I found it curious that people kept animals for companionship and not food. When I'd asked Mama Oaks when she planned to cook the fat creature that slept in a basket in the kitchen, her eyes almost popped out of her head. Since then, she'd kept her pet away from me, like she suspected I meant to turn it into stew. Clearly, I had a lot to learn.

My heart shifted a little in my chest; it seemed to swell and beat against my bones until I couldn't hear.

Like most, I was a mix of good and bad, anger and protectiveness, kindness and pride. But right now, I had only strangled fear and the promise of revenge.

After people have gone, you forget their faults, and you recall the ideal more than the person.

Before he bent his head, I knew what he was going to do. Touch his lips to mine. Oh, and I wanted him to... I stilled, hardly daring to breathe. The old refrain of cant and shouldn't sank beneath the weight of new worlds like please and yes.

But courage wasn't an absence of fear; it was fighting despite the knot in your stomach.

I’d never known it was possible to love as he did— with complete devotion yet devoid of promises.