“Bookstores are temples and stories are my prayers.”

“My eyes shifted to the charred, smoking remains of the Caste vampire who'd taken the right bullet. And fate whispered in my ear, "Who's the bitch now?”

“He ran a finger down my cheek. "Time is a commodity right now, Red. Wait too long and it might be too late."I swallowed hard. Went still as my stomach clenched with dread. Hadn't Maisie said almost those exact same words to me in New York when she'd encouraged me to admit my feelings to Ada? "I know."He leaned forward and placed another soft kiss on my lips. When he pulled away, he held my gaze. "Soon, Sabina.”

“Fuck fate and David's fatalism. I was going to make destiny my bitch.”

“Wait,” he said, pulling me to a stop when I tried to march off toward my destiny. “Is there something you want to tell me?” I looked at him, trying to think of anything I’d done recently that I needed to admit to. When nothing came to mind other than the usual, I shook my head. “Not really. Why?” He reached out and touched my leather jacket. “Is that a bullet hole?” Freaking great.”

“My eyes bulged out of my head as I saw what rested between his hips. “Good Lord!” I said without thinking. A forked penis will do that to a girl. He glanced down at the appendage and smiled knowingly. “Once you go demon you never go back.”

“Before I joined them, I cracked my neck from side to side. Breathing in a martyred sigh, I reminded my temper to behave itself. If I'd learned one thing, it was that killing people who annoyed me generally created more problems than it solved.I mentally patted myself on the back. See? Totally growing.”