Kiersten White Quotes

I'm nobody's girl.

And part of him, a compact, dark lump of meanness buried deep in his chest, had been glad. Let her feel useless. Let her feel like a failure. Let her see that he could do things she never could.

I let out a string of curses that would put even the boy's locker room to shame, ending with an emphatic kick to the mailbox post.And the worst part was of coure it wasn't there yet. My weird nerves all day were pointless.

I'm still afraid to sleep - too many ghosts peering creeping condemning.

We've got a problem!" I shouted.
"No, I heard that. I mean, what's the problem now?"
"I have the solution!" Jack interrupted.
"What?" I sat up, all ears.
"Bells!"
"What?" Lend and I asked at the same time.
"Get her a kitty collar with bells on it. That way you can hear her coming and get someplace where you won't be hurt by collapsing immediately into sleep.

I have to go in with Raquel and fix this curse. Why don't you come in and . . . umm, lie down on the couch or something."
Reth gave me a humorless smile. "In all our time with each other, have I ever struck you as the type to nap on a couch?"
I snickered. "Not really. But it would be entertaining for me, at least. I'll bet you snore, even."
He looked indignant. "What makes you think I even sleep?"
"Do you?"
"Not in the same way you do. Go and waste your time trying to 'fix' Lend. I will try my best not to die waiting."
I took a step away, then turned back. "Wait, seriously? Are you going to die?"
He smiled, this time a genuine one. "I knew you cared. Not at the moment, but I will need you for something very soon.

I find myself in sudden dire need to increase the potency of my charm spelling.

Ignorance was bliss. Or at least less painfull

Thanks for looking at me like ... like I could be whole.

Tasers are a one-size-fits-all paranormal butt-kicking option. Mine's pink with
rhinestones.

If Lada was the spiky green weed that sprouted in the midst of a drought-cracked riverbed, Radu was the delicate, sweet rose that wilted in anything less that the perfect conditions.

Being a Dracul had cost him so much. He had thought he was done paying for the blood that ran through his veins. But he would never be done. The price of being in his family was everything he held dear, taken from him over and over again. They were the dragons. The devils. There was no mercy in them or for them.

I love Wallachia. It belongs to me, and I belong to it. It is my country, and it should always be mine, and I hate any king or sultan or god or prophet that proclaims anyone else has any right to it.

Ugh," she muttered, tugging his hair. "Your are so pretty. Like delicate butterfly beneath my boot."
"Ugh, " he replied, pulling one of her own curls, which were thick and coarse. "You are so mad. Like a rabid hound that needs to be put down.

Time, the moon, arguments, and, most of all, coins. All good things are circular.

As the baby latched on with surprising fierceness, the nurse offered her own prayer.
Let her be strong.
Let her be sly.
And let her be ugly.

F anyone is going to kill you, it will be me. Understand?"
Radu nodded, snuggling into her shoulder. "Will you protect me?
"Until the day I kill you." She jabbed a finger into his side, where he was most ticklish, and he squealed with pained laughter.

It's a good thing we're pretty to look at," I said as Lend sat down on the orange plastic seats next to me. "Because we don't have much else going for us as bowlers.

Did you do this?"
"There are other ways to beat someone than with fists." Radu poked her in the side with a finger.
She surprised him by laughing. He stood up straighter, a proud grin at having surprised and delighted Lada bursting across his face. She never laughed unless she was laughing at him. He had done something right!
Then the lashings began.
Radu's smile wilted and died. He looked away. He was safe now. And Lada was proud of him, which had never happened before. He focused on that to ignore the sick feelings twisting his stomach as Aron and Andrei cried out in pain. He wanted his nurse - wanted her to hold and comfort him - and this, too, made him feel ashamed.
Lada watched the whip with a calculating look. "Still," she said. "Fists are faster.

"There" title="Kiersten White Quotes: Did you do this?"
"There" width="913px" height="515px" loading="lazy"/>

Watchers were meant to guide Slayers - the Chosen Ones specially endowed to fight demons - but over the centuries we evolved to be more hands-on. Watchers have to make the hard decisions, and sometimes the hard decisions include weapons. Swords. Spells. Knives.

