Yes.” She smiled, liking the word. “What I feel like right now—I’d compare it to waking from a dream and seeing the real world. It’s a beautiful place, but it also has darkness. If you try to eradicate that darkness, you also destroy the light.” Pain for the future of her people tightened her heart.

His kiss held his heart. It broke hers.

A life is not a waste of time

Some things were worth the dance with danger.

You," she managed to say hoarsely," are a very bad kitty cat.

Nothing in his touch said he considered her fractured, considered her damaged goods, and that gave her a freedom she wouldn't have believed possible.

Do you have no sense of self-preservation?