“She had to admit, she was impressed. Not that she was going to commence praising on cue. The eagle in him was perfectly capable of preening his own feathers.”

“See,” he said playfully, and arched his eyebrows. “Admit it.” He moved in. His mouth ame so close to hers that she could practically feel it moving when he spoke. “Admit what?” She put a little tease in her own voice, hoping she drove him crazy as he drove her. “Admit that you like my kisses and yes to going out with me”

“Schuyler put a gentle hand on Abbadon's feathered extensions, feeling the majestic power underneath their silky weight. She had been frightened once, to see him in this light, but now that she saw his terrifying face, she found it beautiful.”

“As the eagle was killed by the arrow winged with his own feather, so the hand of the world is wounded by its own skill.”

“But she wished she had had the guts to go up to him and say hello. Or possibly break his legs, she wasn't sure which.”

“I suppose you had to," Wes said when Phin went back to join him at the table."Pretty much. She seduced me.""Yeah, right," Wes said. "She said, 'Please fix the kitchen drain,' and you interpreted that--""She said, 'Fuck me.' " Phin put two balls on the table and picked up his cue. "I interpreted that to mean she wanted sex.""Oh." Wes picked up his cue. "That would have been my call, too." He squinted at the table. "Why would she have said that?""On a guess? Because she wanted sex.”