Where are you guys getting all of this?" I asked. "What does it matter if I - oh come on."
We'd...
RICHELLE MEAD Screw you," I told him in a low voice.
"Are you offering?”
"From what I've heard, there ...
RICHELLE MEAD My muscles informed me they did not want to go through any more exercise today. So I suggest that ma...
RICHELLE MEAD I had a standing arrangement with God: I'd agree to believe in him—barely—so long as he let me s...
RICHELLE MEAD Come on, Hathaway," he said, taking my arm. "You can be my partner. Let’s see what you’ve been d...
RICHELLE MEAD Oh, so that's why you're up here. For a pity party."

"This isn't a joke. I'm serious." I ...
RICHELLE MEAD I like him."

"Like or like?

"Oh, there's a difference?
RICHELLE MEAD The incident with Dawn hadn't been one of my finer moments. I honestly hadn't expected to break any ...
RICHELLE MEAD I didn't like having reasonable arguments thrown at me.
RICHELLE MEAD He watched as I slipped one of the shoes on. "You have a guardian angel."
"I don't believe in a...
RICHELLE MEAD I'm really not good with impulse control.
RICHELLE MEAD I fought against her, trying to mount some kind of defense, but it was like fighting Dimitri on crac...
RICHELLE MEAD I get in that kind of situation all the time, Comrade. It's not a big deal." Anger replaced my fear....
RICHELLE MEAD Taking a deep breathe, I made one of the hardest decisions of my life.
I walked away.
RICHELLE MEAD Well he didn't treat my mother very well. He did some horrible things."
"Like..." I hesitated. ...
RICHELLE MEAD I crossed my arms over my chest. "Are you lost, little girl? The elementary school's over on west ca...
RICHELLE MEAD When I saw you fall..."
"You thought, 'Wow, she's a loser.
RICHELLE MEAD The greatest and most powerful revolutions often start very quietly, hidden in the shadows. Remember...
RICHELLE MEAD A ghostly smile flickered across his face. "If you weren't so psychotic, you'd be fun to hang around...
RICHELLE MEAD Hey Mason, wipe the drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own ...
RICHELLE MEAD Lissa and I had been friends ever since kindergarten, when our teacher had paired us up together for...
RICHELLE MEAD You…you got rid of that dress fast," I pointed out between heavy breaths. "I thought you liked it....
RICHELLE MEAD Wow." I hadn't thought Dimitri could be any cooler, but I was wrong. "You beat up your dad. I mean, ...
RICHELLE MEAD Dimitri: "She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential—"
Rose: "Wild and dis...
RICHELLE MEAD The only thing better than imagining Dimitri carrying me in his arms was imagining him shirtless whi...
RICHELLE MEAD The spell. Victor said you had to want me... to care about me... for it to work." When he didn't say...
RICHELLE MEAD He stepped back and threw his arms out.
"I'm always crazy around you Rose. Here, I'm going to w...
RICHELLE MEAD I nearly dropped the plate I held. "You've asked me out tons of times."

"Not really. I've...
RICHELLE MEAD He'd written me up a proposal of why dating him was a sound decision. It had included things like "I...
RICHELLE MEAD Hey, he's awesome. A little unstable, but awesome. We got along great." Adrian opened the door to th...
RICHELLE MEAD Piece of Heaven?"

"No, that other place I'm going to go to for thinking what I'm thinkin...
RICHELLE MEAD I also never would have imagined I'd quote back a church lesson, but when the rest of the crowd stoo...
RICHELLE MEAD Do you think I'm pretty?
I think you're beautiful
Beautiful?
You are so beautiful, it...
RICHELLE MEAD Only a true best friend can protect you from your immortal enemies.
RICHELLE MEAD And than suddenly he was there, charging down the hallway like death in a cowboy duster.
RICHELLE MEAD It's okay," I said soothingly. "You're just getting your stride back. Once you're up to full power, ...
RICHELLE MEAD You can't force love, I realized. It's there or it isn't. If it's not there, you've got to be able t...
RICHELLE MEAD I sprang toward him with the stake, hoping to catch him by surprise. But Dimitri was hard to catch b...
RICHELLE MEAD What's up?" I asked.

You tell me," he said. "You were the one about ready to start making...
RICHELLE MEAD Sometimes talking to you is like talking to myself: pretty damned annoying.
RICHELLE MEAD What’s going on?” he demanded.
“The usual, old man,” I replied cheerily. “Danger, ins...
RICHELLE MEAD Most fathers don't threaten to disembowel their daughter's boyfriends."

