"Dammit, Gage. What the hell were you thinking?'I wasn't, he shouts. 'I was upset she wanted to stay, and I lost it.Ethan scoffs. 'Yeah, you did.'I'm an idiot.'Yeah, you are.'Shut up."

"I thought it was just him, she says, ignoring him. 'But then I found out I had the same effect, which means the Society did something to my head too.Gage's eyes close, horror washing over him. 'You really do love him.'Yes. No. I don't know. Her cries start up again, piercing his heart. 'Gage, help me.'I love you, he says, holding her closer. 'That's real."

"Terror builds inside him. The reality that tonight will be his last leaves a sour taste in his mouth. The Tainted will eat him, or on a more terrifying note-if that's even possible-maybe turn him into one of them. He'd rather die. But first, he'll take as many of those bastards out as he can. He throws his pack into the throng and jerks the blade from his belt. With a thudding heart, he slices through them. Blood arcs over him, onto him."

"Why aren't you smiling? Cameron asks. She picks up the Astropad and stops the video.'Because this is the beginning, not the end."

"It's complicated, I said in defense, hands going up to show surrender.'Talk slowly, Jenna retorted derisively.'Okay, I deserved that, I admitted."

"Oh yes. You've done a marvelous job of succeeding at failure."

"Her gaze travels back to the lie twisted in a tempest of mud and blood. She witnesses the culmination of her recklessness through a curved lens. Absorbed in life uncoiling, unaware of the world beyond this ridge. His light hair, darkened by rain. His stiff shoulders, full of pain. The vision poisoned with truth. With rust-stained hues."

"If this is my final moment, she says, 'then I can die happy.'Is that why you're saying all this? Because you think we're going to die?'I don't know, she admits.'Dammit, Summer. He clings to her waist, grip desperate, eyes heavy with torment. 'You're saying everything I want to hear, but I don't know if I can trust it."

"I can't-won't do that to him, Summer says sharply. 'Or to myself. Besides, your feelings for me aren't real. The Society did this to you. And if they did it to you, they probably scrambled my brain too. I can't trust that any of this is real."

"Burn wounds always elicited pain more terrible than anything else he had ever endured. He didn't relish the idea of forcing himself to suffer through such agony. But it was necessary. Earth depended on them taking possession of the key. 'It's the only way out, Andrew reminded him.'I understand that, but-'The trials we have faced thus far have been minimal, Andrew said, cutting off Sebastian's retort. 'What we seek is the key to the universe. You didn't expect it to be easy, did you?"

"Time is a thief. A killer. Time is killing him."

"A layer of fine powder coats his skin.'My lungs are turning to concrete, Rob wheezes, hacking and spitting.'So are my eyes. How do I always get roped into these things? Avery coughs and pats Rob's back in sympathy. A poof of dust billows from the contact."

"Why won't you look at me? she murmurs.He doesn't speak, seemingly at a loss for words.'It's my scars. It comes out as barely a whisper.Horror spasms across his face. 'What? No, he says, a bit breathless. 'You're beautiful. All of you."

"I blinked at him just casually talking about my new sex life with his genie-shiny head, and I knew at any second I would break into hysterics."

"The forecast for tonight is alcohol, low standards, and poor decisions."

"Dreams deny her the freedom she truly seeks. Darkness consumes. Leg muscles burn. She runs away, even while lost in the paradise of sleep. Gravity is a crushing force bearing down on her chest, shattering wings and refusing her flight. A whisper in her mind. You don't belong here."

"As he plods behind Cameron and Summer, he can't help but stare at Summer's exposed, glistening skin. His thoughts aren't depraved or even mildly in the splasher. In fact, he focuses on the marks of cruelty crisscrossing her back, stomach, and shoulders. He trudges along, drenched, feet swollen, constantly searching for even a hint of a breeze, all while being forced to stare at the alarming network of burns traversing Summer's delicate skin. This latticework of hate reveals a brutal truth-one he can scarcely comprehend. Yes, he's glimpsed and felt her scars before, but this is the first time he's really, truly seen the severity and extent of her life as a slave. With each step, he must digest the monstrosities of her past, leaving him utterly devastated."

"Help me out, I pleaded. 'You've left me alone to deal with this situation, and now we're being dealt the consequences.I swore I heard Tom growl. I actually pulled the phone from my ear to stare at it to make sure it hadn't turned into a tiny lion."

"Death was a leech; no matter which side of the spectrum you were on, either dead or alive, it fed. It either acquired your soul or devoured all your joyful emotions."

"Time keeps ticking away, unaware of the suffering each second generates. Time doesn't care, because if it did, it would've reversed."

"There's nothing to be scared of, right Akhol?He said nothing as he stepped toward the rushing water that rolled around a big rock and was swallowed whole by impenetrable darkness.'Right? Andrew repeated, his voice swallowed by the sound of rushing water.Akhol didn't respond again. He tapped a foot above the water before he stepped in and disappeared beneath the surface in one fluid motion."

