-
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Are you looking for something real in this world of illusions? Call me. Casual Flings need not apply. I am looking for Love.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
At the end of 'Illusions,' readers should see the inevitable coming.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Before 'Wings' came out, I told a few people that at the end of book one, readers should think Laurel made the right choice. Then, at the end of 'Spells,' they should understand why Laurel made the choice she did.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
But love is something that has to be as selfish as it is unselfish. You can't make yourself love someone because you feel like you should. Just wanting to love someone isn't enough.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
I am a gym rat who loves to work out, particularly running, Zumba, yoga, cycling, and kickboxing.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
If the time comes and your dream doesn't seem worth it, then maybe it was the wrong dream.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
I just don't want to cozy up to the guy whose girl I have every intention of stealing.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
I love music, singing, and playing piano (though I'm not very good). And I adore musical theater.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
I'm not asking for forever, Tamani said. Yet. I'm just asking for a moment.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
No - the light in Tamani's eyes was much more than a reflection. It was the fire that melted her anger and devastated her resolve, every single time she saw it.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Square root of a cosine? How is that ever going to be useful?
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
The first two chapters of any first draft generally need to be cut.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
There's always someone who secretly believes in myths and legends; or at least parts of them. Those are the people who will look beyond the obvious and see things in this world that are truly wonderful... But they won't say anything, even if they do. Because the rest of us who view the world as logical and scientific wouldn't see the truth if it was posted up on a billboard.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
And do you really think someone's going to look at you and say, 'Hmm, I think that girl's a plant'?
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Are you glad to see me?
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Aww, come on. I don't bite...hard.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
But sadness was familiar; sadness was manageable. It didn't transform her, the way the raging anger did. She could remain herself and still feel this aching grief.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
But with me, you are never just a spring faerie.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Guess I’ve been reading too much fantasy.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
He'd been back for about two weeks, and everything in Laurel's life had been thrown into Chaos. Sexy, sexy chaos.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
He exuded wisdom-even the wisest...were pale, flickering candles next to the nourishing solar illumination of [his] insights.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Her hand wandered under his shirt, feeling his rapid breath expand his ribs. She hesitated for a second—wondering what the chances were that either of her parents would come home early—then lifted his shirt with both hands, guiding it up his arms and over his head. It was her favourite indulgence; holding herself against his bare chest.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Her two worlds, two lives that she tried so hard to keep separate, were crashing together. And she felt helpless to stop it.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
His face was tense, his jaw flexed as he stared at her. She could hardly stand to meet his eyes. They were an ocean of betrayal. They probed her, searching for the smallest sign that she didn't mean it. That spark of hope that never seemed to go out.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Human locks? Please," Tamani said. "May as well leave the door open.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
I close my eyes and press my face into his shirt and howl against him, liquid agony pouring from me. He smooths my hair from my face and continues to murmur, but he never shushes me, never tells me to stop. Never tells me it'll be all right. He knows life too well to believe such lies.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
If your clothes are enough to drive would-be friends away, they're not the kind of friends you want." Typical mother advice. Sweet, honest, and completely useless.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
I’ll tell Jamison I can’t keep my life vow. He’ll help me somehow. I’ll get you the best protector in Avalon, I promise, but... it’s not me anymore.’ ‘I don’t want another protector,’ laurel said, her chest feeling hollow, panicked. ‘You don’t understand,’ Tamani said, not looking at her. ‘It;s not about us; I can’t be your fear-gleidhidh... effectively. In hindsight, I should probably never even tried; if I was doing my job right, none of this would have happpened. When I-- when I thought you were dead, I went crazy. I honestly didn’t know myself. I was afraid of who I had become. I cna’t live always knowing that I could lose you at any moment; that I could feel that way again.’ He hesitated. ‘It’s too hard.’ ‘No, no, Tam,’ she said, smoothing his hair, caressing his cheek. ‘You can’t, not now, not--’ ‘I’m not as good as you think I am, Laurel,’ he protested, desperation filling his voice. ‘I don’t trust myself to protect you anymore.’ ‘Then find someone else to fill that role if you have to,’ she said, jaw clenched, ‘but don’t leave me!’ She scooted closer and took his face in her hands, waited while he built up the courage to raise his eyelids at her. ‘Wherever we’re going to go today, I want you with me, and I never want you to leave my side again.’ His ragged breath touched on her face now, her body pulled right against his chest, feeling his essence pull on her like a magnet. ‘I don’t care if you gaurd my and protect me-- all I care is that you love me. I want you to kiss me good night mefore I go to sleep and bid me good morning the moment I wake up. And not just today; tomorrow and the next day and everyday for the rest of my life. Will you come with me Tamani? Be with me?
