“Sed’s heart sank to his toes. Too late for that. He was already on the boat. Was Jessica planning to kill him and then dump his body overboard before sailing off into the sunset with his drummer and bassist?”

“I’d planned to kill them, too.” When Néomi glared up at him, he raised his chained hands.“Past tense. See? Already I’m improving.”

“It is too late." The old man shook his head. "It is never too late or too soon. It is when it is supposed to be." He smiled. "There is a plan, Dor.”

“He sank into that kiss, and fed from me like a starving man holding off famine. I drank from his soul in preparation for the drought to come. And when he finally pulled away, my throat was thick with unspoken words, my heart heavy with every apology I'd ever denied him. But it was too late for promises. The time had come for goodbye.”

“They used to drive a stake of wood through his heart in the grave. As if it wasn’t broken already. Yet sometimes they repent too late. Ulysses”

“He sucked in his breath as his saw me, his eyes traveling from my toes to my hips, as if he hadn't seen it all before."Jesus," he whispered, gaze lingering everywhere. "I keep forgetting that you're art already." ...”