“Ah, God, Lys” he breathed, and she opened her eyes to look up at him. She was the love of his heart, his true partner in both work and life, and the idea of losing her to the violence of the world they lived in scared the living shit out of him.But her smile lit her eyes, her face, and he pushed the darkness away and let himself grin back at her like the damn fool that he was. This moment-now-was perfect, and he wasn’t going to let his fears interfere.”

“You could have arrived atop a wildcat and no one would have said a word. They will adore you.”

“Bitter disappointment pushed tears from her eyes.”Now what’s wrong? I said you could wear it.”She drew in a shaky breath.”I w-wanted you to l-like my dreeessssss.”He moved his gaze over her.”The gown makes my mouth water, love.”

“Look. Isn’t he beautiful?”Drew’s expression softened. “Ah, Nellie. He’s bald, pink, and has no teeth. What’s so beautiful about that?”Nellie’s laugh tinkled out like musical chimes while she covered the babe back up.”

“You are safe with me.””I am not at all safe, with you. But I have no desire to be elsewhere.”

“Mistakes? That’s why they put erasers on pencils.”

“It’s hard to walk away from a winning streak, even harder to leave the table when you’re on a losing one.”

“Is the mask magic?” he demanded with sudden, passionate interest.”Yes.” I bowed my head, so that our eyes no longer met. “I made it magic to keep you safe. The mask is your friend, Erik. As long as you wear it, no mirror can ever show you the face again.”He was silent then and when I showed him the new mask he accepted it without question and put it on hastily with his clumsy, bandaged fingers. But when I stood up to go, he reacted with panic and clutched at my grown.”Don’t go! Don’t leave me here in the dark.””You are not in the dark,” I said patiently. “Look, I have left the candle …”But I knew, as I looked at him, that it would have made no difference if I had left him fifty candles. The darkness he feared was in his own mind and there was no light in the universe powerful enough to take that darkness from him.With a sigh of resignation I sat back on the bed and began to sing softly; and before I had finished the first verse, he was asleep.The bandages on his hands and wrists showed white and eerie in the candle-light, as I eased my skirts from his grasp.I knew that Marie was right.Physically and mentally, I had scarred him for life.”

“I love you, Louise Downe McCord. You drive me absolutely crazy sometimes, and this is one of those times, but I love you.”

“Morning breath here. ‘A dirty mouth you say,’ clean it up with Orbit.” Maya chuckled. “Unless you have gum, I’m not letting you near me.” She reached for a pillow and plopped it over her face. “Ha-ha! Good one. No gum on me, but I’ll settle for kissing your belly.” Alex whisked her pajama top up and knelt down to kiss the roundest part of her tummy.”

“And then of course there was her opinion to consider. Would she ever care to entertain the thought of kissing him, let alone marrying him? He was willing to bet his life that she wasn’t. Not yet anyway. Therefore, he had made up his mind. He had devised a carefully thought-out plan, its sole purpose being to eventually ensure Emily’s hand in marriage. And he would do it the old fashioned way–through trickery.”

“Maligned –powerfully-drawn characters acting out a disturbing view of our future.” -David Compton, New York Times Best-Selling author”

“She tapped her chest. “No, I’m not a freak, okay, so could you stop pressuring me.”Rafael muttered something under his breath, throwing up his hands in surrender. “So what am I? What’s Karhl, Jayani, my brother, and all the BaSatai? Are we all freaks? Justbecause this human has some kind of fascination with labeling you, you believe in it. Be your own person, Armani, not what someone else says you are.”

“Kau yakin kau sudah mengecek rias wajahmu? Matamu kelihatan seperti mata panda.”

“Bila dari dulu aku tahu sebuah tabrakan bisa mempertemukanku dengan wanita cantik sepertimu, aku tak akan mengemudi terlalu hati-hati.”