"That's not true...
RICHELLE MEAD You might not believe this, but there is no one like her at this school."

"Oh I b...
RICHELLE MEAD Our lips met hungrily, and his clever artistic hands wrapped around my hips. A sudden buzz from my r...
RICHELLE MEAD What's that?" he asked, when I stood beside him again.

"Halos," I said with a grin. "For ...
RICHELLE MEAD Whatever happened to the dragon?"

I mustered my primmest tone. "He has a name, you know."...
RICHELLE MEAD She says you're not awake until you're actually out of bed and standing up.
RICHELLE MEAD Adrian, I'm on a date. Why are you here? On my car?
RICHELLE MEAD Your... Your aura. It's... amazing. It's shining. I mean, it always shines, but today... Well I've n...
RICHELLE MEAD Then the best thing I can do is—"

He froze. The brown eyes that had been narrowed with...
RICHELLE MEAD Sometimes it's worth lingering on the journey for a while before getting to the destination.
RICHELLE MEAD If I let myself love you, I won't throw myself in front of her. I'll throw myself in front of you.
RICHELLE MEAD Stop fighting me!" he said, trying to pull on the arm he held.

He was in a precarious pos...
RICHELLE MEAD What If Following Her Heart
Means Rose Could Lose Her
Best Friend Forever?
RICHELLE MEAD Do not do that again," he said stiffly.
"Don't kiss me back then," I retorted.
He stared a...
RICHELLE MEAD He was too perfect, despite being one of the most imperfect people I knew.
RICHELLE MEAD With a few swift steps, Adrian stood in front of me again. The wall was only a couple inches behind ...
RICHELLE MEAD But each time you use spirit, you're more likely to go crazy.”
“Already crazy about you, Sa...
RICHELLE MEAD Wait,” he said. “That’s not a word.”

I looked down to where, in a moment of despe...
RICHELLE MEAD Are you in a suit?' I managed at last, my voice choking up. 'You didn’t have to dress up for me.'<...
RICHELLE MEAD Look, Sage. I don't know much about chemistry or computer hacking or photosynthery, but this is some...
RICHELLE MEAD So many details came into focus. The shape of his lips, the line of his neck. “I’m not dangerous...
RICHELLE MEAD My nails dug into his back, and he trailed his lips down the edge of my chin, down the center of my ...
RICHELLE MEAD I’m not a warrior or a goddess,” I said at last.

Adrian leaned closer. “As far as I...
RICHELLE MEAD I won’t lie. Walking into a room and seeing your girlfriend reading a baby-name book can kind of m...
RICHELLE MEAD Because I’ve got a lot more terms of endearment to use. Honey pie. Sugarplum. Bread pudding."
RICHELLE MEAD Don’t take the high ground and assume you already know what you’ll do. The truth is, when it com...
RICHELLE MEAD Really, Sage? A date?”
I sighed. “Yes, Adrian. A date.”
“A real date. Not, like, d...
RICHELLE MEAD You're not as much of a lost cause as she was. I mean, with her, I had to overcome her deep, epic lo...
RICHELLE MEAD I decided the Alchemists needed an entire department devoted to handling Adrian Ivashkov.
RICHELLE MEAD I tried to be a better person for her– but it was to impress her, to get her to want me. But when ...
RICHELLE MEAD Takes a lot of tries before you hit perfection." He paused to reconsider that. "Well, except for my ...
RICHELLE MEAD How do you know if a demon is lying? His lips are moving.
RICHELLE MEAD I don't balance you like you need."
"What the hell does that mean?" he exclaimed.
My heart...
RICHELLE MEAD I used to think you were weak and just didn't fight back ... but now, honestly, I think you're actua...
RICHELLE MEAD The center will hold.”

“How do you know?”

“Because we are the...
RICHELLE MEAD My God, Sage. Your eyes. How have I never noticed them?"

That uncomfortable feeling was s...
RICHELLE MEAD Hey, if you'd wanted to avoid 'this,' you shouldn't have lured me last night. Now it's too late. You...
RICHELLE MEAD You've always been my equal, Roza.
RICHELLE MEAD We can't..." he told me.
"I know," I agreed.

