“He woke before dawn and watched the gray day break. Slow and half opaque. He rose while the boy slept and pulled on his shoes and wrapped in his blanket he walked out through the trees. He descended into a gryke in the stone and there he crouched coughing and he coughed for a long time. Then he just knelt in the ashes. He raised his face to the paling day. Are you there? he whispered. Will I see you at the last? Have you a neck by which to throttle you? Have you a heart? Damn you eternally have you a soul? Oh God, he whispered. Oh God.”

“Then he just knelt in the ashes. He raised his face to the paling day. Are you there? he whispered. Will I see you at the last? Have you a neck by which to throttle you? Have you a heart? Damn you eternally have you a soul? Oh God, he whispered, Oh God.”

“You told some human kid?”I coughed, buying time. “He's Neph, too.”Jonathan LaGrey went rigid and his ruddy cheeks paled. I squirmed as his eyes bored into mine.“Which one's his father?” he asked through clenched teeth.“Richard Rowe. I guess you'd know him as Pharzuph.” Oh, boy. He wasn't pale anymore.“You came across the country—”“Shhh!” I warned him as people looked over. He lowered his voice to a shouted whisper.“—with the son of the Duke of Lust?! Son of a—”

“I'll follow you to the next life if I have to," he whispered harshly in her ear. "You'll never be free of me. I'll chase you through heaven and hell and beyond." He continued to whisper without stopping while his hands gripped her body close to his. "You stay with me, Holly," he muttered savagely. "Don't do this to me. You stay, damn you.”

“With that, he looked over his shoulder. Blay's breath shot out of his lungs. "Oh... my God," he whispered.”

“He whispers, "You have no idea how much I've thought about you. How many times I've dreamt"-he takes a tight breath- "how many times I've dreamt about being this close to you." He moves to run a hand through his hair before he changes his mind. Looks down. Looks up. "God, Juliette, I'd follow you anywhere. You're the only good thing left in this world.”