He smiled tolerantly at her. Rubbing his smooth chin its recently assassinated chin hairs, he studied her. She barely came up to Ronan's shoulder, but she was every bit as big as he, every bit as present.

It was as if I had thought all along I was a complete picture and he had revealed I was a puzzle and had taken me apart and put me back together again.

I’m not looking for self-control.

I looked good when I sang the end.

He was a patient with a diagnosis that he couldn't understand.

Now I am the unknown, the unknowable.

I had risked everything, and I had nothing to show for it but my open hand, lying empty and palm up toward the ceiling.