Jessica Shirvington

“I give it to you now because, child of soldier, child of man, child of angel, it is not necessary to win the battle, if in the end, you win the war.”

“Violet!' Lincoln said, then sighed. 'You don't love him. This isn't real. You know what's real and it's hard and it hurts and we can't...Damn it, Vi--we're real!”

“I hoisted myself onto my elbows. "Yeah, well, if I ever come back as a Grigori, then I'll kick your ass.""You'll come back, and you'll be a Grigori." He spoke with such certainty it made me smile. "I doubt very greatly, however, that you'll kick my ass. But me and my ass will enjoy your efforts.”

“What do you want Phoenix?""I'm going away for a while. I wanted to say goodbye." He smiled, but it was empty. There was nothing there."Fine, goodbye.”

“Griffin stared at me, his expression grave. "There are only three things both light and dark exiles have in common. They despise each other, they hate grigori, and they place no value on the casualties of their brutal wars."Excellent news. Not only was I apparently some weird angel-human combo, but I already had myself a badass immortal enemy.”

“Linc, I have no idea what you're talking about. I actually thought that was kind of unbelievable as far as kisses go." I was glad we were in the dark and he couldn't see me blushing.He made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a growl of frustration. He pulled me in for a hug, which I fell into, feeling crushed. I had the strangest feeling we were stealing this moment and no matter how tightly I held on, it wouldn't help. Lincoln's next words were soft and perhaps not even meant for me, but they burned their way right into my soul."Did you ever think we would be anything other than unbelievable?”

“I pushed passed him. He grabbed my hand and swung me back towards him. Then he pushed me against the wall and... he kissed me.He ran his thumb along my jawline and down my throat, hips pinning me to the wall. He kissed me slowly and with intensity, and once I got over the mind-numbing shock and comprehended what was actually happening, it was incredible. I had never been kissed like that before. We melted together. Every movement of mine was somehow perfectly mirrored by his. My heart was pounding so hard I knew he must be able to feel it and I was sure my legs were giving way, but he held me up, pushed me harder against the wall.I grabbed a handful of his hair, remembering all the times I'd dreamed of doing it. I let my hand drift down his back and pulled him even closer to me. It all happened so quickly. I heard him make a low kind of growl and lean into me. His hand slid down my leg behind my knee, drawing it to him. I moaned and felt him tense.”

“I'm tipsy." I corrected, "and it's my birthday and I want to dance. Come one, Linc, it won't kill you.”

“Ever heard the phrase, 'candy is dandy but liquor is quicker?'"Great she wanted to get me drunk."Ah...ever heard of underage!""Where there's a will there's a way," she said, matter-of-factly."That's your great plan?”

“You are you and you are me. You are the Keshet.”

“It's going to be like an...aura, I guess."He looked down at me and raised an eyebrow. "Explain?""Like even though there are outside forces pushing through the walls, in here it's like a bubble of goodness. Like coming home."I could feel him smiling and it encouraged me to elaborate. "When I think of how others would see it, I imagine them seeing a force of goodness overshadowing a force of evil, protecting it.”

“Linc?""Yeah.""About the other thing my dad said to you," I cringed."What else is he supposed to think?" he asked, a smile in his tone. "You're over here all the time. If not training, we're hanging out. I'm surprised he hasn't warned me off sooner. It's good to see he's paying attention.”

“Dad, youre so far off the mark I can't even...Lincoln hasn't pressured me at all!" I grabbed my bag and heaved it onto my back. "WE'RE JUST FRIENDS! He's not even interested in me like that - and thanks to you," I shook my head at him in utter disbelief, "he never will now.”

“It's like he's training you for battle or something." Her eyes lit up. "Hey, maybe he has some underground fight club and he's grooming you!""That's it, Steph. Definitely.”

“Violet Eden!" Steph said sternly, sucking me out of my trance. "We have your dad's Amex, a green light and no specified limit." Her mock rebuke morphed into a devious grin. "What more could a girl want as a birthday present?”

“ Thanks for giving me a place to sleep last night, and for the extra blanket.Vi.-Violet's note to Lincoln”

“Running a bit late meet at my place around 7?'Smiling at the phone, my fingers fumbling over the keypad quickly,'Yup-see you there!'I deleted the exclamation mark and counted to thirty before I allowed myself to press send.”

