Do you think we can be friends?” I asked.He stared up at the ceiling. “Probably not, but we can pretend.

Vane grabbed me. “DuLac, let’s chat.” British-speak for “Stand still while I yell at you.

Vane’s lips tightened to suppress a smile. “Why so hostile, love?”“You whacked me on the head with a ball!”“You deserved it.

I caught his hand. “What do you want me to do?”Leaning down, he kissed the pulse beating on my neck just above the damaged skin. “Tomorrow, I need you to die.

He’d used the amulet to read my thoughts again. I pictured smacking him in the face.

I noticed him right away. No, it wasn’t his lean, rugged face. Or the dark waves of shiny hair that hung just a little too long on his forehead. It wasn’t the slim, collarless biker jacket he wore, hugging his lean shoulders. It was the way he stood. The confident way he waited in the cafeteria line to get a slice of pizza. He didn’t saunter. He didn’t amble. He stood at the center, and let the other people buzz around him. His stance was straight and sure.

Rough palms cradled my face while my fingers gripped the pillow on either side of his. Lips, teeth, tongue, mingled together. I ate him up and didn’t let go until I had to come up for air.

Matt was almost completely naked. A tattered loincloth and an ugly chain with a yellow diamond were his only apparel.

If you keep waiting for the right time, it may never happen. Sometimes you have to make the most of the time you have.

Vane grabbed me. “DuLac, let’s ch

Well, can you tell her that?"He looked down at his feet. "I will. I will."Guy-speak for, "I plan to keep avoiding her until she gives up.

If I were to lock you up in a dungeon, I guarantee you would not be bored.

You'll get fired if anyone finds out about us!""So many rules in this century," Vane muttered.

Plus, I happened to be a history nerd. Why else would I be interested in a guy born in the year 519?

The last declaration he'd made to me hung between us. The L word. The one that had nothing to do with like.

The combination of razor-sharp wit (completely real) and his credentials (completely fake) had won them over in the end.

Why did you wear heels? How are you supposed to fight a gargoyle in what you're wearing?

but remember, nothing comes without a price. Our paths are not mapped; they’re made.

The Lady may favoryou, but at least I am in charge of my own destiny.

Did you recently turn into a jerk or have you been one since birth?

Do I look like I want to be involved in your teen love saga? Ask someone who cares.

He’s so powerful. Who knows maybe he’s advanced past eating

My name is Arianna Morganna Brittany DuLac--you can imagine why I went by the name Ryan.

Soft sun shone down on a misty cathedral at the opposite end of a football-field length courtyard. The cathedral had a long pointed tower with beautiful rose and ivory stained glass windows. Pink-petal flowers and deep green ivy climbed the stones from the ground to it’s roof. A large fountain stood in the middle of the courtyard with water falling from several lion’s heads. Between the misty air and rolling slope of the earth, the grounds reminded me of a long lost fairy tale.

Marilynn...passed out black cases to everyone. I opened mine to find an iPad inside. Several candidates whistled. Despite my agitated state, it impressed me too. Maybe wizard school wasn’t going to be as lame as I had thought.“All of your schedules and assignments will be done on these,” Marilynn explained. “The whole school is on these. We’ve had them for awhile now.

Technology doesn’t change people’s basic needs or their natures.

I will never know you well enough. I will always want more.

There’s another story I know. This one doesn’t have any swords or visions. This one is about a boy who found a girl during a terrible time.” “How did it turn out?” “I don’t know, but I do know the boy doesn’t regret it. Not a minute. No matter how it turns out. Because he’s been waiting for this girl from the time she was born, and if it takes another thousand years to meet her again, he’d wait again. Whatever it takes.