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She Didnʹt Know If She Could Carry On By Herself, But Then, She Realized That If This Wasnʹt A Dream—and Dear God, Did It Feel Real—there Was No Magic ʺstopʺ In Real Life. If She Couldnʹt Deal With Loneliness In A Dream, She Never Would Be Able To While Waking.

-Richelle Mead

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She Didnʹt Know If

Richelle Mead

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She Didnʹt Know If She Could Carry On By Herself, But Then, She Realized That If This Wasnʹt A Dream—and Dear God, Did It Feel Real—there Was No Magic ʺstopʺ In Real Life. If She Couldnʹt Deal With Loneliness In A Dream, She Never Would Be Able To While Waking.

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Note Even Moroi Give Licenses To Infants, Sage.

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Security Systems

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I Stared. "canadian Satanists? You're Sending Me To A Group Of Canadian Satanists?

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My Boyfriend Was Insanely Sexy, Vampire Or Not, And I Couldn't Keep My Hands Off Him.

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Oh My God," He Said. "a Kind Word From Rose Hathaway. I Can Die A Happy Man.

I Love Pity Parties. I Wish I'd Brought Hats.

Adrian Tipped My Face Up Toward His And Kissed Me. Like Always, The World Around Me Stopped Moving. No, The World Became Adrian, Only Adrian.

To Thetis, Long Overdue, I Know, But Every Often The Things We Most Desire Come Only After Much Patience And Struggle. That Is A Human Truth, I Think. Even Peleus Knew That. -seth

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Considering Adrian Had Once Gotten Bored While Reading While Reading A Particularly Long Menu, I Had A Hard Time Imagining He'd Read The Hugo Book In Any Language.

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I Spent The Rest Of The Day Doing Little More Than That. I Skipped Dinner. I Shed A Few Tears. But Mostly, I Just Sat On My Bed Thinking And Growing More And More Depressed. I Also Discovered The Only Thing Worse Than Imagining Dimitri And Tasha Together Was Remembering When He And I Had Been Together. He Would Never Touch Me Again Like That, Never Kiss Me Again.

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You’re A Solid Person, Sage. You’re Easy On The Eyes, If A Little Skinny, And Your Ability To Memorize Useless Information Is Going To Totally Hook In Some Guy.

I Had A Standing Arrangement With God: I'd Agree To Believe In Him—barely—so Long As He Let Me Sleep In On Sundays.

I Hoped Lissa Remained The Only One With A Surprise Sibling.

I Sighed And Gestured Toward Him. "i'll Take Him." In An Undertone, I Added, "don't Let Me Down, Zmey.

Would He Have Said He Loved Me? I Would Ask Myself That For The Rest Of My Life.

Dimitri Belikov

Adrian Gave The Picture A Nod Of Approval Before Handing Me The Phone. "okay, Even I Can Admit That's Pretty Cute." I Found Myself Overanalyzing The Comment. What Had He Meant In Saying 'even He' Could Admit It? That I Was Cute For A Human? Or That I Had Just Met Some Kind Of Adrian Hot-girl Criteria?

There’s A Big Difference Between Death Threats And Love Letters–even If The Person Writing The Death Threats Still Claims To Actually Love You. Of Course, Considering I Once Tried To Kill Someone I Loved, Maybe I Had No Right To Judge.

Knowing Lissa Missed Me Hurt Almost More Than If She'd Completely Written Me Off. I'd Never Wanted To Hurt Her. Even When I'd Resented Her For Feeling Like She Was Controlling My Life, I'd Never Hated Her. I Loved Her Like A Sister And Couldn't Stand The Thought Of Her Suffering Now On My Behalf. How Had Things Gotten So Screwed Up Between Us?

Your Eyes... They're Beautiful.you're Beautiful." *sigh*

Despite His Cynical Exterior, He Had A Good Heart-and Lissa Owned Most Of It.

ʺwe Need Someone To Get The Roomʹs Attention,ʺ I Said. ʺsomeone Not Afraid To Make A Spectacle—i Mean, Besides Me, Of Course.ʺ

Why Not See Which Is Brighter: Your Aura Or The Sun?

God, I Got Lucky. If I'd Hurt It, It Would Have Put Me Out Of Practice For A While.” Smiling, He Returned To His Chair. "i Know. You Kept Telling Me That While I Was Carrying You. You Were Very Upset.” "you...you Carried Me Here?” "after We Broke The Bench Apart And Freed Your Foot.” Man. I'd Missed Out On A Lot. The Only Thing Better Than Imagining Dimitri Carrying Me In His Arms Was Imagining Him Shirtless While Carrying Me In His Arms.

