“ That your eyes are like bits of sky seen through the leaves. And that, like the rain washes the mud from the leaves, you... how did he say it? Oh yes. That you wash the darkness from the world. Jessica Khoury
“ There's just one rule, just one basic law that everyone lives under : take control or be controlled. Jessica Khoury
“ For the last few centuries, these jeweled fruits have been my constant and sole companions. The greatest treasure in all the world, as comfortless as light to the blind. Jessica Khoury
“ For five hundred years my sisterhood has passed down a sacred vow,” says Caspida coldly, “to destroy the one who destroyed our queen. You know this, and you speak these words only to deceive me as you… Jessica Khoury
“ He makes a face and tosses the flower at me. It lands on my cheek, and I pick it up and twirl it between my fingers. I could lie out here all day, not moving an inch, feeling the sun above and the gra… Jessica Khoury
“ Why do you care what happens to her? I thought we humans were vapors to you, here today and gone tomorrow.”“Caspida is . . . different. She reminds me of someone, someone I’d give my life for if I cou… Jessica Khoury
“ Have I told you I love you?" he whispers.I smile. "Not since this morning.""Unforgivable. I will tell you every hour of every day. Jessica Khoury
“ WHERE IS MY SON?" Uncle Antonio bellows, levelling the two AK-47s he's holding at the lot of us. "Get away from him, you bastards! Jessica Khoury
“ For a moment we are weightless, eyes open and locked underwater, flowers drawn down with us, swirling around us in a current of white bubbles. My hair floats around us both like black silk. His hands… Jessica Khoury
“ Whore!” he snarls, slamming me into the wall so hard stars burst in my eyes. I hiss at him, the tiger in me threatening to emerge and rip out his throat, but a shout brings me back to myself.“Zahra!”I… Jessica Khoury
“ Zahra, what happens to you when I make my last wish?”“When your third wish is granted, you will cease to be my master. You may possess the lamp, but you cannot call me. I will return to it and await t… Jessica Khoury
“ Your father is waiting, so fly up that mountain and through the alomb. Find Nardukha and tell him I have upheld my end of the bargain. Now it is his turn.”He stares at me, a dangerous light in his eye… Jessica Khoury
“ They all seem infected with a vivaciousness that isn't common in our compound, and there are more smiles on their faces than I've ever seen at once. And yet as I watch them, I feel more intensely than… Jessica Khoury
“ Tell me about your master.”I nod. “He is eighth in line to the throne, the son of—”“No, no,” Caspida interrupts irritably. “Tell me what he is like.”“He is a gambler,” I say. There is no point in lyin… Jessica Khoury
“ Well, that's the thing, isn't it? Everyone always blames the monster--but no one ever blames the one who created it. Isn't that right?" He sneered at Moira's limp form. "Tell me, who is the monster? T… Jessica Khoury
“ I can't let the killing go on. No more death, not because of me. This is the only way. You and I both know it. Eio. Jessica Khoury
“ And what if you weren’t a jinni? What if you were free from their rules?”I stare at him. His jaw tightens, his eyes steely with determination that frightens me to my core. A cloud drifts across the fa… Jessica Khoury
