It seemed she was in a cathedral—if, that is, the earth itself were to dream a cathedral into being over thousands of years of water weeping through stone.

It was Kizzy's first kiss and maybe it was her last and it was delicious.

There are other ways of showing someone you love them, such as fetching them out of Hell.

Daughter of my heart,' was the message Brimstone sent just for Karou. She wanted to cry again right here in the court, thinking of it. 'Twice-daughter, my joy. Your dream is my dream, and your name is true. You are all of our hope.

...magic was ugly—-a hard bargain with the universe, a calculus of pain.

With the infinite patience of one who has learned to live broken, he awaited her return.

She had fallen in love with him twice. She loved him now with both loves, so overpowering it was almost unbearable.