I would rather hide in desolation and poverty, whether it be in the Baseborn Quarters or the Tenantless, than be the cause of thousands of deaths in all the five kingdoms.

Emma, we don’t have to kiss. She already knows I want to sleep with you.

When he didn’t want to take his medicine, I spooned it into his mouth, then blew in his face, which causes a person to reflexively swallow.

How apparent is it that I want to put Grom into a headlock until he goes to sleep, and yell at Mom for not loving Dad or caring that he’s dead?

I have nothing left to lose. Which is why I drive my shoulder into her rib cage, hoist her off the floor, and bulldoze us both through the glass wall, into the storm outside.

Watching Mom try to act girlie would be entertainment in itself. Our last attempt at a girls’ day started with a pedicure and ended with a monster-truck rally. That was five years ago. And so was her last pedicure.

I hope I don’t look as sick as I feel. “The generals couldn’t have picked a worse candidate for that Gift!” Holding my stomach doesn’t stop it from churning. I can’t imagine befriending Goliath and then leading him to the Syrena to be eaten. But I also can’t imagine letting Galen or Toraf starve. Probably not Rayna either. It’s time to introduce my new friends to the world of pizza...

That he found me clear across the country seems more miraculous than a push-up bra.

Galen, who forgot this little thing called “tact” when he accused my mom of being a runaway fish-princess.

He’d live on land and eat cheesecake for the rest of his life before that happened.