Just this once,’ he says almost more to himself than to me. ‘Just one moment.’ Then he leans down and kisses me.

That’s crazy,” I say”In case you hadn’t noticed, the whole world has gone crazy. It’s time to adapt or die.””By throwing crazy at crazy?

He is the one pocket of warmth in a sea of ice.

My head seems to be rumbling. Then I realize it’s the sky. It’s thunder. Suddenly, warm raindrops fall on us, spraying us until we’re completely wet. Raffe ignores it and continues to kiss me. We...

We’re at war.On the verge of an apocalypse filled with monsters and torture in a nightmare world.And I’m standing here, a moonstruck teenager pining for an enemy soldier. What am I, crazy?This time, I’m the...

Not really,” says Dum at the same time.

The only thing that matters in the end is your own survival. It’s what humans and cockroaches are best at.

Nothing short of the end of the world would get our eco-conscious techies to toss their latest gadgets onto the street.

My mother hasn’t asked the questions that a normal person would ask, and I’m grateful for it. It’s like the world has become so crazy that it makes sense to her now. I turn on...

He doesn’t even like me.I let the thought roll around in my head. Anything I feel during that time gets shoved into the vault with the ten-foot-think door slamming as soon as it goes in,...

Don’t talk. You’ll just spoil my fantasy of rescuing an innocent damsel in distress as soon as you open your mouth.

Big words from a guy who’s trussed up like a turkey. What are you going to do, wobble over here like an upside- down turtle to snap me in half?””The logistics of breaking you are...

My litter sister looks up at me.Mom was right. Her eyes are the same as they’ve always been. Brown eyes fringed with long lashes and steeped with the memory of sweetness and light, laughter and...

If the only one who can kill an angel can’t do it, then who can?’ It’s a good question, one that takes me a minute to come up with an answer. ‘Obadiah West can. Him...

In the long second before everyone absorbs what just happened, I see the angel rolling his eyes heavenward, like a teenager in the presence of overwhelming lameness. Some people just have no sense of gratitude.

When a man in purple and screaming pink stares at you, you know it’s time to change your appearance.

Raffe arches his brow at me. ‘You should be with a nice human boy. One who takes your orders and puts up with your demands. Someone who dedicates his life to keeping you safe and...

He carried you out of the fire and is letting you visit us from the dead. Who else would have those privileges except his bride?

Who will guard us against the guardians?

I’ll be sure not to let anyone but you carry me in her arms.” He turns and leaves the kitchen before I can figure out what to make of his comment. A sense of humor...

Was that you, Pooky Bear?

NO!” Raffe grips me as if he can bind my soul to my body. An upside-down view of the doorway shows up in my field of vision. Smoke waft through it. Although the pain obscures...

My friends call me Wrath,” says Raffe. “My enemies call me Please Have Mercy. What’s your name, soldier boy?” Raffe’s mocking tone brings a flush to my cheeks for no reason.

Sometimes, as we’re stumbling along in the dark, we hit something good.

You don’t even like me, remember?” That’s what I try to say. What actually comes out of my mouth is closer to a baby’s first attempt at babbling. “Shh.” He runs his fingertips along my...

Nothing natural could cause this kind of fear. It goes beyond a fear of physical harm and into the realm of mental and spiritual. Like the fear of losing your sanity, of losing your soul.

Do not let the scorpions hurt you twice just because you’re freaking over the possibility.

What’s with all the cheering over the apocalypse, anyway? Oh, yay, we get to kill poor helpless humans.””The excitement over the apocalypse had nothing to do with humans.””Could have fooled me.””Humans are incidental.””Killing and destroying...

They always always understimate women

I carefully fold my dreams away into the vault in my head.

He leans down, and his lips hover a hair’s breadth from mine. I close my eyes, feeling the tingle of anticipation.Then he presses his lips to mine. His warmth spreads out from my lips down...

…there’s no such thing as a dirty fight.

The right thing is a luxury for rich and sheltered people. For the rest of us, the only right thing is staying out of trouble and surviving as best we can.