Perfect beauty could be so ugly.

The ground shifted again into an ocean of unknowns, a dark current yanking at a fundamental law she’d forgotten: there was no truth without a lie.

Sometimes we think we’re losing something when we’re really finding something else.

We all choose, Kendra. In the end, we can only hope we’ve chosen wisely. Regret is a horrible monster to flee from.

Not where. When.” The Elemental brand on my chest pulses, his rumbling voice tugging at the thread of old magic. “It is the start of another day.

He looked at me, dark, silky locks falling forward, naked and beautiful and so much more than anything I could’ve ever dreamed.

These hands don’t have magic.” Daniel looked down at his palms. “But they can still do good, Kendra. Magic is extraordinary, a gift I will always marvel over. But it doesn’t determine a person’s worth, what they choose to believe in. Our dreams are fluid, just as we are. They change as we change.

I resented the reference to my super ninja moves as “sneaking around.” “Displaying superior stealth” or “using viper-like reflexes” would have been much better.

To be ready does not mean it will be easy. It doesn’t mean it will be smooth. It means that even when it’s difficult, you have what it takes to survive.

What happened to your face?”“Dentist.”“They’re all con artists.