“Xavier...he is afraid of losing you-He is also insane for you. Insane for you without the soul to join yours or the deep attraction to awaken you...but with the devotion to endure this Godless place for you.”

“He can still taste you on his lips, smell your scent in his memory, remember when you smiled just for him, and the thought of never having that again is...harrowing. So, he's willing to hurt you because he's focusing on the pain to try to kill everything that you were to him... so that he can survive it.”

“You were afraid of me? Don't you meet with the Fallen in Sheol?""Yes, but none of them had ever stolen my heart nor left me without words to ponder its loss.”

“You are afraid of me?” Reed asks me, sounding unpleasantly surprised.“Of course I’m afraid of you. You’re menacing, you’re overbearing, you’re arrogant, and if you don’t see that, then you can just add high to the list,” I say, using my fingers to tick off his shortcomings.”

“How ex are we talking?""The kind where you have to take everything that he ever gave you and bury it in the backyard so there will be nothing to remind you of how much you loved him.”

“You have made no secret of the fact that you hate me.”His eyes soften again. “Hate you?” he asks. “Not as much as you might think. And then there is the…what was it…butterflies? That can’t be a bad thing, can it?”

“I wanted you before this, for who you are—so intelligent, brave— delicate and beautiful. But now, you have power and strength, too. Danger, thy name is Evie. You are something from a dream and I just want…” he trails off.”