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
It didn't matter to her that Tamani only had weak magic, he was magic.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
It's only by becoming familiar with poisons that you can make the best antidotes.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
It's your call," he said softly, "but whatever you decide, I'll help you." He placed a soft, warm hand at the back of her neck and Laurel's breath caught in her chest. "Whatever you need, I'll be. If you need the science geek to give you answers from a textbook, I'm your guy; if you just want a friend to sit by you in bio and help you feel better when you're sad, I'm still your guy." His thumb slowly stroked across her earlobe and down her cheek. "And if you need someone to hold you and protect you from anyone in the world who might want to hurt you, then I am definitely your guy." His pale-blue eyes bore into hers, and for a second she couldn't breath. "But it's all up to you," he whispered.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
I've loved you for a long time, ' she said. 'But there was always something holding me back. Maybe it was that I was afraid of an emotion that was so consuming. It still frightens me,' she admitted in a whisper. Tamani chuckled. 'If it makes you feel any better, it scares the daylights out of me on a regular basis.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
My world's not worth saving without you.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
No - the light in Tamani's eyes was much more than a reflection. It was the fire that melted her anger and devestated her resolve, every single time she saw it.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Oh my gosh, is that an iPhone?!" Laurel asked, her voice unconsciously rising in pitch and volume. Tamani looked up at her, his expression blank."Yeah?" "He has an iPhone," Laurel said to David. "My faerie sentry who generally lives without running water has an iPhone. That's. Just. Great. Everyone in the whole world has a cell phone except me. That's awesome.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
So there's magic? Real magic? It's not just all scientific like David says?" Tamani rolled his eyes. "David again?" Laurel bristled. "He's my friend. My best friend." "Not your boyfriend?" "No. I mean...no." Tamani stared at her for several seconds. "So the position's still open?" Laurel rolled her eyes. "We are so not having this conversation.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Tamani checkled. ‘If it makes you feel any better, it scares the daylights our of me on a regular basis.’ He rained kisses on her again, his fingers pressed against her back and her waist, and Laurel realized that his chest was shaking convulsivly. ‘What?’ She asked pulling away. ‘What’s wrong?’ But he wasn’t sobbing-- he was laughing! ‘The World Tree,’ he said. ‘It was right all along.’ ‘When you got your answer?’ He nodded. ‘You said you would tell me someday what it said. Will you now?’ ‘Commit.’ ‘What?’ ‘The tree just said, commit.’ He ran his fingers through his hair, smiling a little. ‘I don’t understand,’ Laurel said. ‘Neither did I. I was already your fear-gleidhidh; I’d committed my life to protecting you. When the tree told me that, I figured you were as good as mine. Easy.’ ‘And then I told you to leave,’ Laurel said, sorrow at the memory settling deep within her. ‘I understand why you did,’ Tamani said, threading his fingers through hers. ‘And it probably was better for us in the long run. But it hurt.’ ‘I'm sorry.’ ‘Don't be. I was listening to the tree, and to my own selfish desires, when I should have been listening to you. I think I know what the tree really meant now,’ he said, his voice rumbling against her ear. ‘I needed to commit my life to you-- not to guiding you or protecting you, completely, in my core. I needed to stop worrying about whether you would ever do the same for me. In a way, I think that's what coming to the human world did, and why I wasn't sure I could bare to go back.’ He traced his finger down her face. ‘I was committed to the idea before-- to the love I felt for you. But not to you. And I think you sensed that change or you’d have rejected me.’ ‘Maybe,’ Laurel said, although at this moment she couldn't fathom rejecting him for any reason. His fingers found her chin, lifting it so he could look her in the eyes. ‘Thank you,’ he said softly. ‘No,’ she said, running one finger across his bottom lip, ‘Thank you.’ Then she pulled his face down, their lips meeting, melting together again. She wished she could stay there all day, all year, all eternity, but reality came creeping slowly back in.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Tamani paused and mulled this over for a few seconds. "If I say no, are you going to follow me anyway?" "Of course.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Tamani?" she asked, even though she knew this was the wrong time. "How is a plant supposed to beat a superstrong troll?
