“He lived in a dreamer's world of ivory keys and messy shirts, unconcerned with the people around him.”

“This marking, said Victoria, running her finger over a knot in the bark. What does it look like to you?It looks like a heart, said Lawrence. He put his fingers on the knot too. They brushed Victoria's, and he drew back. I mean, not that I think about things like that, or--well, you know.”

“But it's hard to leave a place when you're tied to it by fear, when it's broken you with fear, when it's all you've ever known.”

“Being nothing felt quite the same as being something. Maybe she had never been something at all.”

“I am going to die, her brain recited calmly. I am going to be stabbed until I am died. How infuriating. I have so much left to do.”

“If you weren't, well, you--I'd want to kiss you right now. It was fortunate that the room was so dark. Victoria's cheeks turned bright red.”

“You were looking for me? Victoria wondered if she would be red for the rest of her life. Yes. Isn't that something. Perfect ice queen Victoria looking for skunkish old me.”