"Gage is waiting on the makeshift bed when she enters the room she's been sleeping in. The small lantern in the corner barely lights his features. His shoulders are hunched, his hands clasped together before him, and when he looks up, his face is downcast. There are a number of reasons why he would look this way, but the worst possible thing comes to mind first.Someone is dead."

"Avery slides on his glasses and opens his eyes again. 'Dammit! he says again with more feeling. 'Why does stuff like this keep happening?'You say that as if it's a bad thing, Rob says, smirking."

"I suggest you leave now, or you'll be tied down and gagged until the end of this meeting.'Tie us down?'And gag you, Joseph cheerfully reminded them."

"What's with savage humans always wanting to cannibalize us? Jaden asks as she runs past Summer to check for any more of the Tainted around the corner.'They want to suck your blood, Rob says in a Romanian accent.Jaden snorts. Too bad humor won't help them out of this mess."

"I had this guy's file pulled this morning, along with the rest of your neighbors. His name is Desperado.Pause. A few seconds passed. He was waiting for my reaction.'Did you say Desperado? I couldn't stop the snort of laughter that bubbled to the surface. 'Yeah, the Director confirmed. 'He changed his name when he turned eighteen. It was Melvin.I was still laughing. 'Cause Desperado is so much better than Melvin."

"Refusing to listen to him any longer, Julian backs up. 'Whenever you realize working together is in Summer's best interest, come find me, Boy Scout. Until then, I'll just pretend you don't exist. Then he walks away.Gage glares at Julian's retreating form. His hand scrapes through his hair as he fumes. A guttural roar of rage crawls up his throat, and he kicks the sand.Damn him and his stupid logic. He's right. And Gage knows he's right. But that doesn't mean he has to like it."

"Summer turns and marches away, fed up with being handled like a child. Like she's a glass doll that might break at any minute. She hasn't been a child since the day she was whipped into muteness. Anxiety might strangle her sometimes, but she's not some baby needing to be coddled."

"Books in the YA genre, in particular, should use proper grammar because they're more of an example to young people than adults books are."

"The woman turns away; one wing blackens like an onyx gem while the other glows white like a bright spotlight. She flies into the sky, leaving the crowd staring in astonishment. Angels fly away in two directions. Half make a black storm of moving, twisting shapes. The other half forms a white-as-snow moving cloud. The ranks are divided."

"Her mum is leaning against the wall, arms crossed, when Summer exits. 'Gage left from here a few minutes ago, she says, tone neutral. 'His hair was ruffled. She gestures with her hand above her head.The haze Gage left Summer in vanishes. She frowns.Her mum sighs and steps forward. Smooths her daughter's hair. 'If he hurts you, she says in a mild tone, 'I'll kill him."

"Underwater, bubbles erupted before my eyes as a swift hand snatched my arm and pulled me to the surface. I gasped for air, coughing and gagging at the amount of water I sucked into my lungs by pure shock. What was up with me and breathing in water? I needed to grow some gills or something."

"She would rather remain silent, but her voice is no longer something to fear. It's strong. Powerful. A weapon of emotions."

"It hurts, Summer cries, head shaking back and forth. 'Please, make it stop. Sweat beads on her forehead.'What hurts? Cameron asks.'My eyes.Summer's eyes open. Everyone gasps. They're no longer blue; they appear bionic, like a circuit board's inside her eyes. Panicked now, Summer reaches for her face. 'What is it? What's wrong?"

"He holds her with the strength of a million-man army, but with all the tenderness of her heart lying naked in the palms of his hands."

"What are you doing? Egnatious asked, eyebrows furrowed as he watched Gabriella do a flip.Firen mimicked Gabriella and turned to Egnatious. 'Fun times. Go with it. She didn't even crack a smile, though her body language said she was laughing on the inside.Instead of following their act, Egnatious simply dove for an outcrop just as it began moving away. He nearly lost his balance, but Firen caught his flailing arms.'Are you having a seizure or something? she jested, displaying a rare vein of humor.Egnatious sent her a queasy glare."

"I unlocked the deadbolt and flung the door open, stepping back for Gabby to see exactly who it was. 'Hello, Sara, I greeted.A bubble of laughter escaped Gabby before she could contain it. 'Yes, hello ex-girlfriend Sara. And might I add: law-breaker? Who let you out of your cage? Don't you know Joseph has a restraining order against you?"

"A growing heat, like a million blazing suns all focused on me, lit my insides. It felt like I was being cooked in the Gabriella Roast Cooker, me spinning around-and-around to heat my flesh evenly. For some reason I was having trouble comprehending the sudden change in my revolving world as I swelled with a horrible, billowing fire."

"He smiles at her before ever opening his eyes. The innocence in his face ensnares. Wraps her heart in a cocoon.They did this to him. The Society. Constructed that smile with malicious expectations. Now she must rip it off his face. Because she doesn't deserve his love. Or Gage's. This madness coils around her throat, darkening every inch of her soul."