Would he have said he loved me? I would ask myself that for the rest of my life.

It'd be nice to have someone who understood some of the things that went on in my head.

I’d said it before and meant it: Alive or undead, the love of my life was a badass.

What have I done?" I whispered. Jill put her arm around me, but it was Dimitri who spoke. "What you had to.

It’s easy to want peace and love in hypothetical situations—then reality sets in, and sometimes we have to do what’s ugly.

It was a lame excuse, and I knew that wasn't the reason he was canceling. If he wanted to avoid me, I would have preferred he made up something about how he and the other guardians had to up Moroi security or practice top-secret ninja moves.

What's with all the running, anyway? I mean, I realize the importance of stamina and all that, but shouldn't I be moving on to something with a little hitting? They're still killing me in group practice.” "Maybe you should hit harder.