We have another friend in common. Sweetest girl. She's like a sane version of you. Goes by Annie.

If you are too weak to stand being hit and too stupid to avoid it, then you deserve more pain.

Supposedly you could kill them by saying their name but a)how would you find it out in the first place,and b) its a little hard to talk when your lungs are slowly filling up with water. Still,legend had it they were occasionally benign,giving music lessons and even marrying mortals every now and again.
I didn't get the impression this one had any intentions of taking vows.
"So you aren't going to be best friends."
"I dunno-he could be fun at a pool party. Assuming you hated everyone you invited.

She drummed her fingers on the arms of the throne, looking out at the empty room. She was not stupid enough to think men would stop trying to take it from her. They would always be there, waiting for weakness, waiting for her to fall. They wanted what she had because she had it. And one day, eventually, someone would defeat her. But until that day she would fight with tooth and nail, with all the fire and blood that had formed her into who she was. She was a dragon. She was a prince. She was a woman. It was the last that scared them most of all.

Maybe I'm weird, but watching Lend drive was sexy.

I hereby vow to take any and all death threats at face value, unless you are, in fact, trying to flirt with me, in which case please threaten to bash my brains in while winking, like so

Raquel laughed, and David joined her. They sounded slightly manic. "You're free now," he said.
"Of all of it," she answered, and I looked up to see them locked in a gaze I'd previously only observed between actors on Easton Heights - one filled with all the things unspoken over the years, all the betrayals and fears and pain left behind in favor of overwhelming love. It was beautiful.
Oh, who am I kidding, it was awkward as all heck and I didn't have time for it. "Okay! So, you may have noticed Lend is in the kitchen."
"Mmm hmm," Raquel answered, reaching up to smooth down a stray piece of David's hair.
"Yeah, that'd be the big faerie curse."
"Farie curse?" She actually turned toward me; David took both her hands in his.
"Yup. Really funny one, too. See, any time Lend and I are in the same room or can see each other or could actually, you know, touch, he falls fast asleep."
"Oh," Raquel frowned.
"So I need your help. You know all the names of the IPCA controlled faeries, right?"
She nodded, her frown deepening.
"Well, it was a dark faerie curse, so I figure we need a dark faerie to undo it. So you call an Unseelie faerie, we give him or her a named command to break the curse, ta-da, we can double-date!"
"Wait, who can double-date?" Lend asked.
"I'll let your dad tell you. So. Faerie?"
Raquel heaved a sigh, along the lines of her famous things never get easier, do they? sign, and, boy, I agreed with her.
"T

All these years, I thought the first Watchers were a bit dense for giving power to only one girl. One Slayer to fight everything? One Slayer to make impossible choices? But... that's the beauty of it. Because the Slayer is young. The Slayer is a girl. The Slayer isn't some rich dude, insulated from life and pain and struggle, sitting in his Mr. Darcy house deciding who gets to live and die.
The Slayer is on the streets, in the dark, in the night, walking right alongside the things she hunts. So when she makes life-or-death choices - they're life-or-death choices for her, too. Not just for the things she's hunting. She's not a committee, a council, a group working at a remove.
She'd part of the darkness.
And when you're already in the dark, you can see the subtle differences in the shadows.

Images of being empress next to Mehmed haunted her when she closed her eyes. It was the worst part of everything, knowing that, on some level, she wanted that much power, even at that cost.

Sometimes it takes a little chaos for things to work themselves out. When we make it through the chaos, we can use it to shape the world around us into something better than it was before

But what about the staring? They're always staring at me!"
"You are rather nice to look at.

I looked at the door, at war with myself. On the one hand, I hated going anything Reth wanted me to. On the other hand, there was a mop with my name on it inside.
"Fine, but if you try anything-"
"Really, Evelyn,how I've missed your charming company."
Keeping a wary eye on the faerie, I followed hi, through the alley. We made our way down the lamp-lined street, his step so light it bordered on dancing. I felt like a graceless clod next to him. Then there was the aspect of his ethereal, near-angelic beauty compared to my..well, for the sake of my self-esteem, it was probably best not to compete.

