“What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours?”

“I thought that what I felt for you was right," Luce said. "I loved you until it hurt me, until our love was consumed by your pride and rage. The thing you called love made me disappear. So I had to stop loving." She Paused. "Our adoration never diminished the Throne, but your love diminished me. I never meant to hurt you. I only meant to stop you from hurting me.”

“We feel encouraged to go further with our instincts, not to change ourselves for love. If I were yours and you were mine, I would want you to be exactly as you are. I would never eclipse you with my desires.”

“Luce: You could have kept your promises.Daniel: I promised I'd stay.”

“Ix who?""Ix Caut. Your name in this life meant 'Little Snake.'" Bill watched her face change. "It was a term of endearment in the Mayan culture. Sort of.""The same way getting your head impaled on a stick was an honor?"Bill rolled his stone eyes. "Stop being so ethnocentric.That means thinking your own culture is superior to other cultures.""I know what it means," she said, working the band into her dirty hair. "But I'm not being superior. I just don't think having my head stuck on one of these racks would be so great." There was a faint thrumming in the air,like faraway drumbeats."That's exactly the sort of thing Ix Caut would say! You always were a little bit backward!""What do you mean?""See,you-Ix Caut-were born during the Wayeb',which are these five odd days at the end of Mayan year that everyone gets real superstitious about because they don't fit into the calendar. Kind of like leap-year days.It's not exactly lucky to be born during the Wayeb'. So no one was shocked when you grew up to be an old maid.”

“He smirked. “You always were a sucker for acknowledgment. Baby, that’s your Achiles’ heel.”

“I don't understand what you're still doing here."She blinked and nodded miserably, then began to turn away."No!" He pulled her back. "Don't leave. It's just that you've never—we've never... gotten this far." He closed his eyes. "Will you say it again?" he asked, almost shyly. "Will you tell me ... what I am?""You're an angel," she repeated slowly, surprised to see Daniel close his eyes and moan in pleasure, almost as if they were kissing. "I'm in love with an angel.”