Richelle Mead

“I’m telling you, you’d like him. He goes to a public school and just started at Spencer’s. The other day, he was going off on unaerobic vs. aerobic respiration, and I was thinking, ‘You know who this sounds like? Melbourne.’” -- Trey”

“You…you need to move on,” I managed. Yes, that was a sound reason. “You need to find someone else. You know I don’t—that I can’t. Well, you know. You’re wasting your time with me.”He remained firm. “It’s my time to waste.”

“Sydney spent a lot of time on my bed these days.Unfortunately, it wasn't with me.”

“Is it really so terrible being around us?"I blushed. "No," I said. "But . . . it's complicated. I've been taught certain things my entire life. Those are hard to shake.""The greatest changes in history have come because people were able to shake off what others told them to do.”

“As much as I hated to admit it, I kind of looked forward to seeing him. It made no sense, but something about his infuriating nature made me forget about my other worries. Weirdly, I felt like I could relax around him.”

“Rose was so full of life and passion that sometimes she seemed more human than I was.”

“I didn’t care about anything except her and the way touching her drove me wild, even as her calm and steady presence soothed the storms that raged within me.”

“You could help someone else in a relationship. you could strengthen them and support them. but you couldn't actually do everything for them. you couldn't solve all their problems.”

“Funny how someone telling you not to do something can talk you into it.”

“No puedes salvar a todos, aunque Dios sabe que lo intentas.”

“¿Nosotros? — le pregunté. Por supuesto. Yo no te dejare sola en esto, no importa lo que pase, tienes que saber que nunca te abandonaré.”

“El arte no tiene porque tener sentido, pequeña dhampir. Además, se supone que yo estoy loco, ¿verdad?”

“Así es la política — dijo Adrian. — La gente con poder nunca juega bajo las mismas reglas”

“Tú no tienes que hacer esto sola. — Dijo finalmente. El sonaba casi ansioso, no tenía sentido. Era él quien me había dicho durante mucho tiempo que tenía que ser fuerte. Yo quería lanzarme en sus brazos en ese mismo momento pero sabía que no podía hacerlo.”

“Tu no fallaste, porque “fallar” implica que tú en realidad hubieses hecho algo.”

“Ella no comprendía lo que te hace sentir estar lleno de un amor tan fuerte que hace tu pecho doler un amor que tan solo podias sentir, pero nunca expresar. He aprendido que mantener un amor enterrado se parece mucho a mantener contenida la ira. Te consume por dentro hasta que te dan ganas de gritar o de patear algo”

“We chase away the shadows around each other.”

“If someone like you showed up to abduct me, I'd let you.”

“I’d seen weirder things than a haunted shoe, but not many.”

“Nothing will get you anywhere with me," I exclaimed. "I don't know about that." He put on an introspective look that was both unexpected and intriguing. "You're not as much of a lost cause as she was. I mean, with her, I had to overcome her deep, epic love with a Russian warlord. You and I just have to overcome hundreds of years' worth of deeply ingrained prejudice and taboo between our two races. Easy.”

“We had just paid the check when Dimitri's cell phone rang. "Hello?" he answered. And like that, his face transformed. That fierceness I so associated with him softened, and he practically glowed. "No, no. It's always a good time for you to call, Roza." Whatever the response on the other end was, it made him smile.”

“You will not! It's wrong.""What, kissing you, or kissing you in Pies and Stuff?”

“Where are the dogs?" I asked."At training," he said. "I have a friend who's an expert dog trainer, and he's giving them some stealth lessons. He used to work for a local K-9 unit."I didn't think it was in the Chihuahua genetic code to ever be stealthy.”

“Fiery and sweet, all at the same time. A flame in the dark, lighting my way.”

“We aren't fighting right now." I blurted out.He gave me a sidelong look. "Do you want to fight?""No. I hate fighting with you. Verbally, I mean. I don't mind in the gym."I thought I detected the hint of a smile. Always a half-smile for me. Rarely a full one. "I don't like fighting with you either."Sitting next to him there, I marveled at the warm and happy emotions springing up inside me. There was something about being around him that felt so good, that moved me in a way Mason couldn't. You can't force love, I realized, It's there or it isn't. If it's not there, you've got to be able to admit it. If it is there, you've got to do whatever it takes to protect the ones you love.The next words that came out of my mouth astonished me, both because they were completely unselfish and because I actually meant them."You should take it."He flinched. "What?""Tasha's offer. You should take her up on it. It's a really great chance."I remembered my mom's words about being ready for children. I wasn't. Maybe she hadn't been. But Tasha was. And I knew Dimitri was too. They got along really well. He could go be her guardian, have some kids with her...it would be a good deal for both of them."I never expected to hear you say anything like that," he told me, voice tight. "Especially after-""What a bitch I've been? Yeah." I tugged his coat tighter against the cold. It smelled like him. It was intoxicating, and I could half-imagine being wrapped in his embrace. Adrian might have been onto something about the power of scent. "Well. Like I said, I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want us to hate each other. And...well..." I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them. "No matter how I feel about us...I want you to be happy."Silence yet again. I noticed then that my chest hurt.Dimitri reached out and put his arm around me. He pulled me to him, and I rested my head on his chest. "Roza," was all he said.It was the first time he'd really touched me since the night of the lust charm. The practice room had been something different...more animal. This wasn't even about sex. It was just about being close to someone you cared about, about the emotion that kind of connection flooded you with.Dimitri might run off with Tasha, but I would still love him. I would probably always love him.I cared about Mason. But I would probably never love him.I sighed into Dimitri, just wishing I could stay like that forever. It felt right being with him. And-no matter how much the thought of him and Tasha made me ache-doing what was best for him felt right. Now, I knew, it was time to stop being a coward and do something else that was right. Mason had said I needed to learn something about myself. I just had.Reluctantly, I pulled away and handed Dimitri his coat. I stood up. He regarded me curiously, sensing my unease."Where you going?" he asked."To break someone's heart," I replied.I admired Dimitri for a heartbeat more-the dark, knowing eyes and silken hair. The I headed inside. I had to apologize to Mason...and tell him there'd never be anything between us.”

