You're late," she said, tapping her watch. "No, you're just early.

Do not cry for me, Azrael. Do not waste your tears. You made your decision. And this is mine. Sacrifice seems to be my destiny. A funny thing for a selfish man, isn't it? They always called me weak back then.

That morning, she had found an envelope stuffed into her locker. It was from the Mercer Hotel, and held a plastic door key for their suite. "See you there tonight," Oliver had written. "Chomp! Chomp!

One should not seek those who do not wish to be found.

It was so nice just to live in the moment, to enjoy holding him so closely, to pretend for a little while that they were merely two young people in love and nothing else.

She could not trust herself to hope—but without hope, she realized, she had no reason to go on.

And Kingsley being Kingsley, he smiled as he pretended to pull the trigger.