It was almost painful, I thought, to have a heart so swollen with gratitude and what must have been pure, untainted happiness. I wanted to live inside the feeling forever.

The darkest minds never fade in the afterlight.

I'm a monster, you know. I'm one of the dangerous ones. No you aren't, he promised. Your one of us.

Real friends are hard to come by, and as annoying as Henry is, he'd throw himself in front of dragon's fire for you." "And that's the definition of a real friend?" "Oh, yes, just ask Owain." He laughed.

I closed my eyes. I forced myself to relax, to remember that here, now, and always, I was the predator.

Seeing that my words had done absolutely nothing to pull North from whatever depths he was clinging to, Owain did what came naturally. He smacked North upside the head hard enough to send him sprawling into the window. And when it seemed that North would turn around and return the favor, Owain hit him again, harder.

They were never scared of the kids who might die, or the empty spaces they would leave behind. They were afraid of us-the ones who lived.