“He thought he might say more, but something in her face had closed off, and the opportunity passed.”

“The queen had passed him, so close he'd felt the stir of air, and he guessed that if she had turned her head, only a little, and met his eyes, he might have died right there.”

“And what was to become of what he had taken from her? He had dashed her heart to the ground and danced on it with combat boots. Did he sit in that seditious palace day after day and not even bother to scrape it off of his soles with a passing thought of her?”

“He stared at her face as if he wanted to peel it off andtake it home with him.What a gruesome thought, Rowan.”

“When I ask Plutarch about his absence, he just shakes his head and says, "He couldnt face it.""Haymitch? Not able to face something? Wanted a day off, more likely," I say."I think his actual words were 'I couldn't face it without a bottle,'" says Plutarch.”

“Standing so close, he realized how much he missed her, but looking into her cold, indifferent gaze, he realized something else; it just might be too late.”