"Iko held up a hand. "You need a system debug if you're suggesting that I would abandon you know."

"A heart, once stolen, can never be taken back."

"Over everything, I choose you."

"The Snow White the midnight the moon tales of the mechanics."

"Jacin said nothing else. Neither did she. After the first ring was completed, she leaned her head against his thigh, making herself more comfortable as she picked out a sunburst orange. Overhead, Jacin sighed, and she felt the faintest brush of fingertips against her hair. A hint, a suggestion of togetherness, before he became a statue once more."

"The cybernetic operation?""No, the sex change."The doctor's smile faltered."I'm joking."

"I am an explorer,' she whispered, 'setting courageously off into the wild unknown.' It was not a daydream she'd ever had before, but she felt the familiar comfort of her imagination wrapping around her. She was an archeologist, a scientist, a treasure hunter. She was a master of land and sea. 'My life is an adventure.' she said, growing confident as she opened her eyes again. 'I will not be shackled to this satellite anymore.'Thorne tilted his head to one side. He waited for three heartbeats before sliding one hand down into hers. 'I have no idea what you're talking about,' he said. 'But we'll go with it."

"What? Really? And I thought I was just emotionally withdrawn. She pulled her feet up, hugging her knees. "I'm also incapable going to be your next brilliant observation."

"Do I have permission to take control of you first? Just your bodies, not your minds.""I've been waiting for you to admit you wanted my body."

"The story had already taken on a legendary air from the waitstaff's telling of it. According to the cooks, the street fighter had broken a bottle over Roland's head, knocking him unconscious and crushing a chair in the process. He would have taken out Gilles too, if Emilie hadn't calmed him down with one of her pretty smiles."

"I passed out from stress? That's it?"I believe the princess term is fainted, said Thorne."

"But was the woman's death the tragedy, or her life?"

"And they all lived happily to the end of their days."

"Levana's face was fiercely beautiful. Breathtaking in her viciousness."

"The huntsman took pity on her and said, "Run away into the woods, child, and never come back."

"He asked what she was in for and complimented the find workmanship of her metal extremities, but she ignored him, making him briefly question if he'd been separated from the female population for so long that he could be losing his charm. But that seemed unlikely."

"The young princess was as beautiful as daylight. She was more beautiful even than the queen herself."

"No. She will never be queen. She swayed toward him, and he felt like he was being encircled by a python, smothered and choked."

"I'm sure I'll feel much more grateful when I find a guy who thinks complex wiring in a girl is a turn-on."

"Her satellite made one full orbit around Planet Earth every sixteen hours. It was a prison that came with an endlessly breathtaking view- vast blue oceans and swirling clouds and sunrises that set half the world on fire."

"You are not a murderer. I find it difficult to think of that as a personality flaw."

"Sometime your heart is the only thing worth listening to."

"You are the capital U in Unhelpful."

"My life is an adventure." she said, growing confident as she opened her eyes again. "I will not be shackled to this satellite anymore."

"The queen's eyes smouldered. "I know my own kind when I see them, and right now there is one in these city walls." She pointed a finger toward the balcony."I want her found and brought to me.""Right," said Kai,"that'll be no problem in a city of two and a half million people. Let me just go dig out my special Lunar detector, and I'll get right on that."

"Now mine eyes see the heart that once we did search for, and I fear this heart shall be mended, nevermore."

"He also said to tell you that Wolf misses you very much."

"But you're the only one, Scarlet. You'll always be the only one."

"Just friends, she reminded herself. They were only friends, and would only be friends from here on out. It was a friendship that was to be cherished, as she cherished all the friendships she'd made aboard this ship. She wouldn't ruin it by wishing things could be more. She would be grateful for what affection she did have."

"I'll be safe and happy when I'm no longer afraid of my own mind."

"Everyone is trying to impress everyone else, trying to make themselves out to be smarter or more confident than they actually are."

"This is Winter," said Scarlet. "Princess Winter."Thorne guffawed and pushed a hand into his hair. "Are we running a boardinghouse for misplaced royalty around here, or what?"

"Don't thank me for telling the truth when it would have been mercy to lie to you."

"It was made out to be some kind of honor, giving your life for the good of humanity, but it was really just a reminder that cyborgs were not like everyone else."

"I believe it is the mark of a great leader to question the decisions that came before him."

"Maybe the princess could save herself.""That sounds like a pretty good story too."

"She kept her head high, even as her eyes stung, even as panic filled her vision with warnings and precautions.It was not her fault he had liked her.It was not her fault she was cyborg. She would not apologize."

"It is a dangerous thing to unbelieve something only because it frightens you."

"There was an edge to his expression, like he didn't trust anyone who was more attractive than he was."

"You mean she doesn't intend to blow me up before the ceremony? said Kai, taking the box. "How disappointing."

"Cinder flexed her tongue, testing it, and raised her voice."I am princess Selene."Levana leaned forward. "Your are an impostor!""And I am ready to claim what's mine. People of Artemisia, this is your chance. Renounce Levana as your queen and swear fealty to me, or I swear that when I wear that crown, very person in this room will be punished for their betrayal."

"You're perfect, he said, finishing his thought as if she hadn't interrupted. "I don't care if you see dead wolves and turn into a living ice sculpture when you're having a bad day. I don't care if I have an imprint of your teeth on my shoulder. I don't care if you're fixed. He spat the word like it tasted bad. "I want you to be safe and happy. That's all."

"Knees suddenly weak, she reached for his forearms to stabilize herself. "You came for me.He beamed, looking for all the world like a selfless, daring hero."Don't sound so surprised. Dropping the cane, he pulled her into a crushing embrace that tore her away from Wolf and lifted her clean off the floor. "It turns out you are worth a lot of money on the black market."

"I knew they would kill me when they found out, but, He struggled for words, releasing a sharp breath. "I think I realized that I would rather die because I betrayed them, than live because I betrayed you."