“There is no darkness as dark as a great light corrupted.”

“One day, our love will conquer this dark circle. That's worth everything to me”

“Daniel's face-- the way it had been bathed in violet light when he'd carried her home this morning-- appeared before her eyes. His gleaming golden hair. His tender, knowing eyes. The way one touch of his lips transported her far away from any darkness. For him, she'd suffer all of this, and more.”

“Here," he said,holding out a dark mink coat. "Thought you might be cold.""Where did you-""I yoinked it off a broad coming home from the market back there.Don't worry,she had enough natural padding already.""Bill!""Hey,you needed it!" He shrugged. "Wear it in good health.”

“Desolate city. Snow on the streets. Fire in the sky.It could have been one of a hundred wars.But there-The place on the street where the snow had melted. The dark crater in the sea of white.Daniel sank to his knees and reached for the ring of black ash stained on the ground.He closed his eyes.And he remembered the precise way she had died in his arms.Moscow.1941.So this was what she was doing-tunneling into her past lives. Hoping to understand.The thing was,there was no rhyme or reason to her deaths.More than anyone, Daniel knew that.But there were certain lifetimes when he'd tried to shed some light for her,hoping it would change things. Sometimes he'd hoped to keep her alive longer,though that never really worked. Sometimes-like this time during the siege of Moscow-he'd chosen to send her on her way more quickly.To spare her.So that his kiss could be the last thing she felt in that lifetime.”

“Of all the pairs the Throne endorsedNone rose to burn as brightAs Lucifer, the Morning Star, And Lucinda, his Evening Light”

“Before Luce could reply, a skinny, dark haired girl appeared in from of her, wagging her long fingers in Luce's face."Ooooooh," the girl taunted in a ghost-story-telling voice, dancing around Luce in a circle. "The reds are watching youuuu.""Get out of here, Arriane, before I have you lobotimized," the attendant said, though it was clear from her first brief but genuine smile that she had some coarse affection for that crazy girl.It was also clear that Arriane did not reciprocate the love. She mimed a jerking-off motion at the attendant, then stared at Luce, daring her to be offended.”