“A mortal had woven it, a man who, having caught sight of the Seelie queen, had spent the remainder of his short life weaving depictions of her. He had died of starvation, raw, red fingers staining the final tapestry.”

“As the last Seelie left the hall, Roiben, self-declared King of the Unseelie Court, nearly fell into his throne. Kaye tried to smile at him, but he was not looking at her. He was staring out across the brugh with eyes the color of falling ash.Corny had not stopped laughing.”

“She thought of something her mother had told her when she'd finally broken up with one of her most dysfunctional boyfriends. When a man tells you he's going to hurt you, believe it. They always warn you and they're always right.”

“She suddenly understood why she had let him kiss her in the diner, why she had wanted him at all.She wanted to control him.He was every arrogant boyfriend that had treated her mother badly. He was every boy that told her she was too freaky, who had laughed at her, or just wanted her to shut up and make out. He was a thousand times less real than Roiben.”

“So, what did you think of the Unseelie Court?"A slow, wicked smile spread on his face. "Oh, Kaye," he breathed. "It was marvelous. It was perfect."She narrowed her gaze. "I was joking. They were killing things, Corny. For fun. Things like us."He didn't seem to hear her, his eyes looking past her to the bright window. "There was this knight, not yours. He ... " Corny shivered and seemed to abruptly change the direction of his sentence. "He had a cloak all lined with thorns.""I saw him talking to the Queen," Kaye said.Corny shrugged off his jacket. There were long scratches along his arms."What happened to you?"Corny's smile widened, but his gaze was locked in some memory. He shifted it back to her. "Well, obviously I got inside the cloak."She snorted. "What a euphemism.”

“There is something of yours that i would like to return to you . . . He leaned across the distance between them and caught her mouth with his own.”

“I would remain nearer you for what time there is.""Gone in one faerie sigh," she quoted.Leather-clad fingers brushed over her short hair, rested on her cheek. "I can hold my breath.”