Richelle Mead

“Why are you hanging around, then? Aren't you worried about getting hit?""Aw, you'd never hurt me. My face is too pretty.”

“There was a lot of apologizing going on, but I realized that was how it was with people you cared about. You forgave each other and moved on.”

“Didn’t understand love? Was she crazy? If she only knew what I’d sacrificedfor Dimitri, what I’d done to be where I was now . . . all for love. Shewas the one who couldn’t understand. Love wasn’t a fling in a back room at a party. It was something you lived and died for.”

“Sleep with Seth Mortensen? Good grief. It was the most preposterous thing I'd ever heard. It was appalling. If I absorbed his life force, there was no telling how long it'd be until his next book came out.”

“I heard some interesting things about your performance up here.""I hear interesting things about your 'performance' all the time Doug, but you don't hear me making jokes about it.”

“Do what? Come up with a clever pun referencing Jerome's demonic status? The truth is, I usually keep a stash of them on hand and—”

“Well," he said, "I don't believe that either." "Believe what? That I messed up? Why not?""Weren't you just listening? I saw you in Spokane. Someone like you doesn't mess up freeze." I was about to give him the same line I had given the guardians, that killing Strigoi didn't make me invincible, but he cut me off: "Plus I saw your face out there.""Out.... on the quad?""Yeah," several more quite moments passed. "I don't know what happened, but the way you looked...that wasn't the look of someone trying to get back at a person. It wasn't the look of someone blanking out of Alto's attack either. It was something different...I don't know. But you were completely consumed by something else—and honestly? Your expression? Kind of scary.""Yet...you aren't giving me a hard time over that either.""Not my business. If it was big enough to take you over like that, then it must be serious. But if push comes to shove, I feel safe with you, Rose. I know you'd protect me if there really was a Strigoi there." He yawned. "Okay. Now that I have bared my soul, can we please go to bed? Maybe you don't need beauty sleep, but some of us aren't so lucky.”

“Jesus," I said. "That was bad."Seth looked startled—and then hurt. "Bad?""No, not performance bad—more like dirty, wicked bad. The kind of stuff that gets an R rating.""What, we can't do that?" He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, nuzzling my neck."Well, yeah...er, well, damn it. We're not supposed to be. Not at all. It's just that last time, it was like...I don't know. It was making love. This time it was...""Fucking?" he supplied."Oh God," I groaned. "Seth Mortensen just said 'fucking' out loud. The end times are near.”

“No," he said, voice thick and husky. His fingers dug into the chair's arms. "You'd better not get too close."I stopped, laughing softly. "You don't strike me as the assaulting type, Mortensen.""Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything.”

“I want to see you in the throes of orgasm ... I want to see your whole body writhing, your lips open as you drink in your own pleasure. Only yours, no one else’s. Just you, completely given up to ecstasy.”

“Only what?” I asked. I could barely hear my own voice.He turned his gaze back to me, firm and unflinching. “Only… more human.”And that was it. All the anger and sorrow vanished. There was nothing in me.Nothing at all. I was empty.“Get out,” I said.”

“All the best,SydneyP.S. "The Red Hurricane" is what I named the car.P.P.S. Just because I like you, it doesn't mean I still don't think you're an evil creature of the night. You are.”

“Dimitri: "Why did you come here?"Rose: "Because you hit me on the head and dragged me here.”

“What matters is that someone—that you—know me that well. When a person can see into your soul, it's hard. It forces you to be open. Vulnerable. It's much easier being with someone who's just more of a casual friend.”

“Then, his struggles stopped. His eyes stared at me, stunned, and his lips parted, almost into a smile, albeit a grisly and pained one."That’s what I was supposed to say..." he gasped out.Those were his last words.”

“Did you know," he said slowly, "That Victor Dashkov is sitting on your bed?""Yeah," I said. "It was kind of a shock to us too.”

“The training part," I guessed."Yup. You're going to be Dimitri's partner."A moment of funny silence fell, probably not noticeable to anyone except Dimitri and me. Our eyes met."Guarding partner," Dimitri clarified unnecessarily, like maybe he too had been thinking of other kinds of partners.”

“I'm really not good with impulse control.”

“Gaining superpowers doesn't mean you know how to use them.”

