“When Lisa awoke she was back in the cell on the floor covered in her own blood, dirt, and urine. And that was only day 1.”

“Kate leaned back against her chair. "Where is the bane of my existence?""In the shower, freshening up.""Oh, God, who did Asciano screw now?""No, no, he's covered in blood.""Oh good." She sighed and stopped. "The kid is covered in blood and we're relieved. There is something wrong with us.”

“Hatred had invaded her entire being; every cell in her body had hatred in it. She wondered if everyone could smell it on her. It smelled like death and coffee, like lilies and dirt, and it permeated her.”

“She didn’t even know what she’d do when she got back to New Orleans, but inside she felt a yearning to shove her hands in the dirt, to cling to the ground there, forever.”

“When it was her own doing, she was always tempted to skip a day, or just glance down, then get back to the ground. Kel had to force herself to keep her vow.”

“Mary awoke from her nightmare with a pounding heart, convinced that she had only imagined Elizabeth's cruel plot. A full moon was shining into her chamber, illuminating everything around her in silvery light. That was when she noticed for the first time that there were bars on her window.”