And so she cut out her heart and offered it as a sacrifice. She would pay whatever price her mother Wallachia demanded.
"Make me prince," she said without feeling.

Jack put his hands on his hips, surveying the scene with a satisfied nod. "That turned out much better than I'd hoped."
"Please,let's leave!"
"What's your hurry? Let's take a moment to bask in the satisfaction of a job well done."
"I didn't want to do that!"
"No?" He cocked his head and raised his eyebrows. "I thought you hated the fey."
"I do,but that doesn't mean I want to run around the Faerie Realms lighting everything on fire!"
"What's the point in hating something if you aren't proactive?" He put his arm around my shoulders, steering me to look at the inferno with him. "You can't tell me that's not satisfying, not after what you saw.Faeries care about very few things,but they're quite fond of their little trinkets. That boat was a particular favorite of hers,not to mention the entire lake. All the centuries she spent crafting this landscape,then poof! One excellently thrown firebomb, and you've made her feel anger and pain more deeply than she's probably ever known. And far less than she deserves to know.

The woman who ran my last foster home didn't think it was safe,so we had to stay inside and watch some Charlie Brown cartoon three times.I've never liked beagles to this day.

He was no longer a lost little boy in a strange new city. Now he was a lost man in a broken old city, and no amount of prayers and kindness could undo what had been done.

I resisted the urge to sit and stare at Lend while he slept; when he dreamed, instead of his eyes moving behind his eyelids, his whole glamour shifted appearances like a stop-motion film. It was fascinating and wildly entertaining sometimes - also a bit freaky considering I showed up constantly.

Dude deserves to be castrated, if you ask me.'
Ry chokes a bit, a strangled laugh. Remind me never to piss you off.

The reason faeries don't like iron is that it ties them too strongly to this world. The Paths aren't part of this world - you can't take iron there. It won't let you.'
I frowned. "You do realize that makes no sense."
'Unlike being able to open a door in the wall and take you to another hemisphere in a matter of minutes? How odd. Everything about Faerie is usually so rational.

Ta-da! Faerie!" Jack pointed at Reth, the very definition of beauty, leaning casually against the wall in a cream Victorian suit, the shirt open around his neck revealing perfectly sculpted collarbones, his golden hair just brushing along them.
"Evelyn, love, there you are."
"I - You - and you?" I looked incredulously from Jack to Reth and back again. "This does not compute on so many levels."
Jack shrugged, shoving his hands sullenly in his pockets. "Reth found me, told me you were in trouble, so I agreed to help."
Reth cocked his head, giving Jack a curious look. "I seem to recall offering you the choice between having both yours hands removed or pulling Evelyn out of that abominable iron-lined prison."
Jack didn't meet my eyes. "Like I said, I agreed to help."
I snorted. "Noble, as always."
Reth held out his elbow. "Are we quite ready to go? I, for one, would rather not spend much time here. Tasteless décor, and the lighting doesn't do your complexion any favors, Evelyn."
"Oh, for the love, you two are not in charge! And I don't trust either one of you for a stroll down the hall, much less through the Faerie Paths!"
Reth fixed his eyes on mine. "You have my word that you will come to no harm while in my care." He waved a hand at Jack. "And you have my word that if he does anything I find even so much as mildly annoying, he'll never walk again.

He sighed heavily. "Girls are mean. At least faeries simply kill you if they don't want you around." He put a hand on the wall, leaning against it and tapping his foot impatiently.

I opened the door and Lend smiled. 'They look better on you.'
'Wow, they must look just awful on you then.' I smiled back.

