It was the truth, and like any truth, it was powerful.

— Melissa de la Cruz

Kingsley nodded. 'Of course. Sophia always did say wisdom had to be earned.

— Melissa de la Cruz

Listen, Legs, I'm going to die anyway. I'm human. And I don't know about you, but I don't believe in visions of the future. I believe we choose our own destiny. You didn't give me a choice last time. You just left. But I'm here now. And I love you. Stay with me. Don't fear the future; we'll face it together.

— Melissa de la Cruz

Magic is an honor, until it's a shackle.

— Melissa de la Cruz

Maybe weakness is a strength of a kind.

— Melissa de la Cruz

Medicine is a bit like love," Aunt Gertrude began. "There are the theatrical outer forms gone through by the players-the bandages and injections and extractions, the flowers and love notes and dances-but the real work is always happening out of sight. In here," she added, tapping herself on the heart.

— Melissa de la Cruz

Memories were tricky things…they weren’t stable. They changed with perception over time. …they shifted, and [she] understood how the passage of time affected them. The hardworking striker might recall his childhood as one filled with misery and hardship marred by the cat calls and make calling of playground bullies, but later, have a much more forgiving understanding of past injustices. The handmade clothes he had been forced to wear, became a testament to his mother’s love. Each patch and stitch a sign of her diligence, instead of a brand of poverty. He would remember father staying up late to help him with his homework – the old man’s patience and dedication, instead of the sharpness of his temper when he returned home – late-from the factory. It went the other way as well.[she] had scanned thousands of memories of spurned women, whose handsome lovers turned ugly and rude. Roman noses, perhaps too pointed. Eyes growing small and mean. While the ordinary looking boys who had become their husbands, grew in attractiveness as the years passed, so that when asked if it was love at first site, the women cheerfully answered yes. Memories were moving pictures in which meaning was constantly in flux. They were stories people told themselves.

— Melissa de la Cruz

No one's happy here, you know that. But I am content, and maybe that's enough for me.

— Melissa de la Cruz

Oliver liked to play the part of disaffected youth, but he liked shopping in Soho even more.

— Melissa de la Cruz

Schuyler put a gentle hand on Abandon's feathered extensions, feeling the majestic power underneath their silky weight. She had been frightened once, to see him in this light, but now that she saw his terrifying face, she found it beautiful.

— Melissa de la Cruz