There's A Guy Chasing Me!" I Called As I Headed Out The Door.

At The Same Time, We Both Pulled Back Briefly Still Oh So Close. Everything In The Word Rested On That Moment. "we Can't..." He Told Me. "i Know," I Agreed. Then His Mouth Was On Mine Again, And This Time I Knew There Would Be No Turning Back.

‎keep Your Love, I Have No Use For It Anymore.

Maybe Everyone Else Thinks Your Aversion To Food Is Cute- But Not Me. I've Watched You Watch Jill. Here's Some Tough Love: You Will Never, Ever Have Her Body. Ever. It's Impossible. She's Moroi. You're Human. That's Biology. You Have A Great One, One That Most Humans Would Kill For- And You'd Look Even Better If You Put On A Little Weight. Five Pounds Would Be A Good Start. Hide The Ribs. Get A Bigger Bra Size

The Alchemists’ Beliefs Are My Beliefs,” I Say Quickly. She Arched An Eyebrow. “are They? I Would Hope Your Beliefs Would Be Your Beliefs.” I’d Never Thought About It That Way Before, But I Suddenly Hoped Desperately That Her Words Were True.

I Know I’m Not Supposed To Say This, But I Love You.

Dierdre The Counselor Must Not Have Had Much Of A Life, Because She Scheduled Our Next Appointment On A Sunday. I Wasn't So Thrilled About It, Seeing As It Wasn't Just My Day Off-it Was Also The Day My Friends Had Off. Orders Were Orders, However, So I Grudgingly Showed Up.

A Gun I Had Been Brought Down By A Gun. It Was Practically Comical. Cheaters, I Thought. I’d Spent My Life Focusing On Hand To Hand Combat, Learning To Dodge Fangs And Powerful Hands That Could Snap My Neck. A Gun? It Was So… Well, Easy. Should I Be Insulted? I Didn’t Know. Did It Matter? I Didn’t Know That Either. All I Knew In That Moment Was That I Was Going To Die, Regardless.

Sleep With Seth Mortensen? Good Grief. It Was The Most Preposterous Thing I'd Ever Heard. It Was Appalling. If I Absorbed His Life Force, There Was No Telling How Long It'd Be Until His Next Book Came Out.

I Eyed Dimitri, Recalling A Shadow In My Periphery Back In The Ballroom. "you Followed When I Jumped In Front Of Lissa, Didn't You? Who Were You Going For? Me Or Her?" He Studied Me For Several Long Seconds. He Could Have Lied. He Could Have Given The Easy Answer By Saying He'd Intended To Push Both Of Us Out Of The Way-if That Was Even Possible, Which I Didn't Recall. But Dimitri Didn't Lie. "i Don't Know, Roza. I Don't Know.

Hope Implies That You Think You Have A Chance At Something.

The Future Is Always Changing. If We Had No Choices, There'd Be No Point In Living.

Life And Death Were So Unpredictable. So Close To Each Other. We Existed Moment To Moment, Never Knowing Who Would Be The Next To Leave The World. I Was Still In It, Barely, And As I Looked Up From The Ashes, Everything Around Me Seemed So Sweet And So Beautiful. The Trees. The Stars. The Moon. I Was Alive -- And I Was Glad I Was.

Hey, If You'd Wanted To Avoid 'this,' You Shouldn't Have Lured Me Last Night. Now It's Too Late. You Might As Well Avoid The Long, Drawn-out Pain And Get It Over With Quickly. Sort Of Like Taking Off A Band-aid. Or Cutting Off A Limb." "wow, Who Says There's No Romance Left In The World?

We Can Be Together, Rose. Soon. We're Almost There. And Nothing Will Ever Keep Us Apart.

I Wanted Someone A Little More Approachable," I Explained. "what, Like Captain Mctropicalshorts Back There? Where On Earth Did You Find Him Anyway?" "just Did An Internet Search." Feeling A Need To Defend My Research, I Added, "he Comes Highly Recommended." "by Who? Long John Silver?