I cannot afford to lose you, too"
"You cannot lose something you do not own. Take me with you

Stick around, though. I'm going to need all the help I can get to figure all this out."
"That's me! Mister Helpful. Captain Dependable."
"That sounds like a brand of adult diapers."
"This nickname needs some work. Lord Wonderful? The Incredible Hunk?"
"Please, for the love, go inside."
He laughed, then clomped up the steps and into the house.
"Reth," I shouted. "Reeeeeeeeth! Reth! Reth, Reth, Reth! If you don't come in the next thirty seconds, I'm going to do find David's golf clubs!"
"That tone and level of voice does nothing attractive you for, my love."
I jumped, startled, but of course Reth would be behind me, leaning heavily on the porch railing.
"You," I said, glaring. "Fix it. Now."
A look of disdain on his face, he leaned over and trailed his fingers across Lend's forehead. A single whispered word, and then . . .
Nothing.
"You liar!" I shouted, standing so abruptly that Lend rolled off my lap and down a step. As he hit the first one, color bloomed through him into his usual glamour and his eyes flew open in panic.
"He was asleep, Evelyn." Reth's lips were pursed, but I knew he was smiling gleefully on the inside.
"Lend!" I lunged forward, knocking into him, and we both rolled down the next two steps, landing in a heap on the gravel at the bottom. "You're awake!"
"Evie! I'm . . . wow, why am I so bruised?"
"Shut up," I said, grabbing his head and pulling him in for a kiss. It was freezing a

I bit my lip. "I, well, we were high? Really,really high. And it was this weird cloud and lightning and faerie thing. I didn't know where it was taking me or why,and I was so scared I did the only thing I could think of."
"Which was?" Lend prodded, worry shadowing his face.
I shrugged, a small, guilty gesture. "I took some." Hating the concern in his eyes,I rushed on. "Only a little bit-not enough to hurt it,really, just enough to surprise it, and then we fell, and it tried to drop me, but I grabbed on and some trees broke my fall. And afterward the Cloud Freak was okay,really,it was. Just kind of pissed. And then it flew off."
I didn't mention the erratic flight pattern. It was probably woozy.

Even more confused than before, I started backing up. I'd go around and get in through the kitchen; David and Raquel had to know what was going on. Unfortunately for all of us, that was when Lend came out the front door, immediately collapsed with a thunk that made me cringe, and - perfect - went completely transparent.
The police officers stopped fighting, every eye glued on my boyfriend, now essentially invisible other than this T-shirt and flannel pajama pants.
"Okay," I said, putting my hands on my hips. "No. This is unacceptable. I don't care what the bleep is going on, we're going to get it settled immediately or I swear I will give you all to the Dark Queen and let her feed on your dreams for the rest of eternity."
Every head turned my direction, their faces a portrait of shock and disbelief.
"What, you've never seen a boy made of water before? Yawn. Go down to the pond - it'll really blow your mind."
One close to the front - barrel-chested, middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and a thick mustache - shook his head as though trying to clear it. "Are you Evelyn Green?"
"Sort of. Mostly. I mean, legally. Again, sort of."
He tried to look at me, but his eyes kept drifting back to Lend. "You're under - We're here to - Could you please come with us?"
I rolled my eyes. "No, I couldn't. You're last place in a very long line of people who want me right now. Besides, I haven't done anything."
"Actually," said a painfully tall an

Lend stood up, shouldering his duffel bag, as I walked back into the living room. "Where do you think you're going?" I snatched his coat away and held it. He just got here. There was no way I was letting him go anywhere else.
"I happen to have very important things to do."
"What on earth is more important than watching Easton Heights??"
"Christmas shopping for you?"
I dropped the coat into his arms and opened the door. "Take your time."
"Glad to know I'll be missed."
"Have fun!" I leaned up and kissed him hard, then shoved him out and sat back on the couch with a sloppy smile on my face. "Best boyfriend ever."
"Shut. Up. Now." Arianna didn't move, eyes fixed on the television. A firm knock sounded on the door. "And tell Lend he can just walk in already!"
"Did you forget something?" I said as I opened the door, surprised to see a short black woman in a suit. And not Lend pretending to be one, either.

I know it's been rough on her - it's been rough on everyone, having the entire world change yet again. But we do what Watchers do: We keep going.

Arthur was building something new. Something good. Something truly noble. And it drew those who could find that nowhere else. That was why most of his knights came. They could not find the justice and fairness they longed to defend in their own countries.

Say what you will about zombies and their hygeine issues,at least they kill you fast.College acceptance boards? They like to draw out the torment as long as possible.

Come on." He jumped up and grabbed my hand. "Let's do something fun."
"I can't! I have to work, and then I have a date."
"Frying-pan boy again? I thought you guys broke up."
"No! Why would we break up?

