Richelle Mead

“If you went twenty-four hours without cigarettes, I'd drink a can of pop. Regular pop. The whole can."Isaw the glimmer of Adrian's earlier smile returning. "You would not.""I totally would." "Half a can would put you into a coma." Sonya frowned. "Are you diabetic?" she asked me. "No," said Adrian, "but Sage is convinced one extraneous calorie will make her go from super skinny to just regular skinny. Tragedy.""Hey," I said. "You think it’d be a tragedy to go an hour without a cigarette." "Don’t question my steel resolve, Sage. I went without one for two hours today.""Show me twenty-four, and then I’ll be impressed."He gave me a look of mock surprise. "You mean you aren’t already? And here I thought you were dazzled from the moment you met me.”

“Besides, when not hard at work with this research, I'm actually conducting a side experiment on how cigarettes and gin increase charisma. As you might guess, the results are looking very promising.”

“You used your power to toss a rock at me?'- Aeson'On the contrary, I didn't use magic for that. I just threw it.”

“Every relationship is different. Everyone loves differently.”

“Not much could have distracted me from coffee, but hearing Julius Caesar quoted at Spencer’s certainly did.”

“Even if I’d been wide awake, I knew Dimitri would’ve taken my suitcase anyway. That’s how he was, a lost remnant of chivalry in the modern world, ever-ready to help others.”

“It'd be nice to have someone who understood some of the things that went on in my head.”

“Can we go back to the part about Moroi girls hanging out in LA?" asked Adrian hopefully. "Can you direct me to some of the…oh, let’s say, more open-minded ones?”

“Also, I didn’t trust any guy who used more styling products than I did.”

“Okay, compelling chase or no, you still haven't told us what a nephilopopogus is.”

“Part of me felt mollified by the letter, though another part felt he still could have been a bit more tactful in his earlier treatment, busy or no. The rest of me pointed out that all of these "parts of me" probably should be in therapy.”

“This wasn’t the first time I’d been pulled out of bed for a crucial mission. It was, however, the first time I’d been subjected to such a personal line of questioning.“Are you a virgin?”

“Piece of Heaven?" "No, that other place I'm going to go to for thinking what I'm thinking.”

“What is it with you and frozen desserts Why do you always want them?""Because we live in a dessert.”

“Of course I can climb it. I'm practically a progidy in PE," I pointed out. "The question is, can you, Mr Smoker?”

“You were totally unprepared for her.”“That's for damned sure.”

“Sonya gave him a sly smile. "And here I thought you had a soft spot for reckless young girls.""Rose never would have done anything like that," he countered. He paused to reconsider, and I could've sworn there was the hint of a smile there. "Well, at least not in such a public setting.”

“Nice blouse, Sage,” Adrian told me, deadpan. “It really brings out the khaki in your pants.”

“I know how you guys feel about us. I'm not stupid, and believe me, I've tried to get you out of my head. But there isn't enough liquor or art or any other distraction in the world to do it. I had to stop going to Wolfe's because it was too hard being that close to you, even if it was all just pretend fighting. I couldn't stand the touching. It was agonizing because it meant something to me－and I knew it meant nothing to you. I kept telling myself to stay away altogether, and then I'd find excuses… like the car… anything to be around you again.”

“But I’m just going to be out there having a tea party with her cats or whatever it is she has in mind."Adrian”

“I’d seen him fight before, but it never got old. He was captivating. He never stopped moving. Every action was graceful and lethal. He was a dancer of death.”

“It was worth it. You looked... happy.”

“Your boyfriend and Micah will both be speechless." I unfastened my seatbelt. "That's the third time I've heard 'your boyfriend.' What's going on about that? Why won't anyone say Brayden's name?" Neither of them answered right away. Finally, Jill said sheepishly, "Because none of us can remember it." "Oh, come on! I'd expect that from Adrian but not you guys. It's not that weird of a name." "No," admitted Eddie. "But there's just something so...I don't know. Unmemorable about him. I'm glad he makes you happy, but I just start to tune out whenever he talks.”

“Adrian, you're a genius.”

“Speaking of Sonya...I was thinking of something earlier. Something Wolfe said.""Why, Adrian. Were you paying attention after all?""Don't start,Sage," he warned.(p 211)”

“Ah, min dotter”, sa han. “Arton år och du har redan blivit anklagad för mord,hjälpt brottslingar och dödat fler än de flesta beskyddare kommer att göraunder hela sitt liv.”

“Rose once told me about this poem she’d read. There was this line, ‘If your eyes weren’t open, you wouldn’t know the difference between dreaming and waking.’ You know what I’m afraid of? That someday, even with my eyes open, I still won’t know.”

