“My nurture mother never would have reset me. And I was never a kit. Or a ‘female.’ I might be a non-human, but I’m not an animal. I’m a girl.”

“I think one of the prophets stuttered when he dictated your specs,” Jal said, snickering. “Or the gene-splicer was daydreaming about his high-status trueborn love and he botched your programming.”

“I never took you for a coward, Stevie,’ he said quietly and her gaze swung back, angrily. ‘DidI make you mad? Good. I’m glad. Because you make me mad. If today didn’t change anythingfor you, then you’re either a liar or a fool. And I never took you for either of those, either.’ Heleaned closer, until he could see every dark eyelash. ‘I’m not a coward or liar, but I might be afool because I’m not giving up on you. Nor am I giving you up. So consider yourself on notice,Detective Mazzetti. Things will be different when you get out of here. I’m not going to waitforever, because we don’t have forever. If things had been any different this morning, we mightnot even have this moment. So if you’re not “ready”, then you’d best spend your time in herefiguring out how to get “ready”

“You need to be willing to wipe the slate clean and admit that you may not know everything about running. This is the best advice I can give for staying injury-free”

“He shook me, and despite it being one-handed, it made my teeth rattle. “If anything like that ever happens again. You. Leave. Me. Behind. Do you understand?” I would have argued, but I was feeling a little shocky for some reason. “I’m not good at abandoning people,” I finally said. A front-desk person scurried over, first-aid kit in hand, but Pritkin snarled at the poor guy and he quickly backed up a step. “Then get good at it!” He stomped off, limping, one shoulder hanging at an odd angle. “You’re welcome,” I murmured.”

“I have a secret. A big, fat, hairy secret. And I’m not talking minor-league stuff, like I once let Joseph Applebaum feel me up behind the seventh-grade stairwell or I got a Brazilian wax after work last Friday or I’m hiding a neon blue vibrator called the Electric Slide in my night table. Which I’m not, by the way. In case you were wondering. ”

“ I would not have believed it, either. No human has ever come back from being made Pri-ya, and, although I am pleased that you have recovered from what was done to you, I am not pleased that I must now compete for you with no glamour, without the glory of my birthright. They were Unseelie, MacKayla, the foulest of the foul, the darkest of my race, the abominations. I am Seelie, and we are vastly different. I had hoped that one day, when you trusted me, you would let me share with you the ecstasy of being one like me. With no pain, MacKayla, and no price. Now that can never be. You have no idea how exquisite the experience might have been and now never will. ”