As beguiling as the church of Legend was, Tella imagined it had Legend all wrong. Caraval might have been extreme in all of its splendor, but she didn't think he was.

What's so dangerous about my arms?' he murmured.'For me, everything.

Nothing about him was soft. His chest felt like a block of marble and yet she could have closed her eyes, curled up against him, and gone to sleep forever.

She remembered thinking falling for him would be like falling in love with darkness, but now she imagined he was more like a starry night: the constellations were always there, constant, magnificent guides against the ever-present black.

He tasted like midnight and wind, and shades of rich brown and light blue. Colors that made her feel safe and guarded.

The boy who’d saved her from drowning in more ways than one.

Not quite sure how far she’d already fallen, she imagined loving him would feel like falling in love with darkness, frightening and consuming yet utterly beautiful when the stars came out.

This game brings out the most selfish parts of many people, but it had the opposite effect on you. Watching you restored my belief that Caraval could be what I believe it used to be---and that my brother could be good once again.

Scarlett nodded, afraid saying the wrong thing might push him away. With Julian it wasn't about protection---she just wanted to be with him. The boy who'd saved her from drowning in more ways than one.