“The closer you got to someone, the more it would destroy you when they were inevitably gone.”

“In this world, you were either strong, or you were dead. you did what you had to if you wanted to survive. And i could barely take care of myself; i couldn't worry about someone else's insecurities.”

“You don't think I regret what I did, every single day? You lost Ariella, but I lost you both! Believe it or not, I was kind of a mess too, Ash. It got to a point where I actually looked forward to our random duels, because that was the only time I could talk to you. When you were freaking trying to kill me!”

“The more we're connected to our chosen someone, the more we can pick up what they're feeling. It's instinctive, like breathing.""You can't hold your breath?”

“I want to know when you're worried, when you're angry or happy or sad. You can probably do the same to me, though I'm slightly better at shielding my emotions. More practice.""A shadow crossed his face, a flicker of pain, before it was gone. "Unfortunately, the longer we're together, the harder hiding it will become, for both of us." He shook his head and gave me a wry smile. "One of the hazards of having a faery in love with you.”

“If you are gone then I will welcome nonexistence. There will be nothing left for me to live for.”

“Jeb regarded me with n o expression. "Do you believe in God, Allison?""No," I said immediately. "Is this the part where you tell me I'm going to hell?""This is hell," Jebbadiah said, gesturing to the town around us. "This is our punishment, our Tribulation. God has abandoned this world. The faithful have already gone on to their reward, and he has left the rest of us here, at the mercy of the demons and the devils. The sins of our fathers have passed to their children, and their children's children, and it will continue to be so until this world is completely destroyed. So it doesn't matter if you believe in God or not, because He is not here.”