“I fought against her, trying to mount some kind of defense, but it was like fighting Dimitri on crack.”

“I lost track of day and night too. My time was divided into Dimitri and not-Dimitri. He was my world. When he wasn't there, the moments were agony.”

“I stood up angrily. “Look, I’m done talking to you tonight. Will you let me out of this dream? I’m not telling you where I am. And I’m not interested in hearing about how wonderful Avery is and how much better than me she is.”“Avery would never act like a little brat,” he said. “She wouldn’t get so offended that someone actually cares enough to check on her. She wouldn’t deny me the chance to learn more about my magic because she was paranoid someone would ruin her crazy attempt to get over her boyfriend’s death."“Don’t talk to me about being a brat,” I shot back. “You’re as selfish andself-centered as usual. It’s always about you—even this dream is. You hold me against my will, whether I want it or not, because it amuses you.”“Fine,” he said, voice cold. “I’ll end this. And I’ll end everything between us. I won’t be coming back.”“Good. I hope you mean it this time.”His green eyes were the last thing I saw before I woke up in my own bed. I sat up, gasping. My heart felt like it was breaking, and I almost thought I might cry. Adrian was right—I had been a brat. I’d lashed out at him when it wasn’t really deserved. And yet . . . I hadn’t been able to help it. I missed Lissa. I even kind of missed Adrian. And now someone else was taking my place, someone who wouldn’t just walk away like I had.I won’t be coming back.And for the first time ever, I had a feeling he really wouldn’t be.”

“I knew him instantly, even though he'd...changed. I think in a crowd of a million people, I would have recognized him. The connection between us would allow nothing else. And after being deprived of him for so long, I drank in every feature. The dark, chin-length hair, worn loose tonight and curling slightly around his face. The familiar set of lips, quirked now in an amused yet chilling smile. He even wore the duster he always wore, the long leather coat that could have come straight out of a cowboy movie.[...]The eyes. Oh God, the eyes.Even with that sickening red ring around his pupils, his eyes still reminded me of the Dimitri I'd known. The look in his eyes—the soulless, malicious gleam—that was nothing like him. But there was just enough resemblance to stir my heart, to overwhelm my senses and feelings. My stake was ready. All I had to do was keep swinging to make the kill. I had momentum on my side...But I couldn't. I just needed a few more seconds, a few more seconds to drink him in before I killed him. And that's when he spoke."Roza." His voice had the same wonderful lowness, the same accent...it was just colder. "You forgot my first lesson: Don't hesitate.”

“For a moment, staring down and realizing what I'd just done, I wanted to throw myself in after him, because surely there was no way I could go on living now.”

“i don't want to fight anymore. I don't want us to hate eachother. And...well...No matter how i feel about us, i want you to be happy.”

“I look him in the eye. "I will always love you.”

“You kill me, Rose," he said melodramatically. "Every day is agony without you. Empty. Alone. I pine for you, wondering if you're even still alive.”

“Stop fighting me!" he said, trying to pull on the arm he held.He was in a precarious position himself, straddling the rail as he tried to lean over far enough to get me and actually hold onto me.“Let go of me!” I yelled back.But he was too strong and managed to haul most of me over the rail, enough so that I wasn’t in total danger of falling again.See, here’s the thing. In that moment before I let go, I really had been contemplating my death. I’d come to terms with it and accepted it. I also, however, had known Dimitri might do something exactly like this. He was just that fast and that good. That was why I was holding my stake in the hand that was dangling free.I looked him in the eye. "I will always love you."Then I plunged the stake into his chest.It wasn’t as precise a blow as I would have liked, not with the skilled way he was dodging. I struggled to get the stake in deep enough to his heart, unsure if I could do it from this angle. Then, his struggles stopped. His eyes stared at me, stunned, and his lips parted, almost into a smile, albeit a grisly and pained one."That’s what I was supposed to say. . .” he gasped out.Those were his last words.”

“You forgot another lesson: Never turn your back until you know your enemyis dead. Looks like we’ll have to go over the lesson again the next timeI see you—which will be soon.Love, D.”

“I nearly dropped the plate I held. "You've asked me out tons of times.""Not really. I've made inapproprite suggestions and frequently pushed for nudity. But I've never asked you out on a real date. And, if memory serves, you did say you'd give me a fair chance once I let you clean out my trust fund.""I didn't clean it out," I scoffed.”

