“I apologize for my sister, Hafell," he said quickly. "She is overwrought from events of the past few days." Nori kicked his foot, but he didn't turn a hair as he finished smoothly, "I believe she meant to say that she was a stubborn, shortsighted, small-minded, Randonnen mountain rat.”

“Ellie fought the urge to stamp her foot. "I meant it this time. Do you accept my apology?""It appears," he said, raising his eyebrows, "that you might do me bodily harm if I do not.""Ungracious prig," she muttered. "I am trying to apologize.""And I," he said, "am trying to accept.”

“Me own mam saw things," he said, looking at the fire as if she might be there behind it. "And they always came true. She didn't say anything about spirits. She just called it the Second Sight. Said it was hereditary and dangerous sometimes,if you didn't take care.""Do you have it? Do you see things?"He shook his head."Colin." If he thought I was going to be fobbed off with a vague reply, the day's events had clearly addled his wits. He had to know I had no intention of letting this lie."She told me about a girl with violet eyes," he said quietly, rising to his feet.I looked up at him, startled. "She did?""Aye." He nodded. "I should go." He stalked toward the door, opening it slightly to make sure the hallway was deserted. His hair was still damp, tousled. I couldn't help but remember the weight of his body pressing me into the grass."Colin?" I said quietly."I have to go." He didn't turn around.The door closed behind him.”

“Where's Simon?" Clary interrupted.Isabelle wobbled. "He's a rat," she said darkly.Did he do something to you?" Alec was full of brotherly concern. "Did he touch you? If he tried anything-"No, Alec," Isabelle said irritably. "Not like that. He's a rat."She's drunk," said Jace, beginning to turn away in disgust.I'm not," Isabelle said indignantly. "Well, maybe a little, but that's not the point. The point is, Simon drank one of those blue drinks- I told him not to, but he didn't listen- and he turned into a rat.”

“He waited until she was standing directly across his desk from him before he said quietly, "You've chosen a poor time to apologize,Lauren. I have to leave for a luncheon appointment in five minutes."Lauren almost choked on his outrageous presumption that she owed him an apology,but she merely favored him with an amused smile. "I hate to bruise your ego, but I didn't come up here to apologize.”

“She remained silent. There was nothing left to say. He'd said it all the night before. He had to end it. He could never leave his wife. And, in fact, she had known this. Although she loved him - and truly she did - he wasn't hers. He belonged to his wife. She'd earned him. It didn't matter that he was her first love or that she was his passion. It didn't matter that they had loved one another for more than half their lives. It didn't matter that he had married his wife on the rebound. It didn't matter that he didn't love the woman. It didn't even matter that they had turned into some soap-opera cliche. He was married to someone else and that meant that she was leftovers and destined to remain on the periphery in the shadow of another woman's marriage. But no more. She was well and truly sick of it. ”