“Why not the Bahamas? Or the Corn Palace?”

“ʺWhere is it?ʺ I asked.ʺLexington, Kentucky.ʺʺOh for Godʹs sake,ʺ I moaned. ʺWhy not the Bahamas? Or the Corn Palace?ʺDimitri tried to hide a smile. It might have been at my expense, but if Iʹd lightened his mood, I was grateful. ʺIf we leave right now, we can reach him before morning.ʺI glanced around. ʺTough choice. Leave all this for electricity and plumbing?ʺNow Sydney grinned. ʺAnd no more marriage proposals.ʺʺAnd weʹll probably have to fight Strigoi,ʺ added Dimitri.I jumped to my feet. ʺHow soon can we go?ʺ”

“I felt my heart breaking all over again. Why? Why had this happened to us? Why was the universe so cruel?”

“Oh God. Why, oh why, did I have to be the one to deliver this news? Why couldn’t I be locked away in my room or the library doing something enjoyable, like homework?”

“(Men without ambition are boring)And that attitude, mistress, is why the females of your kind continue to struggle for equality. And why they continue to fail.”

“He leaned closer to me and then seemed shocked as he realized what he was doing."Why would you do that? Why would you do that for me?”

“But when I touch you, your aura … it smolders. The colors deepen, it burns more intensely, the purple increases. Why? Why, Sydney?” He used that hand to pull me closer. “Why do you react that way if I don’t mean anything to you?” There was a desperation in his voice, and it was legitimate.”