“For the first time, I want to let people in. I didn't want to hang up on Nick. I had to. Because, for the first time, I wanted to say yes.”

“You’ll get over being mad at me.”“Not likely.”Step, step, step—“I promise not to gloat about it when you do.”“I won’t.”Step, step, step—“Because I want to be with you so badly I don’t care if you’re screaming at me the whole time as long as I’m with you.”I stop dead in my tracks.”

“I know about love. I know about wanting and dreaming and wishing with every piece of your soul. I know enough to recognize the parts that are real and the parts that are only fantasy.' ... 'Like when she cries and my heart tears into little shreds and all I can think about is making her forget the source of her saddness.' ... 'Thats real.' ... 'And fantisy?' 'Believing she might ever feel the same way.' ... 'Why didn't you tell her? The girl you love. Why didn't you tell her how you feel?' ... 'Because,' ... 'she doesn't want to know.”

“Quince leans in over the map, studying, and I think he’s going to ask me something about the kingdoms or my plan or Daddy’s trident.Instead, without taking his eyes off the map, he asks, “What happens if I fail?”“What?” I whisper.“If I don’t pass the three tests,” he says. “What’s the consequence?”I suck in a shaky breath. This is the part I didn’t want to talk about, the part I hoped he wouldn’t ask about. But I guess he’s too clever—or has learned too much about how mer-world magic works—to assume there won’t be a price.There is, and it’s a big one.“If you fail,” I say, keeping my voice steady, “then you are banished from the water forever.”He lifts his Caribbean-blue eyes to stare into mine. “And?”“And?” I echo.“I know that can’t be it,” he says. “Nothing in your world is ever that simple.”A part of my heart breaks when he calls it my world. I want it to feel like his world, too. But now isn’t the time. He’s right; there’s more to the consequence of failure than him being exiled.“And . . . ,” I say, wishing I didn’t have to tell him this, “I’ll be banished from land.” I swallow hard. “Forever.”He stares into my eyes, unblinking, and I can’t read any sort of reaction. His mind is racing, I’m sure, but everything on the outside is a stone facade.Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he says, “Then I won’t fail.”

“So, what you're saying," Dad says, "is that when you've been telling your mother and me that you are studying at a friend's, you've actually been roaming the streets hunting monsters.""No, not always," I say. "Most of the time I was at Gretchen's loft, studying. Training.""Gretchen's loft?" Mom echoes. "That's where you were last night?"My cheeks burn. "No, I was in Greer's basement.""Gretchen's loft blew up," Greer offers.”

“Quince...why didn't you ever tell her? This girl you love. Why didn't you tell her how you feel?"..."Because"- his voice is heavy with a kind of resigned sadness-"She doesn't want to know."Lily & Quince pg.223”

“Because,' Quince says, leaning forward until I step back, 'he's a little boy who doesn't like other people playing with his toys.”