will never forget. Lana Kortchik

       About the Author

      LANA KORTCHIK grew up in two opposite corners of the Soviet Union – a snow-white Siberian town and the golden-domed Ukrainian capital. At the age of sixteen, she moved to Australia with her mother. Lana and her family live on the Central Coast of New South Wales, where it never snows and is always summer-warm, even in winter. She loves books, martial arts, the ocean and Napoleonic history. Her short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies. She was the winner of the Historical Novel Society Autumn 2012 Short Fiction competition and the runner-up of the 2013 Defenestrationism Short Story Contest. This is her first novel.

       Praise for The Story of Us

      ‘A powerful and hard-hitting novel, it tackles the themes of loyalty and compassion, and emphasizes the hard choices that need to be made in wartime.’

       Deborah Swift, author of The Lady’s Slipper

      ‘Its powerfully descriptive language pulls you into the bleakness of war, the longing for peace, and the exhilaration of profound, unconditional love.’

       Marie Silk, author of Davenport House

      ‘I didn’t want this story to end. It’s one of those books you hold close to your heart and don’t want to let go … left me speechless and wanting more.’

       Sharon Laker, author of The Railway Mice of Countesthorpe

      ‘I cried, smiled, gasped and laughed while reading this book. It will stay with me long after I’ve finished it.’

       J.L. Leslie, author of Tame Me

      The Story of Us

      LANA KORTCHIK

      HQ

      An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

      First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018

      Copyright © Lana Kortchik 2018

      Lana Kortchik asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

      E-book Edition © December 2018 ISBN: 9780008314835

      Version: 2018-11-16

      Table of Contents

       Cover

       About the Author

       Praise for The Story of Us

       Title Page

       Copyright

       Dedication

       Part I – In Iron Shackles

       Chapter 1 – Black Cloud Descending

       Chapter 2 – The Barbaric Hordes

       Chapter 3 – The Soldier

       Chapter 4 – The Bleak Despair

      

       Chapter 5 – A City Ablaze

      

       Chapter 6 – The River of Death

      

       Chapter 7 – The New Beginnings

      

       Chapter 8 – The Snow and the Illusions

      

       Chapter 9 – The Icy Fortress

      

       Chapter 10 – At the Crossroads

      

       Chapter 11 – The Impossible Choices

      

       Chapter 12 – A Beacon of Happiness

      

       Chapter 13 – Freedom’s Elusive Glare

      

       Part II - The Everlasting Hope

      

       Chapter 14 – Rays of Sunshine

      

       Chapter