“I wrestled futilely, then relaxed as a vine wrapped three times around my throat and squeezed.
Right," I choked out, and shut my eyes. "I'll wait here, then.”

“I squeeze my eyes shut and try to reach for him across the hundreds and hundreds of miles, to send my thoughts into his mind, to let him know he is not alone. But he is. And I can't help him.”

“I love you."
Z squeezed his eyes shut. "Don't be a tragedy, Bella.”

“Something came out from my heart into my throat and then into my eyes.”

“Nothing helped; I was fading helplessly away with open eyes, staring straight at the ceiling. Finally I stuck my forefinger in my mouth and took to sucking on it. Something began stirring in my brain, some thought in there scrambling to get out, a stark-staring mad idea: what if I gave a bite? And without a moment's hesitation I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my teeth together. I jumped up. I was finally awake.”

“And I drank, greedily, until my throat suddenly choked and contracted and a horrible taste shook me. It was the kind of milk I hated. It was buttermilk. I spat it out, washed my mouth with water, and hurried to look at the other bottle. It was buttermilk, too.”

“If I shut my eyes, I believed, I would disappear. To make it through, I had to be present the whole time.”

“I shut my eyes in order to see.”

“I never forget,” Myrnin said in a choked whisper. “Certainly not with your nails in my throat. They’re quite an excellent mnemonic device.”

“The moment I saw her, a part of me walked out of my body and wrapped itself around her. And there it still remains.”