“He turned away from the bar as if he could leave the question there. But questions had no location; they could follow him around.”

“He could not play the game without hope; could not play the game without a dream. They had taken it all away from him now, they had turned away from him and there was nothing for him now...He was alone and there was nothing for him.”

“A person could leave you so quickly. So much history and time and memories, but they snuck away from you, and other things took their place. How could you hold on? Wait. A bigger question. The biggest. How could you hold on andlet go?”

“In the past, he had never questioned the fact that he was a prince; like the fact that he was the child of his mother and father, it seemed like something that would never change. Yet look how easily he had lost that rank and privilege! A person's fortune could turn at any time.”

“On nights like this, when he rode out from the dark, silent house to the dark, deserted park, he couldforget.He could be nothing but a solitary rider on a fast horse, wind in his face and the world open around him.No walls, no bars, no quiet weeping or screams or death. None of that could catch him. On a night likethis, none of it could find him.”

“He held me against him gently, as if I was glass - as if I could shatter and fall away from him at any moment and leave him breathless and alone once more.”