“She looked up. “A world of nevers under a never sky.”
She fit in well then, he thought. A girl who never shut up.”
“People can be cruelest to those they love.”
“She absorbed the terror and beauty of him and his world. Of every moment over the past days. All of it, filling her up like the first breath she'd ever taken. And never had she loved life more.”
“In the afternoon, they stopped to eat on a rocky outcrop. Perry brushed a kiss on her cheek while she was chewing, and she learned that it was the loveliest thing to be kissed for no reason, even while chewing food. It brightened the woods, and the never sky, and everything.”
“In the sounds of the night Aria heard footsteps, far off and faint, but she recognized them instantly.
She shot into the darkness, letting her ears guide her. She followed the crunch of his feet on stones and small twigs, coming faster, louder, as his walk became a jog, then a run. She chased the sounds until all she heard was his heartbeat and then his breath and his voice, right by her ear, telling her, in tones as warm as fire, exactly the words she wanted to hear.”
“If there was no fear, how could there be comfort? Or courage?”
“There are other things I'd rather do when I'm alone with you."
Time to step off the edge. "Then do them.”
“She'd survived the outside. She'd survived the Aether and cannibals and wolves. She knew how to love now, and how to let go. Whatever came next, she would survive it, too”
“Roar leaned across the table and smiled at her seductively, his dark hair falling into his eyes. 'When you say everything happens in the Realms, do you mean everything?'
Aria laughed nervously.'Yes. Especially that.There are no risks in the Realms.'
Roar's smile widened. 'You simply think it and it happens? And it
actually feels real?'
'Why are we talking about this?'
'I need a Smarteye,' he said.”
“She’d fallen into a deep silence once, when the sun appeared, and it was then he’d wondered most what she was thinking.”
“It's time, Perry". He let her go. She took a step back, taking in his face one last time. His green eyes. The bend in his nose and the scars on his cheek. All the tiny inperfections that made him beautiful. Without a word, she turned and made her way downhill.”
“Your voice sounds like a midnight fire. All warm and worn in and golden. I could listen to you talk forever."
"I could never do that".
She laughed at him. He brought his lips to her ear.
"Your scent is like violets early in spring," he whispered. Then he laughed at himself because though it was true, he sounded like the worst kind of fool.”
“Aria... everyone feels lost and low. It's how a person acts that makes them different”
“Because people are more than emotions. People have thoughts and reasons for doing things.”
“It's hard to follow a person's logic if you don't know how they feel.”
“The more I try to catch up, the farther I fall behind.”
“How do you restart something that had never been turned off?”
“Oh, this was champ. She’d found herself a Savage prince. Don’t laugh, she told herself. Don’t laugh, Aria.”
“He kissed her slowly. Everything went slowly so he could follow her temper, and search into her eyes. When they joined, her scent was brave and strong and certain. Perry took it into himself, breathing her breath, feeling what she felt. He'd never known anything as right.”
“He watched as she pressed the berry to her lower lip. He kept looking at her mouth after she'd done it. He knew he should look away, but he couldn't. "Right. Good. If there's no stinging, you'd put it to your tongue."
Perry shot to his feet before he finished the words, nearly tripping over himself. He ran a hand over his head, feeling skitty, like he needed to laugh or run or do something. He picked up a stone and tossed it into the creek, trying to get the image of her tasting the berry out of his mind.”
“She found it curious and frightening that she could deeply dislike someone she didn’t even know. It wasn’t her. At least, it wasn’t how she used to be.”
“His hand snapped shut over the device and then he crossed his arms. Aria stared in horror. Her Smarteye was buried in a Neanderthal’s armpit.”
“Perry. I want to see your back."
Another surprise, but he nodded and turned away. Dropped his head forward and took the moment to try and calm his breath. He jerked when she traced the shape of the wings on his skin, a groan sliding out of him. Perry silently cursed himself. He couldn't have sounded more savage if he'd tried.
"Sorry," she whispered...
"He's magnificent. Like you," she added softly.
That was what did it.”
“She knew how to put one foot in front of the other even when every step hurt. And she knew there was pain in the journey, but there was also great beauty. She'd seen it standing on rooftops and in green eyes and in the smallest, ugliest rock.”
“Without thinking, he reached for her hand. Tucked it against her chest, feeling that was where it should be. Perry's heart slammed against his ribs. She had to feel it.”
“Can you believe I have a favorite cave?”
“That was my first kiss," she said. "My first real one."
He brought his head close, resting his forehead on hers. Blond waves fell around her face, soft against her cheeks. His chest rose and fell as he drew in a breath. "Felt like the first real one for me, too.”
“And in life, at least her new life, chances were the best she could hope for. They were like her rocks. Imperfect and surprising and maybe better in the long run than certainties. Chances, she thought, WERE life.”
“And it's always better, isn't it, when you discover answers on your own?”
“He had done the right thing and that was what counted. That was the best you could do in life. How others took it was beyond his control.”
“None of us had normal childhoods," Sloane said quietly. "If we had, we wouldn't be Naturals.”
“You got dealt some crappy cards. But you're the one who has to decide how to play them.”
“Imagine: You've spent all day traipsing around London, lost in a maze of chaos, trying to find a hidden illusion; you've been living on hope, ignoring reality, fueled only by feelings you don't understand. You've been looking for a dream, never truly believing you'd find it, but now - incredibly - you have. It's right there in front of you - just behind that off-white door. It's there...”
“Indeed we all try to raise our children as if our past experiences are important for their future, but they rarely are.”
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