Then his mouth was on mine again, and t...
RICHELLE MEAD You will lose what you value most, so treasure it while you can.
RICHELLE MEAD I’d said it before and meant it: Alive or undead, the love of my life was a badass.
RICHELLE MEAD Things on the essential list: vodka, Nine Inch Nails, a steady supply of mortal men, and an all-purp...
RICHELLE MEAD Okay, God, I thought. Get me out of this and I’ll stop my half-assed church-going ways. You got me...
RICHELLE MEAD This college would probably have the same problem as the last one did."
I frowned, "What's that...
RICHELLE MEAD So...Mason, Eddie, and Mia went to Spokane to hunt Strigoi?"
"Yes."
"Holy shit. Why didn't...
RICHELLE MEAD ARE YOU CRAZY?" I ASKED.
He gave me the same wordless look he always did when I asked that que...
RICHELLE MEAD Dorian used to watch you like a starving man who wants meat. Now he looks at you like he wants secon...
RICHELLE MEAD I stopped. She was bleeding after all. Perfect lines crossed her wrists, not near any crucial veins,...
RICHELLE MEAD How come when mortals want things, their only option is to make a deal with Hell and sell their soul...
RICHELLE MEAD You know I love you, right?” The urge to kiss her goodbye was so strong that I almost broke our ru...
RICHELLE MEAD Yet, it had been Dimitri’s gentleness and thoughtfulness mixed with that deadliness that made him ...
RICHELLE MEAD How do you feel right now?"
"I hurt like hell."
"You'll feel worse tomorrow."
"So?"<...
RICHELLE MEAD Do you know anything about silent films?"
"Sure," I said. "The first ones were developed in th...
RICHELLE MEAD Ah, well,ʺ said Abe, idly studying his fingertips. ʺI have it on good authority thereʹs going to ...
RICHELLE MEAD A gun I had been brought down by a gun. It was practically comical. Cheaters, I thought. I’d spent...
RICHELLE MEAD Do you know what I see in you now? The usual aura. A steady golden yellow, healthy and strong, with ...
RICHELLE MEAD I see how it is,” I snapped. “You were all in favor of me breaking the tattoo and thinking on my...
RICHELLE MEAD Because I can't help doing it," he said with a shrug. "And hey, if I keep loving you, maybe you'll e...
RICHELLE MEAD Not into older guys, huh?" asked Adrian once we were alone.
"You're imagining things," I said. ...
RICHELLE MEAD You forgot another lesson: Never turn your back until you know your enemy
is dead. Looks like w...
RICHELLE MEAD There's nothing worse than waiting and not knowing what'll happen to you. Your own imagination can b...
RICHELLE MEAD You know what we need?"

"A new plan?" asked Lissa.

"A miracle?" asked Eddie....
RICHELLE MEAD Well, that depends, I suppose. I heard someone once say that men dance the same way they have sex. S...
RICHELLE MEAD There are little gems all around us that can hold glimmers of inspiration.
RICHELLE MEAD I always love seeing what worries you. Strigoi? No. Questionable food? Yes.
RICHELLE MEAD Ah, my daughter,ʺ he said. ʺEighteen, and already youʹve been accused of murder, aided felons, an...
RICHELLE MEAD What hope is there?" I asked. "If even angels fall, what hope is there for the rest of us?
RICHELLE MEAD He's hot like, the kind of hot that makes you stop walking on the street and get hit by traffic.
RICHELLE MEAD You fixed yourself. You didn’t need me.”

“No, Sydney.” My voice was ragged. “I ...
RICHELLE MEAD It’s Adrian Ivashkov logic. Don’t try to understand it. Just roll with it.
RICHELLE MEAD No matter how long or how difficult, we will undo whatever that Moroi boy has done to you."
RICHELLE MEAD Centrum permanebit.
RICHELLE MEAD Whether it's simply some fierce animal joining of mates or a sublime merging of souls, she is mine, ...
RICHELLE MEAD Throughout history, people with new ideas—who think differently and try to change things—have al...
RICHELLE MEAD You're better than this. Better than whatever it is you're going to do now.
RICHELLE MEAD You see something you like?
RICHELLE MEAD I find more peace with you.
RICHELLE MEAD None of the bravado he usually showed was there. I guess there was "usually" and then there was bein...
RICHELLE MEAD What is it you’re interested in exactly?” the man asked
slowly. “Just the color?”
...
RICHELLE MEAD But I couldn't help myself, couldn't help the way I felt as I recalled the bliss and rush of a vampi...
RICHELLE MEAD Abe held my gaze a bit longer and then broke into an easy smile. ʺOf course, of course. This is a f...
RICHELLE MEAD I don’t belong to anyone. I make my own choices."
"And you’re with Adrian," said Dimitri.<...
RICHELLE MEAD Even I make mistakes." I put on my brash, overconfident face. "I know it's hard to believe—kind of...
RICHELLE MEAD Any life worth living is going to have risks
RICHELLE MEAD You're my flame in the dark. We chase away the shadows around each other.
RICHELLE MEAD I’m not dangerous,” I breathed.

