And I got out of there without punching anyone, kicking anyone, or breaking down in tears. Some days the small victories are all you achieve.

Eventually the real world intruded again, and Sophie had to return to campus—woefully behind on homework, but incandescently in love.

I had an absurd desire to go down to her and make sure she was all right, and stay with her until dawn. I also had a fierce wish to bludgeon the two frat boys to death with a shovel.

Ah, mate. My soul loves yours. It does. But this lifetime, my body won’t get on board.

It had to unleash some invisible magic, he thought; Hades and Persephone, joining together again within these black and holy stone walls, for the first time in millennia. As they indulged in enjoying one another, how could they not be reactivating some power within the Earth itself? Surely they were at least bringing autumn storm clouds rolling and thundering over the Mediterranean.But probably every boy felt that way when finally in bed caressing the girl he loved.

No drama, we had agreed. No broken hearts. No crying in our cars. No radio silence where once we had exchanged hilarious daily text messages.

I've given her signs! I've given her plenty of signs. What does she want me to do? Slap him across the face with my glove, and challenge him to pistols at dawn?

He had a job that would forever consume his life, and that job didn’t have anything to do with Col’s blue eyes or the flowers that bloomed at his touch.

A freezing cold underground river. A dark cave lit by ghosts. A man too stupid to realize you loved him. This is what you want?""All of it. Especially the very stupid man.