And I got out of there without punching anyone, kicking anyone, or breaking down in tears. Some days the small victories are all you achieve.

I had an absurd desire to go down to her and make sure she was all right, and stay with her until dawn. I also had a fierce wish to bludgeon the two frat boys to death with a shovel.

She re-read his email four times, feeling offended and breathless, like he had casually grabbed her head and stuffed it into a pile of wet leaves.

It had to unleash some invisible magic, he thought; Hades and Persephone, joining together again within these black and holy stone walls, for the first time in millennia. As they indulged in enjoying one another, how could they not be reactivating some power within the Earth itself? Surely they were at least bringing autumn storm clouds rolling and thundering over the Mediterranean.But probably every boy felt that way when finally in bed caressing the girl he loved.

Niko popped a spare slice of bacon in his mouth, chewing it up contentedly. “I hate being a soul, being dead. You know what I hate most about it?”“No sex?” Sophie guessed.“That’s what I hate second most about it. No, what I hate most is—”“That you can’t lie,” Adrian cut in.Niko lifted his eyebrows at him, impressed. “You do know me. Exactly right.”“And no bacon,” Freya added.

Ah, mate. My soul loves yours. It does. But this lifetime, my body won’t get on board.

Did you call me here just to deliver this monologue? Did I need to be here?

Did you look up 'incubus'?" Ren asked, in her ear. She heard a smile in his voice."Yes. Let's see, 'a lascivious spirit supposed to have sexual intercourse with women in their sleep,' if I remember right.""There. And you thought it wasn't possible. It's common enough they actually had to make up a word for it.""Well, if you've been doing that, then you must have been discreet, because I sure haven't noticed.""It's not my preferred method," he said. "I always wake them up first.

Yes, he knew it was crazy to be this obsessed over an encounter that had taken up maybe sixty seconds of his life. (Or had it been an hour and sixty seconds?) But what an encounter. His fingers still felt the bones and flesh through her sweater, his tongue still tasted her mysterious bitter-greens mouth, her voice still haunted him with that whispered 'Help me.

Everyone knew you shouldn't go biting into fruit offered to you by magical creatures in the woods, even if you'd thought until just five minutes ago that such stories were, you know, only stories.

You will come to the woods and choose your mate.

No, her I brought back because..." Niko lifted his chin toward the moon. "She's magical.""I get that, if by 'magical' you mean 'hot.'""I also mean magical.

Hermes visited him in the Underworld a few days before the spring equinox festival, cajoling Hades to come to it.Hades wandered across the fields with him, Kerberos limping along at his side. “No one wants the god of death at their fertility festival.”“Sure they do. I’ve heard plenty of girls sighing over your tasty darkness.”“Tasty darkness. Really.

Another lesson to file away about Scotland: insulting other people in a childish manner was the national pastime.

That was how people got through life, he supposed: by acknowledging death and telling it, “Not today.

But the thought of New Zealand instantly sent her mind to Watson, the possibly-Australian, possibly-Kiwi, definitely paranormal young fellow with videos of dead guys on his phone.

I've given her signs! I've given her plenty of signs. What does she want me to do? Slap him across the face with my glove, and challenge him to pistols at dawn?

So we came to say hello. To the world’s grouchiest person. Because that’s such fun.

Enjoying your Christmas in the land of the dead? Fun and different, right?

And he had a dog, a nice dog. He couldn’t be too evil or dangerous if he had such a great dog.

Eventually the real world intruded again, and Sophie had to return to campus—woefully behind on homework, but incandescently in love.

Did I mention really, really jealous.

College isn't half as much fun as they told us it was going to be.""It's not one-hundredth as much fun.

Hermes, we love you," Hades said, "but you rarely do as you're told, and you always do as you wish, and I haven't the slightest idea what you'd do with an immortality fruit, but I'm sure it would be both creative and disastrous.

Disheartened, enraptured, and strangely lightheaded, Grady emerged from the trees and walked back through town to the island bridge, his ankles and hands marked up with thorn scratches.

She knew nothing of Ren except his name, his aptitude with vocabulary, the fact that he wasn’t in college, and the way his hair narrowed to a curling point at the nape of his neck. And she hadn’t even realized she knew that last thing until now.

Hekate smacked the mirror down. "I'd never fancy you," she retorted to Hermes. "And if you ever try to kiss me, I'll--I'll keep a snake hidden in my clothes and make it bite you. On the lips. And on both ears.""See, your threats are still age twelve," Hermes said. "I'll help you work on that.

..."There’s really no way I can explain it to her without *still* sounding like scum," I complained to Sinter."The 'sympathy shack-up' doesn’t score many points," he agreed.*

You're lucky I'm drawn to things that are sick and weird. Makes it so I can actually still like you.

You’re being nicer to me than I've been to you lately," I said."Yes, I am. But then, Hitler was nicer to Poland than you've been to me lately.

Being around her now was nine parts bliss and one part torment. And he wanted it to last as long as possible.