I wonder if this is how people always get close: They heal each other's wounds; they repair the broken skin.

There is only what you want and what happens. There is only grabbing on and holding tight in the darkness.

Waste today, want tomorrow.

Raven jerks and stiffens. For a second, I think she is only surprised: Her mouth goes round, her eyes wide. Then she begins teetering backward, and I know that she is dead. Falling, falling, falling . . .

The mark of the procedure. A real one. Lu is cured.

I've been so used to thinking of what the borders are keeping out that I haven't considered that they're also penning us in.

I’m sorry,” he repeats again, too low for Raven and Tack to hear. “I’m sorry for everything.