He brought his face toward mine. “You are to me.”...
RICHELLE MEAD I'll just love you whether you want me to or not.
RICHELLE MEAD God might work on mysterious ways, but hell worked on efficient ones.
RICHELLE MEAD Adrian smiled and clasped my hands, taking a few steps toward me. "And as for who you are, you’re ...
RICHELLE MEAD Je t'aime Roza...je serais là pour toi. Je ne laisserais jamais rien t'arriver.
Et je ne laiss...
RICHELLE MEAD What were good and evil, really, but stupid categories? Stupid categories
that restricted peopl...
RICHELLE MEAD Did you just use juxtaposition in a sentence?"
"Yes, Sage" he said patiently. "We use it all t...
RICHELLE MEAD But what are loyalty and caring really worth?"
"To me? Everything.
RICHELLE MEAD I want her to be happy. It's worth sacrificing myself." -Eddie
RICHELLE MEAD He's been out for a while," she said. "You ready to take a break?"
Hopper could exist in this l...
RICHELLE MEAD and afterward, after it was done, it was too much, and I felt like I was going to... I don't know......
RICHELLE MEAD She felt so much emotionally, she would say, that a physical outlet - physical pain - was the only w...
RICHELLE MEAD Well...I'm on birth control"

I was drinking the water again and choked on it. It took sev...
RICHELLE MEAD I should go," I said thickly. "Let me know when you want to start practice again. And thanks for...t...
RICHELLE MEAD Call me crazy for asking this, but, um, are Lissa and I going with you?"
"No"
"No?"
"...
RICHELLE MEAD Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now," said Kirova, "Her sanctioned guardian."
RICHELLE MEAD You might be surrounded by clouds, but you'll be like sunshine to me.
RICHELLE MEAD You look confused," said Adrian.
I shook my head and sighed. "I think I'm just overthinking thi...
RICHELLE MEAD They’re waiting for you. Go on in.” Adrian leaned close to Keith’s ear and spoke in an ominous...
RICHELLE MEAD Relax, having kids is years away. But can you imagine? Your brains, my charm, our collective good lo...
RICHELLE MEAD I loved you!" he yelled. He jumped up out of his chair so quickly I never saw it coming. "I loved yo...
RICHELLE MEAD Who is he?"
"An idiot, said Adrian. "Makes me look like an upstanding member of society.
RICHELLE MEAD Yeah? Can you draw a skeleton riding a motorcycle with flames coming out of it? And I want a pirate ...
RICHELLE MEAD You, know I'm the Queen's favorite great nephew, Well, yeah I'm her only great nephew, but that's no...
RICHELLE MEAD Don't worry, little dhampir. You might be surrounded by clouds, but you'll always be like sunshine t...
RICHELLE MEAD You've asked me out tons of times."
"Not really. I've made inappropriate suggestions and freque...
RICHELLE MEAD I know how devastated you must be to miss me, but leave a message, and I'll try to ease your agony
RICHELLE MEAD That means nothing," said Abe with a shrug. I had a feeling that if I stood and suddenly confessed t...
RICHELLE MEAD Hello," I said stiffly.
His smile split into a full grin."So nice to see you again."
"Alwa...
RICHELLE MEAD You think that I'm so manipulative and scheming, Miss Sage? It's all for them. For my loved ones fir...
RICHELLE MEAD He smiled willingly. "Well, I always aim to help others in need."
"Yeah," a new voice suddenly ...
RICHELLE MEAD I expected Abe to yell for everyone to shut up or something like that. Of course, Nathan had been tr...
RICHELLE MEAD So, I want to try to spend more time with Dad."
Abe glanced at Rose."You see that?" He said. "N...
RICHELLE MEAD Who are these people?" my mother asked.
"Guess," replied Abe flatly. "Who would be foolish enou...
RICHELLE MEAD Well, well, well," I said. "If it isn't the people responsible for unleashing Rose Hathaway on the w...
RICHELLE MEAD Abe swept in, resplendent in a gray and yellow suit that coordinated bafflingly well with Adrian's p...
RICHELLE MEAD Ah, Belikov," said Abe, shaking Dimitri's hand. "I'd been hoping we'd run into each other. I'd reall...
RICHELLE MEAD I have it on good authority there's going to be a new 'gate' opening up soon over on the south side ...
RICHELLE MEAD She reached out and touched the bright colors of the cashmere scarf, her face filled with wonder as ...
RICHELLE MEAD Was this all part of your plan as my lawyer? I don't recall explosive escapes being part of the lega...
RICHELLE MEAD What have you gotten me into?" I hissed at him.
"Me? What have you gotten yourself into? Couldn...
RICHELLE MEAD Don't fight them anymore.I'm going to go with them."
"No. I won't let them take you."
"You...
RICHELLE MEAD Because it gives him and excuse to be around her--without making it look like he gave in first. That...
RICHELLE MEAD You approve?" I asked, spinning around.