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Tamani smiled softly and lifted a hand to her face, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and letting his thumb rest on her cheek. 'Trust me, it's no picnic missing you. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Tamani was suddenly struck by just how young David looked. He forgot, sometimes, that David, Laurel, and their friends were younger, in some ways much younger, than Tamani. He was posing as a school-age human, but in truth he was an officer in the Guard. He knew his place, he knew his role, with a certainty some humans never achieved. The amount of freedom human children had must be paralyzing. No wonder they took so long to become adults.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
The illusion of confidence is far more important than actually possessing the feeling.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Then he was there, turned half toward her with a guarded expression etched across his face. She didn't stop or even slow her step. When she reached him, she grabbed the front of his shirt in both fists, pulling him to her, pushing her mouth up into his. Heat swirled through her as she pulled his face even closer, tighter. His arms wound around her and their bodies melded with a rightness she didn't bother to question. Her lips filled with the sweetness of his mouth and Tamani held her against him as if he could somehow pull her inside him, make her part of him. And for a moment, she did feel like a part of him. As if their kiss bridged the gap between the two worlds, even if only for that one brief, sparkling moment. A sigh that held the weight of years shuddered out of Tamani as their faces drew apart. "Thank you," Tamani whispered, almost too quiet to be heard.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
-What's so funny?" "-Sorry," David said, reddening again. "You just taste so sweet." "-What do you mean, sweet?" He licked his bottom lip one more time. "-You taste like honey." "-Honey?" "-Yeah, I thought I was going nuts the day...well, you know, that one day. But it was the same today. Your mouth is really sweet." He paused for a second, then grinned. "-Hot like honey-like nectar. That makes more sense." "-Great. Now I'm going to have to explain that to everyone I kiss for the rest of my life unless it's you or another faerie." She'd almost said Tamani's name. Her fingers flew to the ring around her neck. David shrugged. "-Then don't kiss anyone except me." "-David..." "-I'm just offering up the obvious solution," he said, hands up in protest.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
Whether or not there was room in her life for Tamani, Laurel knew that there was precious little room in Tamani's life for anything but Laurel. He lived to protect her, and he'd never failed her. Annoyed her, frustrated her, hurt her, maddened her - but never once failed her.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
You could be David's friend too". She glanced at Tamani when he said nothing. He was frowning. "The two of you really have a lot in common, and we're all in this together". He shook his head. "It wouldn't work". "Why not? He's a nice guy. And it would do you good to have some human friends", she said hinting at what she suspected was the root of the problem. "It's not that", Tamani said, gesturing vaguely with one hand. "Then why?" Laurel asked, exasperated. "I just don't want to cosy up to the guy whose girl I have every intention of stealing
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
You still haven't told me what you're up to,’ she said at last. ‘One more minute,’ Tamani said, smiling against her lips. ‘We don't need minutes,’ Laurel said. ‘We have forever.’ Tamani pulled back to look at her, his eyes shining with wonder. ‘Forever,’ he whispered before pulling her into another kiss. ‘So does this make us entwined?’ Laurel asked, a sharp twinge of grief piercing her happiness as she repeated the word Katya had used, so long ago, to describe committed faerie couples. ‘I believe it does,’ Tamani said, beaming. He leaned closer, his nose touching hers. ‘A sentry and a mixer? We shall be quite the scandal.’ Laurel smiled. ‘I love a good scandal.’ ‘I love you,’ Tamani whispered. ‘I love you, too,’ Laurel replied, relishing the words as she said them. And with them, the world was new and bright-- there was hope. There were dreams. But most of all, there was Tamani.’ “ Aprilynne Pike Destined pgs. 284-292.
00 -
By AnonymAprilynne Pike
You were dancing with Yuki and I looked at you. And you turned away and held her closer. Why did you do that? If you didn't want to hurt me, then why?" He looked away, as though he'd been slapped, but he didn't look guilty. He looked pained. "I closed my eyes," he said, his voice so low and strangled she could hardly hear him. "What?" she asked, not understanding. "Tamani held up a hand and Laurel realized he hadn't finished-he was having trouble speaking at all. "I closed my eyes," he repeated after a few shallow breaths, "and imagined she was you."He looked at her, his face open, his eyes honest, his voice a song of anguish.
00