Authors note

Love is a dangerous thing. It comes in disguise to change our life. Lust is the deceiver. Lust wrenches our lives until nothing matters except the one we think we love, and under that deceptive spell kill them or for them, give all for them, and then, when we have what we have wanted, we discover that it is all an illusion and nothing is there.
Lust is a voyage to nowhere, to an empty land, but some men just love such voyages and never care about the destination. Love is a voyage too, a voyage with no destination except death, but a voyage of bliss. (Bernard Cornwell)