“Whereas Angeline's antics made me want to pull out my hair sometimes, Trey found them endearing.”

“I had an accident.""That seemes to happen a lot.""It wasn't my fault." "It never is." "I just have bad luck." "Or you're just trouble." "You got a problem with that?" "No problem at all." "Oh my God! Are you going to help or not?”

“Did you know that it's a lot harder to put organs back in the body than it is to get them out?”

“Don’t take the high ground and assume you already know what you’ll do. The truth is, when it comes to someone you love, you’ll find there isn’t anything you won’t do.”

“Melbourne, I always knew you'd need to learn about this kind of thing. I 'd just kind of hoped you'd learn it on a real guy.”

“I don’t know, Sage. You threw yourself in the line of pepper spray for me. You must like me just a little bit.” “I— I figured it’d be a shame to ruin your pretty face,” I stammered.”

“Rowena Clark and I had met on the first day of our mixed media class. I’d sat down at her table and said, “Mind if I join you? Figure the best way to learn about art is to sit with a masterpiece.” Maybe I was in love, but I was still Adrian Ivashkov.Rowena had fixed me with a flat look. “Let’s get one thing straight. I can see through crap a mile away, and I like girls, not guys, so if you can’t handle me telling you what’s what, then you’d better take your one-liners and hair gel somewhere else. I don’t go to this school to put up with pretty boys like you. I’m here to face dubious employment options with a painting degree and then go get a Guinness after class.”I’d scooted my chair closer to the table. “You and I are going to get along just fine.”

“Bo podía darle lo que ella quería. No cuando..." Dio algunos pasos en mi dirección. "No cuando mi corazón pertenece a otra persona”

“Dimitri no dijo nada cuando fue su turno, pero como siempre, sus ojos hablaban por él.”

“Los celos hacen que las personas hagan y digan cosas estúpidas”

“Estoy confundido. No consigo leer tus señales. Unas veces si, otras no. Dices que me quieres, pero dices que no quieres. Si te decidieras, sería fantástico, pero me estás haciendo pensar una cosa y, a continuación, al final acabas yendo en una dirección completamente diferente. No sólo ahora, todo el tiempo.”

“Está mejor - respondió con remilgo - Afortunadamente, me lo rompió una perra psicótica, y no alguien de la familia.Le di mi mejor sonrisa psicótica. Qué mal. La familia te puede golpear por accidente. Las perras psicóticas tienden a volver por más”

“Sí, pero nosotros estamos vivos, Rose. No podemos dejar de vivir porque otras personas estén muertas”

“See? There it is again. My flame in the dark.”

“You’re presumptuous and arrogant and a whole lot of other things if you think I’ve changed my mind.” “You see, that’s just it.” There he was again, moving into my space. “I think you like the ‘other things.”

“Is she for real?” He paused and reconsidered. “Are you for real? Spells? Magic? I mean, don’t get me wrong. I drink blood and control people’s minds. But I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

“Brayden met my eyes. His were hazel, almost like Eddie’s but with a little green. Not as much green as Adrian’s, of course. No one’s eyes were that amazingly green.”

“You and me are going to have so much fun, Rose. Picking out curtains, doing each other's hair, telling ghost stories....”

“Metaphors.This was the cost of making out with an artist.”

“¿y esto a santo de qué? ¿Por mi primer día?No, pensé que te haría feliz, eso es todo.”

“Bueno, todos debemos hacer cosas que no nos gustan, la vida es así.”

“Pero el nombre y el apellido no hacen a una persona ni determinan qué va a ser, como bien has demostrado.”

“Mi reputación ya está formada, Rose. Me puse mis metas y luche por ellas, hace ya mucho tiempo. Lo que será de tu vida aún está por ver”

“No me mantienes cerca por ser gentil. Si quieres bondad, aquí hay una docena de corderitos que rasgarían la garganta de los demás simplemente por tener el favor de la princesa Dragomir.”

“Todo el mundo quiere lo que no puede tener.”