“Freddie dropped down beside them, distressed. "Let go of her, Blue; that looks really bad.""Feel free to stop him," Mira said, "instead of frowning at me like a sad puppy.""Hey!" Freddie said, looking like a sadder puppy."I'm not going to molest you," Blue said."You're molesting my wrist," Mira said. "I don't want you touching me.""I didn't want you to knee me in the lungs, so I guess we're even.”

“Mira, I'm about to be naked," Blue said as he whipped off his belt and tossed it on the floor. "So watch out. Well, in my underwear.""I've seen you in your bathing suit," Mira said. "It's the same thing.""It is not the same thing," Blue said. "When it's accompanied by seventies porn music, it's an X-rated strip show." Blue yanked off his shirt. "Freddie, you're kind of slow on the uptake. Eine kleine porn music, please."Freddie scrunched his forehead in distaste. "I don't want to plug my guitar in just so I can play some bow-chicka-wow-wow accompaniment to your strip show.Mira laughed. "Bow-chicka-what was that, Freddie?”

“Can't handle your alcohol, Mira?" Blue called over."I didn't expect it to go everywhere! Now I smell like beer.""It could be worse," Blue said. "You could smell like Rafe's sex life, like Caspian does." Poor Caspian was huddled in the blanket, staring longingly out to sea, oblivious to their conversation."That was low," Freddie said, hiding a grin.”

“Henley squinted at her. "What about you?"Mira looked around, flustered, hair swinging heavily as she moved. "What about me what?"Henley sighed and let the chair thunk to the floor. "What role are you playing? Felix's underage girlfriend, Blue's obsession, or Freddie's princess?""That's ... rude," she said."It was rude when you asked me, too.”

“Laura looked up at him with dead blue eyes. I want to be alive again," she said. "Not in this half-life. I want to be really alive. I want to feel my heart pumping in my chest again. I want to feel blood moving through me — hot, and salty, and real. It's weird, you don't think you can feel it, the blood, but believe me, when it stops flowing, you'll know." She rubbed her eyes, smudging her face with red from the mess on her hands. Look, it's hard. You know why dead people only go out at night, puppy? Because it's easier to pass for real, in the dark. And I don't want to have to pass. I want to be alive.”

“Do you know where Blue is? Can you get him for me? Please?""Frederick," Bliss said. "Do you always bring a sword to a pool party? You are familiar with the concept of rust, I hope.""I - yes, of course," Freddie said, looking as if he wasn't sure whom to answer first, but deferring to the fairy out of respect for his magical elders. "I have it in case there's trouble, and I need to decapitate Fel - er, someone. Anyone, rather. Anyone in need of decapitation.""Frederick, that is very disturbing," Bliss said. "I do hope you're joking.""Where's Blue?" Mira shouted.”