“Note even Moroi give licenses to infants, Sage,”

“The ghost of a smile flickered across his lips. ‘You’re always the voice of reason. Just try listening to yourself once in a while.”

“We all screw up. Everyone makes mistakes. That’s what she did. It was bad judgment, that’s all. You don’t cut off the people you love for mistakes like that.”

“I’m sorry ma’am,” I said. Really, I had no idea what else to say. I’d spent the weekend caught up in an epic battle to save humanity, and now… jean shorts?”

“Different time, different place,” I said. “Things can change. People can change.”

“He was almost naked too, but I hadn't quite gotten to his boxers yet. (They were silk because, honestly what else would Adrian wear?)”

“One thing that never changed among humans: there were always those who wanted to get something for nothing. It was what kept hell in business.”

“He reached out and pulled me to him, one hand on my waist and the other behind my neck. He tipped my head up and lowered his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and melted as my whole body was consumed in that kiss. I was nothing. I was everything. Chills, ran over my skin, and fire burned inside me. His body pressed closer to mine, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips were warmer and softer than anything I could have ever imagined, yet fierce and powerful at the same time. Mine responded hungrily, and I tightened my hold on him. His fingers slid down the back of my neck, tracing its shape, and every place they touched was electric.”

“Ah, those two. In a fight, they’re lethal. Around each other, they melt.”

“Why not see which is brighter: your aura or the sun?”

“So far I’m not seeing a lot of difference between me and a carnival con-man.”

“You used nunchucks on a moose?"Wolfe got a haunted look in his eyes. "I used all sorts of things on that bastard.”

“And here I thought you had a soft spot for reckless young girls.”

“Adrian!You Used compulsion on that guy. That.... I mean, it's....." "Awesome?Yeah,I Know”

“I don't care if you say we can't be together. I don't care if you think I'm the most evil, unnatural creature walking on earth. You can think whatever you want, go whatever you want. I'm going to just go on loving you, even if it's hopeless.”

“Well, you can think what you want, so long as you remember - no matter how ordinary things seem between us - I'm still here, still in love with you, and care about you more than any other guy, evil or otherwise, ever will.”

“Adrian stood there leaning against the doorframe, watching me with his heart in his eyes. In my chest, my own heart was breaking. On my cheek, the lily reminded me who I was. ”

“I went first. The card I drew was "Watergate." "Oh, come on," I said. "This is ridiculous.""Don't whine," said Carter, his grin annoyingly smug. "We all take a random chance here."They started the timer. I drew some remedial waves that immediately got a "Water!" from Cody. That was promising. Then, I drew what I hoped looked like a wall with a door in it. Apparently, I did too good a job."Wall," said Hugh."Door," said Cody.I added some vertical lines to the door to emphasize the gate aspect. After a moment's thought, I drew a plus sign between the water and wall to show their connection."Aqueduct," said Cody."A bridge over troubled water," guessed Hugh."Oh my God," I groaned.Unsurprisingly, my time ran out before my teammates could figure it out, though not before they guessed "Hoover Dam" and "Hans Brinker." With a groan, I flounced onto the couch. The other team then got a shot at it."Watergate," said Carter right away.Hugh turned on me, face incredulous. "Why didn't you just draw a gate?”

“Couldn't Lissa have healed that black eye away?""Its a badge of honor. Makes me seem manly.”

“A different word usually came to my mind when I thought of Yeva, though it did sound a lot like “witch.”

“I wanted someone a little more approachable," I explained."What, like Captain McTropicalShorts back there? Where on earth did you find him anyway?""Just did an Internet search." Feeling a need to defend my research, I added, "He comes highly recommended.""By who? Long John Silver?”

“Letter to Rose from Strigoi Dimitri. Delivered to Rose after her return from Russia and her quest to Kill Dimitir, which she thought she completed."You forgot another lesson: Never turn your back until you know your enemy is dead. Looks like we'll have to go over the lesson again next time I see you- which will be soonLove, D.”

“Because I can't help doing it," he said with a shrug. "And hey, if I keep loving you, maybe you'll eventually crack and love me too. Hell, I'm pretty sure you're already half in love with me.""I am not! And everything you just said is ridiculous. That's terrible logic."Adrian returned to his crossword puzzle. "Well, you can think what you want, so long as you remember-no matter how ordinary things seem between us-I'm still here, still in love with you, and care about you more than any other guy, evil or otherwise, ever will.""I don't think you're evil.""See? Things are already looking promising.”