More Than His Exterior Hit Me. I Felt Warm And Safe Just Being With Him. He Brought Comfort After My Terrible Day. So Often With Other People I Felt A Need To Be Center Of Attention, To Be Funny And Always Have Something Clever To Say. It Was A Habit I Needed To Shake. But With Him I Never Felt Like I Had To Be Anything More Than What I Already Was. I Didn’t Have To Entertain Him Or Think Up Jokes Or Even Flirt. It Was Enough To Just Be Together, To Be So Completely Comfortable In Each Other’s Presence—we Lost All Sense Of Self-consciousness.

Everything's About My Personal Entertainment. The World Is My Stage. Keep It Up- You're Becoming A Star Performer In The Show.

What Hope Is There?" I Asked. "if Even Angels Fall, What Hope Is There For The Rest Of Us?

But I’m Just Going To Be Out There Having A Tea Party With Her Cats Or Whatever It Is She Has In Mind." Adrian

Maybe Under All That Guilt And Certainty That He Couldn't Love Again, He Still Wanted Me. I Would Have Liked To Have Found Out. But I Didn't Have The Time. Instead, I Punched Him.

Did You Follow Me From The Party?" "yes" "i Didn't Even Know You Were There." His Dark Clothes Indicated He Must Have Been On Guardian Duty At The Party. "so You Saw The Illustrious Janine Cause A Commotion By Dragging Me Out." "it Wasn't A Commotion. Hardly Anyone Noticed. I Saw Because I Was Watching You.

Look, Rose. You Don't Have To Keep Up With The Hard-to-get Thing. You Already Got Me.

We Can't Stop Living Because Other People Are Dead.

Right," I Scoffed, "alpha Yam Ergo." Adrian Nodded Solemnly. "a Very Old And Prestigious Society." "i've Never Heard Of Them," Said The Girl Who'd Claimed The First Shirt. "they Don't Let Many People In," He Said. In White Paint, He Wrote His Fake Fraternity's Initials: Aye. "isn't That What Pirates Say?" Asked One Of The Girls. "well, The Alpha Yams Have Nautical Origins," He Explained. To My Horror He Began Painting A Pirate Skeleton Riding A Motorcycle. "oh, No," I Groaned. "not The Tattoo." "it's Our Logo," He Said.

„ma'am?“ She Glanced Up At Me, Pushing Her Glasses Up Her Nose As She Did. “hmm? Oh, I Remember You. Miss Melbourne.“ “melrose,“ I Corrected. “are You Sure? I Could've Sworn You Were Named After Someplace In Australia.“ „well, My First Name Is Sydney,“ I Said, Not Sure If I Should Be Encouraging Her.

Couldn't Lissa Have Healed That Black Eye Away?" "its A Badge Of Honor. Makes Me Seem Manly.

Goodbye. Thanks For Your Help... I... I'll Miss You. -rose To Mason

I Don’t Know, Sage. You Threw Yourself In The Line Of Pepper Spray For Me. You Must Like Me Just A Little Bit.” “i— I Figured It’d Be A Shame To Ruin Your Pretty Face,” I Stammered.

Naptime,ʺ Said Christian, Leading Her Toward The Bed. ʺi Still Need A Shower.ʺ ʺsleep First. Shower Later.ʺ He Pulled Back The Covers. ʺiʹll Sleep With You.ʺ ʺsleep Or Sleep?ʺ She Asked Dryly, Sliding Gratefully Into Bed. ʺreal Sleep. You Need It.ʺ He Crawled In Beside Her, Spooning Against Her And Resting His Face On Her Shoulder. ʺof Course, Afterward, If You Want To Conduct Any Official Council Business...ʺ ʺi Swear, If You Say ‘little Dragomirs,ʹ You Can Sleep In The Hall.

Our Lips Met Hungrily, And His Clever Artistic Hands Wrapped Around My Hips. A Sudden Buzz From My Regular Cell Phone Startled Me From The Kissing. "don't," Said Adrian, His Eyes Ablaze And Breathing Ragged. "what If There's A Crisis At School?" I Asked. "what If Angeline 'accidentally' Stole One Of The Campus Buses And Drove It Into The Library?" "why Would She Do That?" "are You Saying She Wouldn't?" He Sighed. "go Check It.

No, I Can Just Read You. Finally. I Can't Believe How Blind I Was. I Can't Believe I Never Noticed. Victor's Comment...he Was Right." She Glanced Off At The Sunset, Then Turned Her Gaze Back On Me. A Flash Of Anger, Both In Her Feelings And Her Eyes, Hit Me. "why Didn't You Tell Me?" She Cried. "why Didn't You Tell Me You Loved Dimitri?

