Melissa Marr

“Love is a mistake when we're all going to die any day now.”

“Then she was alone- with only a wolf for companionship- waiting to tell the next girl what a folly it was to love him, to trust him.”

“You're not weak at all. Wounded, but that's nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I survived. Isn't that what matters?”

“It wasn't the tattoo that had changed her, had given her repossession of her body. It was her actions, her choices. It was finding the path when it looked like there weren't any paths to be found.”

“I'm still yours, though. That won't ever change, Shadow Girl.”

“I'm mine. Not anyone else's.”

“What is it doing to me? Will the darkness consume me?”

“He had hopes, but hope wasn't a solution.”

“I'm not happy," she whispered. "I don't know what I am, but this isn't happiness.”

“We are what we are, Nial, neither as good or as evil as others paint us. And what we are doesn't change how truly we feel, only how free we are to follow those feelings.”

“My fealty to the Summer Court is rescinded. You are my King no more.”

“If he took her into his arms, he would keep her. He wouldn't let her suffer the way the other mortals had when he'd left them. He would keep her, with his court's permission or without it. Irial wouldn't take her, and Keenan wouldn't stand between them.”

“Whatever this fearlessness, this strength, this difference was, she was starting to like it.”

“Safe wasn't quite what appealed to her right then. Safe wasn't how she felt. Invincible, in control, powerful- those words felt closer to true.”

“I did survive. I still am. And it won't happen again.”

“She might scream when the nightmares found her, but not by choice, not when she was awake.”

“I didn't drown. I didn't break.”

“I will keep you safe- from them and from me.”

“She wanted something she didn't have words for- peace, numbness, something.”

“He might be out of her skin, but she'd left him as something other than what he'd been before- not moral, but not strong enough to deserve the title of Dark King.”

“He'd given her his vow: to take care of her, to keep her from hurt or pain, from wanting for anything. Her leaving didn't negate his promises; they weren't conditional.”

“She might not be bound to him, but she was still his Shadow Girl.”

“He leaned in and kissed her softly. "If you're finally going to let yourself love me, we're going to date.""We sort of have been.""No." He caught her hands and pulled her into his embrace. "We've been trying very hard not to date. Let me show you our world. Let me take you to dinner and whisper temptations. Let me take you to ridiculous carnival rides and symphonies and dances in the rain. I want you to laugh and smile and trust me first. i want it to be real love if you are in my bed.”

“You already gave me forever, Aislinn. I'm asking for a chance at right now.”

“Donia looked away. "I pushed her toward you.I just made a mistake when I let myself think that you'd be mine for a few years... She's your match. I'm not.""Maybe someday, but right now... I was carried away by the first summer. It's a heady thing, but I can redirect that energy. Let me have the dream of us for as long as we can. That's what the court needs--a happy king, a king who can't stop dreaming of being lost in someone who wants to be just as lost. Tell me you'll let me get lost in you.”

“But I want to be near you always," he reminded her."But you'll lose everyone else, and...""I want forever with you." Seth lifted her chin so he was able to look directly into her eyes. "The rest will fall into place if I can be with you.”

“You are my king. You could command me to stop seeing her."Niall turned his gaze to Irial. "What would you do?""Blind myself, if you were foolish enough to use those words.”

“Some mortals--like you--are already half in love with death. It is who you are, and I'll not make it harder on you by telling you things you don't need to know. Ask me again when you die. Then I'll tell you everything, anything, nothing.”

“This changes nothing. It can't. You are my friend, my king,but that's.... All you can be."He nodded, but it was a gesture that indicated that he heard her, not that he agreed, which was abundantly clear as he said, "And you are my queen, my savior, my partner---and that's everything.”

“If you were my queen, truly my queen, our court would be stronger still. If you were mine , without mortal distractions, we'd be safer. We'd be stronger if we were truly together. Summer is a time to rejoice in pleasures and heat. When I'm around you, I want to forget everything else. I love Donia. I always will, but when I'm near you--" He stopped himself.”

“You know its more than that. I know now that it was right that I didn't find my queen all these years. Waiting for you was worth everything that I thought I couldn't endure.”

“For this mortal I would disobey my queen, abandon my king, the court that has protected me all these years. All of it.”

“I can teach you how to defend yourself some. Not" - he held her gaze - "that it will always keep you safe. There are times when no amount of training will stop what others would do.""So why..." She let the question drift away."Because it helps me sleep at night, because it helps me focus, because sometimes I like knowing that maybe if I were in danger again it would help."He kissed her forehead."And sometimes because it gives me hope that it'll make me strong enough to be loved and protect the one I would try to love.”

“He held her gaze as he lowered his head toward her. He didn't kiss her though--just leaned kissably close and asked, "Will you let me take you in my arms... for a dance, Leslie?”

“Belief is a powerful thing. If you believe you can…”

“Loving someone meant letting them be who they were, not caging them”

“She couldn't breath around the pain in her chest. "Tell me I'm the only one.”

“What can I give you, Aislinn? Shall I weave flowers into your hair?"He opened his hand, letting go of her hair. An iris blossom sat in the palm of his hand. "Shall I bring you necklaces of gold? Delicacies mortals can only dream of? I'll do all those things anyway. Don't waste your wish.”

“Hold me? If you still want to, I mean." She looked away. "Everyday"--then he was there, lifting her into his arms, holding her like she was fragile and precious--"I want to hold you every day. Nothing will ever change that.”

“And he was gone before she could think clearly enough to explain that her yes was a Yes, I'll marry you.”

“If you fail me, I'll kill you. I swear it, Keenan. If you fail me, I'll rip your heart out with my own hands.""If I fail you, I'll cut it out for you.”

“Without stopping kissing her, he swept her up into his arms. They stood in the motel lobby kissing until someone called, "Get a room."Donia pulled back and laughed. "That was the plan. They said no.”

“But she was a regent, and he wasn’t. She stepped around him. “If you get killed, I’m going to be furious.”“I love you too. Come on.”

“What are you going to do? What do you want to do?” she prompted.“I’m going to go try to help Niall. He’s not acting like himself, and I have a theory on what’s wrong,” he told her. “Then afterward I'm going to ask you to marry me.”

“She took a breath, exhaled slowly, and then told him, "If you fail me, I'll kill you. I swear it, Keenan. If you fail me, I'll rip your heart out with my own hands.""If I fail you, I'll cut it out for you." He stared up at her.”

“The Summer King stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Can you offer me your fidelity? Your heart and your body and your companionship for eternity? Do you want my fidelity? Either love me or kiss me goodbye, my Summer Queen.”

“Donia asked incredulously. “What were you doing?”“The day had just begun, and we were dancing,” Aislinn said.“Dancing?” Donia looked at the Summer Queen with the same disdain Keenan had once seen on her face when she looked at the Summer Girls. “Of course you were. Bananach is attacking faeries, stealing from our courts. Irial is injured. Faerie is closed. Yes, dancing is precisely what will help.”

“I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you,” he whispered.“Lucky them.”

“The former Dark King’s eyes closed again; his chest did not appear to rise.Niall reached out and put a hand on the injured faery’s chest. “Irial!”“Still here.” Irial didn’t open his eyes, but he smiled a little.“You’re an ass,” Niall said, but he kept his hand on Irial’s chest so that he could feel both pulse and breath.“You too, Gancanagh,” Irial murmured.”