And that better be the only wiener you put in your mouth. We do not give blow jobs so that boys will like us!” Claire roars, and Connor nearly chokes on his beer.

Everybody freaks out at some point. It’s how you patch yourself up that counts.

I prefer to believe we have some hand in our fates, that our choices matter as much as our stars.

We must use magic only in the rose garden. We must speak of it only in hushed voices and behind closed doors. We must never forget how dangerous it can be – nor how wicked.

Without the armor of my anger, I feel so vulnerable. Here it is: the truth. She left me, and I have never forgiven either of us for it.

We don’t get to choose who we love. Or stop loving them when they’re difficult.

You don’t have to apologize for your feelings. You can’t make yourself fall in love with somebody.

It’s called Sunday school, but we are required to attend twice weekly: on Sunday before regular service and again on Wednesday evenings. There are two separate classes: one for children under ten, held in the classroom down the hall, to teach them basic prayers and the tenets of the Brotherhood’s beliefs, and one for girls aged eleven to seventeen, to teach us about how wicked we are.

Reading is the perfect escape from whatever ails you.

Finns squares his shoulders—which have gotten a good deal sturdier since I last saw him. Or paid attention, at any rate. How long has it been since I actually looked? He's gotten awfully handsome; it can't have happened overnight.