She groped forward, hands and feet, in search of darkness, distance and solitude.

What a horrifying notion," he said. "A creature with the power to take over one's mind.

For a group of people who claimed to be concerned for her safety, they did seem to have developed rather a habit of encouraging uprisings against monarchs.

Bitterblue had never seen a man naked, and she was curious. She decided the universe owed her a few minutes, just a few, to satisfy her curiosity. So she went to him and knelt, which shut him up.

If she was suggesting she was too wise with the weight of her experience to fall prey to infatuation - well, the disproof was sitting before her in the form of a gray-eyed prince with a thoughtful set to his mouth that she found quite distracting.

My life is an apology for the life of my father.

I thought it was supposed to be impossible to sneak up on you. Eyes of a hawk and ears of a wolf and all.