Christine Fonseca

“I’m not certain what I notice first, the bright flickering light that illuminates the darkness underneath my eyelids, or the shrill screams that pull me form the dredges of sleep. Either way, I’m awake. And afraid.”

“She opens her eyes as the fury continues, pinning me with her glare. Her gaze reached into my soul as I spin the music back to the simple melody at its core—our melody. A moment of recognition washes over her, followed by regret, fear, terror. An entire kaleidoscope of emotions exists within a single heartbeat.”

“Ien stopped her voice with more kisses, more promises of a world filled with only them.”

“There is no point in thinking of what could've been; no point in belaboring the past.”

“Tell me you don't feel what I feel.""That doesn't matter." She swallowed hard."It does to me." I brush my lips against hers.”

“Each memory rips through me, and although I stow myself against the emotions, I can’t prevent the pain that accompanies each image. Pain for a love never acknowledged, pain for a friendship now gone. Pain for a loss I can’t possibly endure.”

“I don’t want to hurt her, don’t want her to suffer. But the truth may hurt her more. I wrap my arms, my wings, around her as her body shutters.”

“Nesy. At last. It has to be her. Who else can make Aydan smile? Make me smile.”

“I’m only going to say this once,” I say to tattoo guy. “Leave me alone.” “Or what?” he asks. Thought you’d never ask.”

“Do it, Nesy. Say the words. Pierce my heart. Send me to the Abyss and end my suffering. Please. I won’t stop you.”

“She slips into the seat at our table, refusing to look up at me. I reach for her hand, sending a shiver through me when our finger tips touch. She glances at me, her eyes filled with a feral fear that reaches into my depths, pulling on emotions I refuse to acknowledge. Things I can’t feel now. Won’t feel ever again.”

“The questions push me further into the space in between, the place where my madness lays waiting for me. I struggle with each question, determined to extract some sort of answer, an explanation for everything that has happened so far. But no answers come and I’m forced to acknowledge the feeling lodged between my two worldsTerror.”

“He would die in this room, buried alive by the weight of his life.”

“I press my lips hard against hers, tasting her desire, her pain, her love, her confusion. At once I’m in two lives, two worlds, two places.”

“My thoughts war. Part of me needs to protect her; part of me wants something else. Something vile. Wrong.”

“But there is nothing, no trace that she’s ever existed. She is not here. She will never be here again.Because of me.”

“Every spot his mouth touches closes the empty spaces inside.”

“My mind is quiet now. There is no fire or ash, no sulfur or shattering glass. Only silence, empty and cold.”

“My hands are still bleeding, too bloody. Every stain once gone has returned, like a permanent mark of the sins I've committed.”

“She will assume it was me, assume that I have come to make good on my promises. One of us should.”

“Dreams are funny things"..."Things seem so real when they are happening, only to fade instantly when the brain realizes they are mere images, shadows of the truth, but not part of it.”

“Some things you just can't hide, no matter how thick the material.”

“I'm more than the flesh and bone that defines me. More than the pain that consumes me and the madness radiating through me. I am a man. And I am still alive...”

“Only the living can feel this much pain.”

“She smiles and snuggles into me as we wait for our table. I inhale her scent. Vanilla and something else. Something different. Smokey almost. Sexy. It drives me crazy with need and I have to move away while I can.”

“She’s right in some ways. She doesn’t need a shrink. But she does need to remember. I need her to remember; remember and still choose me. Choose us.”

“Forever. He carved the word into his soul. Kiera was his forever, deformity or no deformity.”

“My thoughts are quiet, but not calm. There is a terror on the edge of the silence, a terror fed by my burning flesh and the stench of death.”

“I never mastered anything. I am damaged. Broken. And I always will be.”

“A hand in mine.. hot. Breath on my neck... sweet. The feel of lips on my own... forbidden.”

“My world slips away and I again taste vengeance on my tongue.”

“Cass pulls from my embrace, her mind reaching into my heart. Pain, anger, confusion pass through her eyes. My pain. My anger. My confusion. She swallows hard. “Because?”“Because I traded it all, my heart, my memories, everything. For her.”

“I’d accepted my judgment without question. Agreed to live a mortal life. I didn’t know my memories would come with me; didn’t know I’d relive them every day.Death would have been more merciful.”

“A pang of deep longing ripples through me. I’m torn between my promise to send Aydan to the Abyss and my need to keep him safe. The opposing forces fragment what remains of my mind, breaking me down once again.”

“She’s here, in front of me. Just my luck. I obsessed about her all night, working out a plan to find her and take her soul. After the disappointment in my kill last night, I knew nothing would satisfy me until I had her.Only her.”

“There are few things I hate more than feeling weak. Needing help or failing top the list. The worst, however, is knowing that all three just happened.”

“My cheek stings with Demi’s anger. On my lips, the taste of her skin lingers. The two sensations mix, intoxicating me. It’s all too much. And yet, it’s all so much more real than anything I’ve experienced before. I want to drink it up, let the rush crest over me. I feel alive. Powerful.And I want more.”

“But my feelings won’t abate. Feelings I’m not supposed to have. Feelings I can’t relinquish.”