“He loved me, but I also think he was infatuated with somebody in me I wasn't so crazy about. If Nate was the one who saw Kate Pierson underneath my grubby disaffect when we met, David tried to strip away all of Kate's lovely lashes and wigs and iridescent outfits to reveal what he was confident was the mousy, wide-eyed ragamuffin little girl that he wanted to love me as, and who he wanted me to be.”

“Next to me, Saiman smiled. "We all want what we can't have, Kate. I want you, you want love, and he wants to break my neck.”

“Jesus loves me! He who dead heaven's gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, let His little child come in. Jesus loves me! He will stay close beside me all the way; if I love Him when I die He will take me home on high.”

“He loves me. Inside his head, his every thought and reaction was born of love, love inside and out, crazy, irrational (and sure, a bit lustful) love. He loves me, and that's also what terrified him when he saw me all lit up like a Christmas tree. He doesn't know what I am, but he loves me.”

“I might be falling in love with you," I whisper, finding it hard to focus on his face."Kate," he says, almost sadly."what? You might be falling in love with me too?" My voice is hopeful, pathetically hopeful. He shakes his head."You aren't falling in love with me?"He doesn't respond. I touch his face carefully with the tips of my fingers. His skin is incredibly soft above the line of hard jawbone. I touch his silky black hair. His eyes close and i want to kiss his eyes, but I'm afraid. Afraid of all this. This could destroy me.He opens his eyes. "Kate, I'm already in love with you.”

“Narian scrutinised both me and the Queen, with eyes so deeply blue I could not break away from them. I was glad he was no longer questioning me, for those eyes made me want to tell him everything. At the same time, those eyes revealed something to me. Was he in love with Alera?”