“No. No he didn't break you, my dear." Inhuman eyes probed hers delicately. "The most he managed was a bend here and there. Apparently he has forgotten that the beat of the hammer in the flame's heart only strengthens a good blade.”

“He made a sound of frustation, caught at her hand, brought it to his chest, and pressed it flat over his heart. The steady beat hammered against her palm. "Every heart has its own melody," he said. "You know mine.”

“The first boy I fell in love with didn't know I loved him, but he managed to break my heart anyway.”

“My husband is a good man," she said. "It's important to him to be a good man. He has to not only be good, he has to believe that he's good. In the eyes of God, in my eyes, in his parents' eyes, in his own eyes. Good.”

“It is as though he has just recognized me. Then his eyes continue to sweep, and my heart comes hammering back to my ribs. I'm just being paranoid.”

“His heart was racing, and he wanted her to hear it. And he wanted her to know that from here on out, it beat solely for her.”