“I wish I could be whole for you…I wish I could hold you and dance with you, take you in my arms and make love to you the way I want to. (Adron)And I’m just grateful I have you at all. It’s not your body or face that I love, Adron. It’s your heart, your soul, and your mind. (Livia)”

“What expression?” “The one you have on your face right now.” “You mean the one that says I love you so much I wish I could die for you if I could? The one that says I want to take your pain away and show you how much it’s possible to love a human being more than life itself?”

“I know you were just trying to help. But I passed the point of help a long time ago. Look, I know about your people and customs, and I know you were raised inside a cage. The last thing you need is to be saddled with a man who can barely walk. Why don’t you just go and get your own place and live? I’ll be happy to put you on all my accounts. You’ll never want for anything. (Adron)I can’t do that. (Livia)Why not? (Adron)Because I love you. (Livia)”

“What are you thinking about? (Livia)I’m thinking how glad I am that I traded myself for that woman. How glad I am that my brother couldn’t kill me. But most of all, I’m thinking just how damn grateful I am that you saw something in me worth saving. Thank you for my son, Livia, and for my life. I love you. I always will. (Adron)”

“And what am I? (Adron)You’re kind and decent. You have a good heart. (Livia)I have no heart at all. What I have is a mechanical substitute that pumps blood through a broken body, and half the time it malfunctions. (Adron)”

“I love you. I love the way you rub the scar on the back of your hand when you're nervous. I love the way you make a sword into a living part of your body. I love the way you burn your eyes into me, as if you're seeing me fresh every time. I love the black streak in you that wants to kill the world, and the soft streak that is sorry afterward. I love the way you laugh, as if you're surprised that you can laugh at all. I love the way you kiss my breath away. I love the way you breathe and speak and smile. I love the way you take the air out of my lungs when you hold me. I love the way you make a dance out of death. I love the confusion I see in your eyes when you realize you are happy. I love every muscle and bone in your body, every twist and bend in your soul.”