“How do you destroy a devil to save an angel who’s torn out her own eyes to believe in only his whispered deceit in her ears?”

“Annie looked into his eyes with their blood-crazed whites and for the first time in her life knew how one might come to believe in the devil.”

“More than any of us, she had written her own story; yet she could not wash it out with all her tears, return to her victims what she had torn from them, and by so doing, save herself...”

“Aya's eyes were vacant. But her lips were faintly trembling. Not from fear, but rather because she was whispering something under her breath. So quietly that no one else could hear, so quietly the sound did not even reach her own ears, over and over: 'I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki...”

“Marco knows he does not have the time to push her away, so he pulls her close, burying his face in her hair, his bowler hat torn from his head by the wind...."Trust me," Celia whispers in his ear, and he stops fighting it, forgetting everything but her.”

“I can’t believe he sent me flowers.”A rude noise escaped from somewhere deep in Aidan’s throat. “I just saved your life. What are roses compared to that?” He was glaring at the long-stemmed flowers, his golden gaze intent and menacing. Alexandria glanced up at him, saw the dark, determined set of his mouth, and burst out laughing. She spun around and went up on her toes to cover his eyes with her palm. “Don’t you dare. If my roses wither, I’ll know exactly who’s responsible. I mean it, Aidan. You leave my flowers alone. You can probably destroy the entire bouquet with one ferocious glance.”Her body was soft against his, her laughter warm against his throat. His arm circled her small waist, locking her to him. “I was only going to make them droop a little. Nothing too dramatic.”