I want to get you out of here."
"Don't you mean you want me to get you out of here?"
He took my hand - yeah, my hand again. I was liking this. A lot. "No, I mean I want to get you out. This shouldn't be your life. You deserve a lot more. Like a locker."
"And a driver's license?"
"Let's not get carried away.

Thank you for giving me another chance."
"Thank you for deserving one.

Lada imagined she was climbing to Mehmed's side to fight next to him. And then she imagined she would be aiming the cannon at his heart instead.

Being chosen is easy. Making choices will break your heart.

The central aspect I wanted to explore was the path a person takes to get to the point where they can justify doing terrible things in the name of good. What motivations sway them? What stones laid in childhood become the foundation legacies are built on?

She looked . . . whole. With him.

Disco bowling? Seriously? Is there such a thing?"
He laughed. "I've never been,but you mentioned bowling a few weeks ago,and I figured tonight of all nights I could go ahead and impress you with my mad lack of bowling skills.Besides which, you look way too hot to waste on trick-or-treaters.They have a costume competition-you're a shoo-in."
I laughed,giddy,and grabbed his hand to kiss his knuckles.I knew he'd rather stay at home,but he planned tonight around making me happy. And he wanted to show me off,which appealed to my vanity more than I cared to admit. Best. Boyfriend. Ever.
"Pictures,please?And if we're going disco bowling,you have to dress up."
He pretended to sigh,but his glamour hair grew out into a massive 'fro and I squealed with delight. Then it shifted into shorter hair with a yellow-blond side part. "I figure with an ascot and blue pants I can do a mean Fred to your Daphne,right?"
Tonight was perfect.

He was always with her, an appendage to her life, and she never could decide how to feel about him. Sometimes, when a smile broke across his face like sun reflecting off a stream, or she saw him relax into sleep, she was filled with an unaccountable sort of ache. It terrified her.

She had never thought through the sheer logistics of this many people in a small space. Nor had she ever considered that a king would have to figure out how to deal with the chamber pots of a thousand citizens. In her head, it had been all swords and battles and glory and magic.

With a scream of rage, Lada abandoned her learned moves, her careful training. She flew at him like a wild boar, all fury and animal instinct. He did not know where to block because her blows made no sense, her movements had no grace. She slashed at his face, and when he grabbed her wrists, she bit his hand, clenching her jaw, teeth clamping onto bone. She kept her teeth in him as he shook her, slamming the dagger into his side again and again, following him as he fell away from her, trying to break free. She stayed on top, stabbing, not caring where she hit, not going for a careful, efficient blow. An animal scream, muffled by his hand, continued from her throat.

It felt like fighting. It felt like falling. It felt like dying.

The knowledge that I could hurt him if I needed to-if I wanted to-gave me a heady feeling of power.
It probably wasn't healthy.
Still, if he did something stupid and forced me to drain him, well, I wouldn't cry about it.

We linked hands - my ex-boyfriend, my boyfriend, and my former friend-then-enemy-then friend and I - and walked through a door to see if maybe empty carbs were good for something after all.

I am the predator in any situation. I am not worried.

Apparently being a mermaid is dead dull. I watched The Little Mermaid with her once a few years ago - she thought it was freaking hilarious. She couldn't stop laughing about the shell-bra thing, given that mermaids aren't mammals. Plus, as she put it, Prince Eric was far too hairy and "peach colored" for her taste. I always thought he was pretty hot, but then again, I am a mammal.

It's a lie, but it's the lie he needs. I'm going to hell.

That boy wouldn't know discreet if it tap-danced on his stupid blond head.

Probably you should stay out of my head. It's not a friendly place.

I can't see through clothes or anything. Just glamour skin. Except I can see through all of you, since your clothes aren't real." I stopped, horrified. "I mean, I don't look - It's hard to see you, and I like looking at your real face, but I don't try to see anything, because - Oh gosh, this sounds terrible."
He had a funny look on his face, like he wasn't sure what to think. "Huh. That's never been an issue before. Maybe next time you could bring me some shorts.

Be strong. He whispered. Be kind. Be hopeful. He bent down and kissed her forehead.

