“She was like a camera that had been chronically out of focus until someone came by and twisted the lenses into alignment.”

“I wanted to know how humans came up with a view of the world that had so little magic in it. I needed to understand how they convinced themselves that magic wasn’t important.”

“Scholars do one of two things when they discover information that doesn't fit what they already know. Either they sweep it aside so it doesn't bring their cherished theories into question or they focus on it with laserlike intensity and try to get to the bottom of the mystery.”

“Somewhere in the center of my soul, a rusty chain began to unwind. It freed itself, link by link, from where it had rested, unobserved, waiting for him. My hands, which had been balled up and pressed against his chest, unfurled with it. The chain continued to drop, to an unfathomable depth where there was nothing but darkness and Matthew. At last it snapped to its full length, anchoring me to a vampire. Despite the manuscript, despite the fact that my hands contained enough voltage to run a microwave, and despite the photograph, as long as I was connected to him, I was safe.”

“Yes, I see that you are behaving like a prince but that doesn't mean you won't behave like a devil at the first opportunity.”

“It was a brutal picture, a tug-of-war between two equal but opposing impulses. It had the ring of truth, however,”

“I want a simple, ordinary life . . . like humans enjoy.”