Up! you bag of bones!" "Magister? Gods i was hoping that was a dream....... You're disturbing Ms. Mirabil!!! "She's awake!! North said, kicking off his covers and kneeling beside my bed, a bright smile on his face. "Hullo my beautiful beautiful darling, feeling better today??

Thank you,” he was whispering, “thank you, thank you.…” And then he was kissing my face, every inch of it he could find, wiping away the tears and soot, chanting my name.

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

You can destroy a factory, and they'll build another. But once you destroy a life, that's it. You never get that person back.

But there was another, secret Ruby. This one was as thin as a wisp of air, and had struggled for so long just to be. This was the one that Liam carried with him, without knowing. The one that would ride in his back pocket, whisper words of encouragement, tell him he was born to chase the light.

It's in our blood to start again.

Sometimes the darkness lives inside you, and sometimes it wins.