“Great. Now the queen thought I was a misfit, too.”

“The Swendish queen— whose name I couldn’t pronounce to save my life.”

“Maxon, this is my gift to you. I promise I will make every effort to see these girls through your eyes. Not the eyes of a queen, or the eyes of your mother, but yours. Even if the girl you choose is of a very low caste, even if others think she has no value, I will always listen to your reasons for wanting her. And I will do my best to support your choice.”

“Sometimes I feel like we're a knot, too tangled to be taken apart.”

“Need someone to talk to? I could tug my ear right now.”

“I thought about the cameras following me in the terminal and pictured my family watching my entrance on TV. I hoped they’d be proud.”

“Yeah, Mom, I’ll just keep telling the prince that he has absolutely no shot with me and offend him as often as I can. Great plan.”