He slipped an arm around my waist. "Unfortunately...
RICHELLE MEAD You forget: I have an addictive personality. I'm addicted to you. Somehow I think you could do all s...
RICHELLE MEAD Dimitri.
I hadn't known he was here. His eyes were on me too,dark and endless. Only I couldn't ...
RICHELLE MEAD I'm sorry."

"Be sorry you lied," he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Don't be sorr...
RICHELLE MEAD That," I told Tatiana, "is the most fucked-up law I have ever heard.
RICHELLE MEAD As he looked at me, he seemed to send a message of his own: that he would still fight for me, that h...
RICHELLE MEAD In an undertone, I murmured, "This isn't over. I won't give up on you."
"I've given up on you,"...
RICHELLE MEAD What are you, Rose Hathaway? Are you real? You're a dream within a dream. I'm afraid touching you wi...
RICHELLE MEAD Yeah, that's exactly what I want. To help my girlfriend get her old boyfriend back." He turned away ...
RICHELLE MEAD I'll find you. There is no place in this world you can hide from me. I'm watching.
Love, Dimitr...
RICHELLE MEAD Well, you've finally got a license to kill. It's about time.
RICHELLE MEAD You guys didn't really think you could go off on a party weekend without me, did you? Especially her...
RICHELLE MEAD I don't know. This college would probably have the same problem the last one did."

I frow...
RICHELLE MEAD If I could dream, I know I'd dream about you.I'd dream about the way you smell and how your dark hai...
RICHELLE MEAD Don't touch her," he growled.
There was a note in his voice that would of scared me if it had b...
RICHELLE MEAD Checkmate, bitch.
RICHELLE MEAD Damn it," I muttered.

"What?" asked Adrian.

"I hate when you're the sane one...
RICHELLE MEAD You're beautiful in battle," said Dimitri. His cold voice carried to me clearly, even above the roar...
RICHELLE MEAD Dreams, dreams. I walk them; I live them. I delude myself with them. It's a wonder I can spot realit...
RICHELLE MEAD He has no right to threaten my boyfriends. I'm eighteen. An adult. I don't need his help. I can thre...
RICHELLE MEAD Sweat isn't a bad thing," he said, leaning his head against the wall thoughtfully. "Some of the best...
RICHELLE MEAD It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. You can let go of the sword."
"I can’t. I can�...
RICHELLE MEAD That's pretty hot," he said.
"Punching me in the eye?"
"Well, no. Of course not. I meant t...
RICHELLE MEAD By the way, my name's Rose Hathaway. I'm seventeen years old, training to protect and kill vampires,...
RICHELLE MEAD Sometimes you wake up from a dream. Sometimes you wake up in a dream. And sometimes, every once in a...
RICHELLE MEAD what's your name?"
what?" i asked, squinting at the light.
your name." I reconized Dr. Ole...
RICHELLE MEAD Don't judge the past by the standards of today. It won't work. They're incompatible.
RICHELLE MEAD You were wrong. She really is the new general in town."
I smiled back, hoping he wasn't aware o...
RICHELLE MEAD And I thought the whole point of my education was that violence IS the answer.
RICHELLE MEAD I steeled myself for the next response. I knew it was going to be one of the Zen life lessons. [...]...
RICHELLE MEAD I love you, Roza." He kissed me again. "I'll always be here for you. I'm not going to let anything h...
RICHELLE MEAD