He shook me, and despite it being one-handed, it made my teeth rattle. โIf anything like that ever happens again. You. Leave. Me. Behind. Do you understand?โ I would have argued, but I was feeling a little shocky for some reason. โIโm not good at abandoning people,โ I finally said. A front-desk person scurried over, first-aid kit in hand, but Pritkin snarled at the poor guy and he quickly backed up a step. โThen get good at it!โ He stomped off, limping, one shoulder hanging at an odd angle. โYouโre welcome,โ I murmured.
Karen ChanceAw, fudge,' floated down to me, as a couple of golden eyes peered over a third-floor window ledge. 'You're a freaking dhampir. Why are you reading Tolkien?' I shrugged, then had to dodge the potted geranium he threw at me. 'After five hundred years, you've read just about everything. Besides, he had hella world-building skills.
Karen ChanceYou know, I've lived a long time," he told me, massaging my calf more firmly now. "And I met a lot of people. But I ain't never met a woman made me want to beat her to death as often as you.
Karen ChanceI narrowed my eyes at it. Ming-deโs little gift, I assumed. โYou look better in color,โ I snapped. He sent me a sultry look over his shoulder. โReally? Most women think I look better in nothing at all.
Karen ChanceI hadn't realized how much I'd relied on his scowls or his shrugs or his grudging looks of approval to help me figure something out-until they weren't there anymore. Or how I could talk to some people about a lot of things but only to him about everything. And how unbelievably valuable that was.
Karen ChanceCan we just do this?โ Ray asked tightly, clinging to Zhengโs already slightly elongated arm. Because Louis-Cesare wasnโt the only one with a master power around here. โLet go,โ Zheng told him. โIโm the rubber band; youโre the spitball. And spitballs donโt hold on to rubber bands.โ โDie in a fire,โ Ray told him savagely. But he let go.
Karen Chance