“How am I going to help you?”“You are going to jump.”“Ha.”“You are.”“Have you done this before?”“Yeah, with fruit.” That was Xav.“And why am I not reassured?”

“What do you want to know, Eden? Do you want to know how upset I am that you are not going to be around anymore, that I'm going to have to disappear out of your life completely? Would you like to know how scared I am that I won't be able to protect you anymore? Maybe you want to know how terrifying it is that you are choosing to hand yourself over to the monarchy; that you are going willingly to be slaughtered and I get absolutely no say in the matter. Or maybe you wan to know how hurt I am. Is that what you want to know?”

“If you are the lantern, I am the flame;If you are the lake, then I am the rain;If you are the desert, I am the sea;If you are the blossom, I am the bee;If you are the fruit, then I am the core;If you are the rock, then I am the ore;If you are the ballad, I am the word;If you are the sheath, then I am the sword.”

“Where are you and what you are doing is something you have done dozens of times before without having any problems.Recognize that you are going to get out of this- that you always get out of this, that you are going to live, that you won't go crazy.I am telling you that you will live, because you always live, because you are strong and beautiful.”

“This is never going to be over,” I shout. “Someone will always be after me. There’s always consequences. Well, BRING IT. I am done with being afraid, and I am done with you.”

“...I want you to be as happy as I am.""Trust me, that wouldn't be the case if I found myself shackled to Xav Benedict by a quirk of fate.”