“The gentle sound of her words became the shushing of my blood in my head, and I listened, hovering on the edge of consciousness, bathed in the oblivion of whatever drug they had given me.”

“I raised my hands, trying to shush her."Don't shush me," she said, eyes blazing. "I hate being shushed.”

“Sure. Whatever. She’s all yours.”Daemon grinned. “That she is.”My hand was twitching to connect with his face. “I am not yours.” A small part of me wanted his to deny my words, though.“Shush it,” he said, walking up to me.“How about I shush it right up you—““Kitten, your language is so unladylike.”

“In the wall-less house of sounds, humans became the animals that come together by listening. Whatever else they might be, they are sonospheric communards.”

“So there I was, hovering above everything I knew. I had made it somewhere special, and I’d gotten there all on my own. Nobody had given it to me. Nobody had told me to do it. I’d climbed and climbed and climbed, and this was my reward. To watch over the world, and to be alone with myself. That, I found, was what I needed.”

“He leaned toward me, murmuring, “I think one-on-one sounds better, don’t you?”His teeth gently caught my earlobe. All my muscles turned to liquid. I dropped the stirring rod and grabbed the edge of the table so I wouldn’t collapse.”