“As much as I hungered to learn more about my past, I was afraid of learning other things too--mostly about death and despair, and dark corners of the globe. I prayed that those memories wouldn't come back to me, because I felt in my bones that some things were too frightening to remember.”

“I know you don't have access to that memory yet, but I don't think it's something I can just tell you. It means too much to me, I guess.”

“R u ration yet?""What language is that?""R U AWAKE""Much to my extreme dismay. The sun is no friend to my fragile complexion.""Poor baby. Come to my room asap.""It's too early to proposition me, Ellie.""GET OVER HERE?""So frisky. Give me a minute to get some clothes on. Or should I not...?”

“All the beasts of Hell knew they couldn't stop me. I was the archangel Gabriel, the Preliator, and they knew that no matter how many times they killed, I always came back to kill them. No matter how much they frightened me, I remembered what Cadan had told me about the stories of me he had grown up hearing. Even demons feared something. The demonic reapers had nightmares of their own, stories they told one another to terrify, a legend that haunted them in their sleep. That was me. I was Hell's nightmare.”

“He reached forward to cup my cheek, the touch surprising me. "Please understand that no matter what I am or what has happened in the past, I am yours. I am devoted to you above all else, including my own life."I exhaled after holding my breath for what felt like forever. "That's pretty heavy, Will." His expression was impassioned, and the backs of his fingers brushed the side of my neck."It is a burden I am glad to carry.”

“I knew I had to live. I had to be there when you came back. You died alone, but I wouldn't let you come back alone.”

“When Ragnuk killed you, I looked for you everywhere. But you didn't come back. For decades I looked for you, terrified the angels were punishing me for letting you die alone. I thought that you'd never come back to me--that I'd lost you forever.”