He Has No Right To Threaten My Boyfriends. I'm Eighteen. An Adult. I Don't Need His Help. I Can Threaten My Boyfriends Myself.

For Every Bad Thing In Life, There Are More Good Things To Tip The Balance.

After The Bitching I'd Done To Abe About Going To Remote, Crappy Places, I Should Have Been Excited About The Prospect Of Going To Sin City.

Another Power I Don't Have," Said Lissa Ruefully. I Grinned. "hey, I Have Yet To Meet Any Spirit User Who Can Throw A Punch Like You Can. That Was Poetry In Motion, Liss." She Groaned.

I Saw Endless Depths Of Brown, The Depths I'd Fallen Into So Many Times. No Red Rings. Dimitri...was Not A Strigoi. And He Was Weeping.

You See Something You Like?" I Asked, Echoing Something I'd Said To Him Ling Ago, When He'd Caught Me In A Compromising Position At School. "lots," He Said. -rose (roza) To Dimitri

When I Look Into His Eyes, I Could See Without A Doubt That He Loved Me More Than Anyone Else In The World, That I Was His Salvation, The Same Way That He Was Mine.

You And Me Are Going To Have So Much Fun, Rose. Picking Out Curtains, Doing Each Other's Hair, Telling Ghost Stories.

Roza, My Self-control Is Ten Times Stronger Than Yours." I Opened My Eyes, Shifting To Look Into His. I Brushed His Hair Back And Smiled, Certain My Heart Would Expand And Expand Until There Was Nothing Left Of Me. "oh Yeah? That's Not The Impression I Just Got." "wait Until Next Time," He Warned. "i'll Do Things That'll Make You Lose Control Within Seconds.

Adrian Ordered A Martini, Earning Disapproving Looks From His Father And Me. "it's Barely Noon," Said Nathan. "i Know," Said Adrian. "i'm Surprised I Held Out That Long Too.

Good Can Still Exist When Bad Things Happen, Just As Evil Persists When Good Things Happen.” - Carter To Georgina

When Bad Things Happen

The Question Was Which Spell Did I Make? Which Did I Have Time To Make? The Answer Was Eerily Simple. I Had Time To Make All Of Them.

There Was No "me" In Alchemy. Well, Phonetically There Was, But That Wasn't The Point.

You're A Dhampir," I Breathed. "so Are You." He Teased. "yeah, But I Just Thought—" "that I Was Human? Because Of The Bite Marks?" "yeah." I Admitted, No Point In Lying. "we All Have To Survive," He Said "and Dhamphirs Are Good At Figuring Ways Out To.

Your Truths Are Worse Than Your Lies.

He's Been Out For A While," She Said. "you Ready To Take A Break?" Hopper Could Exist In This Living Form Or Be Transformed Into A Small Statue, Which Helped Avoid Uncomfortable Questions When People Came By. Only She Could Transform Him Though. "yeah. He Keeps Trying To Eat My Paints. And I Don't Want Him To Watch Me Kiss You Goodbye.

I Didn’t Care About Anything Except Her And The Way Touching Her Drove Me Wild, Even As Her Calm And Steady Presence Soothed The Storms That Raged Within Me.

What's Going On?" I Sat Down On The Bed And Finished The Last Of The Scone. "bad Things," She Said Mischievously. "you'll Approve.

What's Your Name?" What?" I Asked, Squinting At The Light. Your Name." I Reconized Dr. Olendzki Peering Over Me. You Know My Name." I Want You To Tell Me." Rose. Rose Hathaway." Do You Know Your Birthday?" Of Course I Do. Why Are You Asking Me Such Stupid Things? Did You Lose My Records?" Dr. Olendzki Gave An Exasperated Sigh And Walked Off, Taking The Annoying Light With Her. "i Think She's Fine.

You Were Totally Unprepared For Her.” “that's For Damned Sure.

Don't Worry, Little Dhampir. You Might Be Surrounded By Clouds, But You'll Always Be Like Sunshine To Me.