“Wait. You think I'm going to die? That's why you slept with me?”

“Roza." His voice had that same wonderful lowness, the same accent . . . itwas all just colder. "You forgot my first lesson: Don’t hesitate.”

“No," Dimitri interrupted gently. He moved his face toward mine, our foreheads nearly touching. "It won't happen to you. You're too strong. You'll fight it, just like you did thistime.""I only did because you were here." He wrapped his arms around me, and I buried my face in his chest. "I can't do it by myself," I whispered."You can," he said. There was a tremulous note in his voice. "You're strong—you're so, so strong. It's why I love you.”

“We can't..." he told me."I know," I agreed.Then his mouth was on mine again, and this time, I knew there would be no turning back. There were no walls this time. Our bodies wrapped together as he tried to get my coat off, then his shirt, then my shirt. ... It really was a lot like when we'd fought out on the quad earlier-that same passion and heat. I think at the end of the day, the instincts that power fighting and sex aren't so different. They all come from an animal side of us. Yet, as more and more clothes came off, it went beyond just animal passion. It was sweet and wonderful at the same time. When I looked into his eyes, I could see without a doubt that he loved me more than anyone else in the world, that I was his salvation, the same way that he was mine. I'd never expected my first time to be in a cabin in the woods, but I realized the place didn't matter. The person did. With someone you loved, you could be anywhere, and it would be incredible. Being in the most luxurious bed in the world wouldn't matter if you were with someone you didn't love.”

“Vladimir did great things—so could she. Besides, they come first, right?""Not always."I stared. I'd had they come first drilled into me since I was a child. It was what all guardians believed. Only the dhampirs who'd run away from their duty didn't subscribe to that. What he said was almost like treason."Sometimes, Rose, you have to know when to put yourself first.”

“He sighed and then focused his eyes right on me. It was like drowning, drowning in seas of green. There was nothing in the world except for those eyes."I want to kiss you, Rose," he said softly. "And I want you to want me too.”

“You've asked me out tons of times.""Not really. I've made inappropriate suggestions and frequently pushed for nudity. But I've never asked you out on a real date.”

“There were drinks and food in full force, and some Moroi guy had a guitar out and was trying to impress girls with his musical skills—which were nonexistent. In fact, his music was so awful that he might have discovered a new way to kill Strigoi.”

“I unfolded the note, and it took me a few seconds to decipher Adrian’s writing. If he did write me a dating proposal, I really hoped he would type it.”

“Did you mean it... that if Victor did tell...that you'd..." I couldn't finish. I couldn't bring myself to say the words have him killed."I don't have much influence in the upper levels of Moroi royalty, but I have plenty among the guardians who handle the dirty work in our world.""You didn't answer the question. If you'd really do it.""I'd do a lot of things to protect you, Roza.”

“Don't worry, little dhampir. You might be surrounded by clouds, but you'll always be like sunshine to me.”

“Okay, God, I thought. Get me out of this and I’ll stop my half-assed church-going ways. You got me past a pack of Strigoi tonight. I mean, trapping that one between the doors really shouldn't have worked, so clearly you're on board. Let me get out of here, and I’ll...I don’t know. Donate Adrian’s money to the poor. Get baptized. Join a convent. Well, no. Not that last one.”

“If your eyes weren't open, you wouldn't know the difference between dreaming and waking.”

“I'll see you later Roza.""At our next practice?" I asked. "We are starting those up again, right? I mean you still have things to teach me." Standing in the doorway, he looked over at me and smiled. "Yes. Lots of things.”

“If I had learned anything in my life about love, it was that they were tenous things that could end at any moment. Caution was essential-but not at the cost of risking your life”

“You might be surrounded by clouds, but you'll be like sunshine to me.”

“You can't save everyone, though God knows you try.”

“I looked around at us all: me in my nightgown, Kiyo bare-chested, Dorian in his extravagant robes, and Tim in his Native getup. God, I muttered, standing up, we all look like the village people.”

“Dimitri should have been here with me. That's how it was supposed to have been.”

“if you'd teach me to swear in russian, i might have a new appreciation for it”