“Far in the back of her mind she was thinking. But she could not dredge up these half-formed feelings, these obscure bits of ideas, into clear, definite thoughts. . . . Her mind ticked away, singing a song she could not decipher.”

“He honestly expected her to believe that she could make a bad offering and her ancestors wouldn't mind.”

“Brooke thought no one could see her. I thought she was beautiful.”

“The notes danced through the June air; Vivi could feel them dust her hair and shoulders. She could feel the notes enter her and settle deep into her bones.”

“He turned. "She would never marry for wordly advantage.""Yet when she experiences the consequence she gains in such a marriage, she will feel compensated for giving up her freedom!""Her freedom!""I think her much at liberty.”

“Mostly, when Jess didn't want to talk about her ideas in class, Colleen thought that Jess was showing off, making sure that she would be coaxed and pleaded with, but how could Jess have explained in a coherent way that she was scared? Once you let people know anything about what you think, that's it, you're dead. Then they'll be jumping about in your mind, taking things out, holding them up to the light and killing them, yes, killing them, because thoughts are supposed to stay and grow in quiet, dark places, like butterflies in cocoons.”

“He touched her as though she were something precious and cared for. That was where the terrible power lay—not in his strength, not in some dark bespellment. His power existed because he could make her believe things she had cast away. Things that had cast her away.Things beyond reaching.If he could make her believe, she would be lost. She would never survive. The fear inside her head overwhelmed her.”