Whatever Happened To The Dragon?" I Mustered My Primmest Tone. "he Has A Name, You Know." Adrian Pulled Back And Gave Me A Curious Look. "i Didn't Know, Actually. What'd You Decide On?" "hopper" When Adrian Laughed, I Added "best Rabbit Ever. He'd Be Proud To Know His Name Is Being Passed On." "yes, I'm Sure He Would. Did You Name The Mustang Too?" "i Think You Mean The Ivashkinator." He Stared At Me In Wonder. "i Told You I Loved You, Right? "yes," I Assured Him. "many Times

I Can't Believe You've Been Here All Day And Didn't Come Visit. ", Tatiana Said. "aw, I Figured You Had More Important Things To Do Than See Me, " Adrian Told Her. "besides, I Quit Smoking, So Now We Won't Be Able To Go Sneak Cigarettes Out Behind The Throne Room Together. " "adrian!" Chastised Nathan, Turning Bright Red. It Occurred To Me Then That I Could Have Based A Drinking Game Around How Many Times He Exclaimed His Son's Name Disapprovingly.

As He Looked At Me, He Seemed To Send A Message Of His Own: That He Would Still Fight For Me, That He Would Fight Until He Collapsed To Keep Them From Taking Me.

He Shrugged. "the Same As Any Other. It's A Way To Make People Feel Better About Themselves. Everyone Likes Feeling Special. Being Part Of An Elite Group Is A Way To Do That." "but You Weren't Part Of It?" "no Need. I Already Know I'm Special.

You Can Put On As Many Airs As You Want, But In The End, That Dress Is The Same As You: An Old, Cheap Design Dressed Up To Look Like Its Worth More Than It Is.

Donʹt Worry Now About What You Canʹt Change. Rest When You Can So Youʹll Be Ready For Tomorrowʹs Battles

He Was Too Perfect, Despite Being One Of The Most Imperfect People I Knew.

You Made Your Own Jean Shorts...with A Butter Knife?

Look, Don’t Get Me Wrong. I Worship The Ground This Guy Walks On. I’m Excited To Meet Him Tonight. I’m Dying To Meet Him Tonight. If He Wanted To Carry Me Off And Make Me His Love Slave, I’d Do It, So Long As I Got Advance Copies Of His Books.

Melbourne, I Always Knew You'd Need To Learn About This Kind Of Thing. I 'd Just Kind Of Hoped You'd Learn It On A Real Guy.

If You Touch Me, I Said Pleasantly, "i'll Provide You With The Ability To See If You Can Heal Yourself. Then We'd See How Bad Ass You Really Are."

You Should Make Her Call You ‘miss Georgina,’” Added Hugh With A Mocking Southern Drawl. “or At Least ‘ma’am.’” Niphon’s Presence And Jerome’s Lecture Had Put Me In A Grouchy Mood. “i’m Not Doing Any Mentoring. She’s So Gungho To Take On The World’s Male Population, She Doesn’t Even Need Me.” The Three Men Exchanged More Smirks. Cody Made Some Hissing And Meowing Sounds, Scratching At The Air. "this Isn’t Funny,” I Said. "sure It Is,” Said Cody.

I Certainly Hadn't Expected To Walk Away From Today's Trip With Joint Custody Of A Miniature Dragon.

Oh," He Said To Kiyo, Voice Completely Devoid Of Emotion. "i See. It's Your Turn Again.

It Had To Be One Of The Weirdest Things In The Universe That Lissa Had Never Come Close To Suspecting My Feelings For Dimitri But That Adrian Had Figured It Out.

Dmitri Was At A Total Loss. It Was A Common Reaction For People When I Agreed To Do Something Reasonable.

There's Nothing Worse Than Waiting And Not Knowing What'll Happen To You. Your Own Imagination Can Be Crueler Than Any Captor.

Who... Who Are You?' I Asked At Last. It Was True. I Had Left A Body In The Park, But Seriously, What Was I Supposed To Do? Drag Him Back To My Hotel And Tell My Bellhop My Friend Had Had Too Much To Drink?

If We Could Manage Any Sort Of Trust Again... Well. That Would Make Me Happier Than You Can Imagine

There Were Drinks And Food In Full Force, And Some Moroi Guy Had A Guitar Out And Was Trying To Impress Girls With His Musical Skills—which Were Nonexistent. In Fact, His Music Was So Awful That He Might Have Discovered A New Way To Kill Strigoi.

She Studied Him For A Few More Seconds. “you Look Too Pretty To Be Useful.” I Gasped In Spite Of Myself. Adrian Chuckled And Shook Her Hand. “truer Words Were Never Spoken,” He Said.

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Earl Nightingale

James M. Barrie

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