He would say her name over and over until it devolved into meaningless sounds - mah REI kuh, mah REI kuh - it became an entry in a dictionary of loneliness.

There are several ways to react to being lost. One is to panic: this was usually Valentina's first impulse. Another is to abandon yourself to lostness, to allow the fact that you've misplaced yourself to change the way you experience the world.

I don't want to boss anyone and I don't want to be bossed.

It’s dark now and I am very tired. I love you, always. Time is nothing.

What are you doing?" Nothing. Breaking and entering. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

...all of our laments could not add a single second to her life, not one additional beat of the heart, nor a breath.

Clare seems so pleased with the idea of me as a pirate that she forgets that I am Stranger Danger.