And be fierce.

If I wanted shit, I would have visited the privy, not asked for an audience with you.

Do you think she was like that?"
"I've found it is helpful when talking to use actual subjects and context so your listener can understand what, exactly, you are trying to convey."
I rolled my eyes. "Like you're so big on clear communication."
"Reth, I . . ." I paused, then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
"Whatever are you sorry for?"
I shrugged. "How about threatening to kill you, for starters."
"That is an excellent place to start, although I must tell you those threats were rather more endearing and humorous than frightening."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. You really came through for me when no one else could, and I know Lend wouldn't be here without your help. So thank you." I leaned my head against his shoulder and it seemed like he almost missed a step, but then he continued on as graceful as before. I lifted my head back up, staring ahead and straining for my first glimpse of the pond. "Why did you do it? Help me, I mean. I know you don't love Lend."
His golden voice was as deliciously warm as it had always been, wrapping around me in a comforting blanket, insulating me from the bite of the December air. "No, but I do love you, silly creature that you are.

How do you know about all this?"
"I just happen to be smarter than you is all.

When I caught up, I grabbed Jack's arm. "What are you
doing here?" "Hiding! That's how you play the game, right? I thought
the title hide-and-seek was fairly self-explanatory. Then
again, you are blond." "So are you, idiot. Again, what are you doing here?

I am in charge of many people in my vilayet. Sometimes, a decision I make will impact someone in a negative way. Perhaps one farmer wants more access to water, but giving him that would deny three other families the water they need for their crops. I am denying the first man the opportunity to expand his crops and make more money, but I am saving the other three families from starving. Some years I have had to increase taxes to lay up stores against the winter, which is a burden for my people. But it means we will have enough to sustain us through a bleak period. I have had to take fathers from their families for committing crimes - denying a family of their provider, but keeping the rest of my people safe." He sighed. "It is never easy. I try to build for the best future I can, where the greatest number of people will be affected in the best ways.

A heart did not have to be stone to be strong.

I want you to know how proud I am. You're doing the right thing, and I don't want you to worry about what's going to happen after. We'll figure it out." She looked back at David and beamed, as happy as I'd ever seen her.
"I have no doubt of that. Although I do have one serious concern."
"Yes?"
"UPARG? It doesn't roll off the tongue in quite the same way IPCA did."
Raquel heaved a why must you joke at inappropriate times sigh, then lifted her chin haughtily. "Well, maybe we won't invite you to be a part of it, then."
I laughed. "Please, by all means, leave me out. I think it's high time I retire."
"Even if we issue you your own custom companion Taser for Tasey?"
I pursed my lips thoughtfully. "We'll talk when I'm done here.

Steve always had a flair for the dramatic. He should have raised one ghostly fist in the air as he said it; though,for the full effect.

Some things, the best things, do last forever

Still,I knew when I was being lied to. And I was never taking the trash out for that ratty gnome again.

Can we switch rooms?" Lend called. "I'm king of starving."
"I'll make you something!" Jack said, cheerfully skipping into the kitchen.
"Can you even cook?" I asked, a valid question considering he didn't eat normal food. He could only eat food in the Faerie Realms. Jack could help; he could get me to wherever Raquel was. And he knew the Center better than I did, even.
"Never underestimate what I can do."
"Oh, believe me I don't." I sighed. "Lend, do you want me to go around back so you can come in here?"
"Yeah. Man, this brings whole new levels of suck into my life.

I wash myself clean of guilt, of pain, of fear, of emotion. I am the ocean. I am empty. I am nothing.

So the question becomes, Daughter of the Dragon, what will you sacrifice? What will you let be taken away so that you, too, can have power?

It was Wallachia---her land, her mother---greeting her. This was how church was supposed to feel. She had never experienced the divine spirit within a church's walls, but on this peak, in this countryside, she felt peace and purpose and belonging. This was the glory of God. This was Wallachia, This was hers.

He is very, very careful. I wish he wouldn't be.

I'd tell him, though. Soon. Soonish.
Eventually.