“Violet: "You're an asshole." Onyx: "Thank you, it's something that took an eternity to perfect.”

“Even the greatest bringers of justice will only find salvation in surrneder”

“It's my privilege to love you.”

“Jesus Christ!" I yelled, jumping up and down to shake out the fear as I opened the sliding door, frowning when I realised it wasn‟t locked."Nope, but you‟re not the first to make that mistake," Spence said, grinning mischievously.”

“Hey. I know it‟s cool to be late, but could we at least keep it to a fashionable ten minutes?‟-Lincoln”

“You're incredible. I can feel your power and it's more than anything I...Violet," he swallowed, watching me in awe. "It's like...It's like you're as powerful as an angel."-Lincoln”

“Not us, Vi. Everything else may end, but not us. What we have...We're endless."-Lincoln”

“It's too late!" I cried"I thought that once, too. But it's never too late. You taught me that. Love can make us eternal.” Phoenix’s eyes closed, haunted to the end. “I'm sorry,” were his last words."I forgive you,” I sobbed, gripping onto him desperately. “I forgive you.”It was too late.All. Too. Late.”

“Nothing is endlessI know that nowLet me goV-Violet's letter”

“He was my partner, my soulmate. As my body started to weaken, he wrapped his arms around me, supporting me. He kept his focus until the last of the senses had floated from me to him and then, when it was just us, the kiss lingered as we stole a few extra seconds. We both knew it was wrong – but letting go seemed impossible..”

“His lips were soft, warm and felt overwhelmingly right against mine. I fell into it, oblivious to anything other than the safety in his touch. One by one, the senses flowed from me as he pulled them away and set them free. It must have hurt him. The senses hurt the hell out of me..”

“Remember, all passions start from love or hate. But beware - you never know whether they will end with delight or sorrow.”

“He was reading the morning paper. She was giving their toddler pieces of toast and jam, which the little girl proceeded to wipe all over her face and the wall behind. The woman laughed as the toddler squealed, and he couldn't help peeking over the top of his paper every few seconds to watch them, admiring the view. That's what it was supposed to be like. Two people meet, fall in love, and then do normal things.”

“I know because an angel told me.”

“Maybe it’s not as clear-cut as that. Maybe it’s the very presence of one thing – light or darkness – that necessitates the existence of the other.Think about it, people couldn’t become legendary heroes if they hadn’t first done something to combat darkness. Doctors could do no good if thereweren’t diseases for them to treat.”

“You smell of winter dew at the first crack of dawn and when you use your power it feels like being submerged in the most intoxicating vanilla cream that I lose myself in it every time and … and you were beautiful,‟ he blurted out, catching us both by surprise. But he went on, ignoring the fact that my hand was still slipping. „So stunning in that dress the other night I could hardly look at you it hurt so much. You are the thing I dread in myself, Violet, because … I love you so much that I can‟t trust myself. I‟d die for you, give up all my power for you, I‟d give my soul in an instant, even if it meant I had to spend eternity in torment - just for one moment with you as mine. Wanting you consumes me. I dread you because I know the risk but I‟m so selfish I want you anyway. I‟d take you even though it could kill you”

“You must love no-thingness,You must flee something,You must remain alone,And go to nobody.You must be very activeAnd free of all things.You must deliver the captivesAnd force those who are free.You must comfort the sickAnd yet have nothing yourself.You must drink the water of sufferingAnd light the fire of Love with the wood of the virtues.Thus you live in the true desert.”

“Would you die for her?' I almost stopped breathing.I could feel his eyes on me.'I do. Every day.”

“Did you ever think we would be anything other than unbelievable?”

“Love will kill us all." He said sadly. "First it makes us lie furiously so we can be what me must in order to appear deserving. Then, it tears us apart with raw truth. Whether we are man, exile or angel - It doesn't matter. For us all, the nature of truth is unforgiving.”

“His brow furrowed. "It's beautiful... and awful, too. What is it?""It's me”

“Kissing you is.. I tried so had for so long to deny myself. I tried to do tho right thing. But ever since we kissed on your birthday I knew once i started I'd never be able.. even through we can't..”

“He pulled me closer. kneeling in front of me,he kissed me intensely and i felt right. Morning and evening slipped away. it was just us. Silence surrounded us. My heart leapt and i kiss him back, knowing so truly that i loved him. My heart cried and I pulled away, knowing so truly that he had betrayed me.”