Of all the awful things demons do, keeping Latin alive when it deserves to be a dead language might be the worst.
To say nothing of ancient Sumerian. And ancient Sumerian translated into Latin? Diabolic.

Reth reached out and took my fingers in his own, his touch light but comforting. "I've found that sacrifice is called that for a reason. We have all lost much of what we were or could have been because of the mistakes of my people. We'll yet lose some things to set it right. But when you join eternity, you will not feel the sting of this life with such intensity."
"You mean I wouldn't feel at all?"
"I feel, my love. Simply not in the same way you do. And thank heavens for that, because you are quite an embarrassment at times. Your inconsistent and flailing passions will no longer be a concern."
Leave it to Reth to go from comforting me to insulting me in the course of one short conversation.

Well, are you ready, Lada Dragwlya, daughter of the dragon?" Fire burned in her heart, and her wounded soul spread out, casting a shadow like wings across her country. This was hers. Not because of her father. Not because of Mehmed. Because the land itself had claimed her as its own. "Not Dragwlya," she said. "Lada Dracul. I am no longer the daughter of the dragon." She lifted her chin, sights set on the horizon. "I am the dragon.

It's okay," I said, my voice breaking. "It's okay. You guys stay back here. Try to help the others. I can't let her hurt anyone else. She won't leave until she gets me."
"You," Lend whispered, then looked at Reth. "Something unspoken passed between them. "Keep her safe," Lend said fiercely.
Reth nodded. "Always."
Lend leaned forward and smashed his lips into mine, kissing me desperately, then pulled away. "I love you," he said, his glamour melting off so it was him, just him for a heartbeat, and I got ready to stand and be lost forever. Then he replaced his water self with:
Me.
"No!" I screamed, but Reth wrapped his arms around me and traced one finger down my throat, freezing my voice.
I screamed and screamed, ripping my throat to shreds but no sound came out. Lend-as-me stood up, lifting both hands in the air.
"I'm coming," my voice said. "Stop."
He walked out from behind the counter and I couldn't see him and she'd kill him and I'd lose him forever and I couldn't live in a world where he wasn't.
I kicked against the counter as hard as I could, trying to force Reth to let me go, but his arms weren't flesh, they were permanent, there was no give. I slammed my head back into his chest again and again, but then I felt more than heard her faerie door closing as the air thinned again and I knew it was over and my world had been destroyed.
Lend was gone, and it was my fault.
I slammed my head against Reth again in rage; he pu

Jack threw back his shoulders. It would appear,as usual, that everything is up to me. Good thing I'm always ready for a challenge.

Are you about done yet?Because this is all very impressive,but it's a school night and I've got homework to get back to.

Opening night is in a week. Already announced to the papers, already sent out in the newsletter in fancy, glossy, full-color glory. Which means I have two days, max, to finish the framing - easily a week's worth of work - and then four days for drilling the star maps I've already marked on the plywood, painting, wiring, installing, and finessing.Leaving me only one day - the day of the evening gala - to clean and get the actual exhibits set up.
It's impossible.
I will make it happen or die trying.
I don't realize I've said that last part aloud until I notice Michelle's horrified face.

What is wrong with you?" Radu sounded on the verge of tears. "Why do you have to destroy everything good we have here?"
"Because," Lada said, voice flat with the sudden wave of exhaustion pulling her heavily to the ground. "We have nothing. Can you not see that?"
"We have Mehmed!"
Lada looked up. The stars were static, still and cold in the night, all the fire gone from the sky. "It is not enough," she said.

If I fail, then it is over. My dream is dead. I have nothing to build a future around. And if I succeed... I step past everything I have known into everything I have wanted.

I'd been fighting for this relationship since the day I first saw his water eyes.

I'm his. It's such a relief to be someone's, to not have to be my own.

Seriously. Fifteen percent or I'm slipping garlic powder into your next Bloody Mary."
He fixed me with a scowl that could launch a thousand horror novels. I smiled. Muttering murderous things under his breath,he pulled out his wallet and handed over the money.
"Come back soon," I chirped, beaming as I went back to the cash register. I might not have Tasey on me regularly, but I could still best vamps.

She's a monster." Ms. Robertson
Clarice, small laugh: "But she's out monster.