julian

They couldn__ have known that even this was a lie__hat we never really choose, not entirely. We are always being pushed and squeezed down one road or another. We have no choice but to step forward, and then step forward again, and then step forward again; suddenly we find ourselves on a road we haven__ chosen at all.But maybe happiness isn__ in the choosing. Maybe it__ in the fiction, in the pretending: that wherever we have ended up is where we intended to be all along.

For eight years I__e waited for you to realize that. I__e waited for you to see yourself for who you really are. You__e Lily Marks, a beautiful, extremely clever woman whose capacity for compassion sets you apart from the Nephilim. It__ not your fighting skills or how good of a warrior you are. It__ the fact you look at me and see a man rather than a Fallen._ -Julian

Even a child could see the division between what the Galileans [i.e., Christians] say they believe and what, in fact, they do believe, as demonstrated by their actions. A religion of brotherhood and mildness which daily murders those who disagree with its doctrines can only be thought hypocrite, or worse.

If I weren't out of my mind at this second, I would've sworn he nuzzled my temple.

I see you as Lily. I see you for who you are, even though you don't._ -Julian

Julian said the world was evil and horrible - remember? But then he proved himself that it wasn't

Sometimes it's good to start over

They say that to know oneself is to know all there is that is human. But of course no one can ever know himself. Nothing human is fully calculable

Raven looks at me. __hat about you, Lena?__ can feel Alex__ eyes on me. My mouth is so dry; the sun is so blinding. I look away, toward the hundreds and hundreds of people who have been driven out of their homes, out of their lives, to this place of dust and dirtiness, all because they wanted the power to feel, to think, to choose for themselves. They couldn__ have known that even this was a lie__hat we never really choose, not entirely. We are always being pushed and squeezed down one road or another. We have no choice but to step forward, and then step forward again, and then step forward again; suddenly we find ourselves on a road we haven__ chosen at all.But maybe happiness isn__ in the choosing. Maybe it__ in the fiction, in the pretending: that wherever we have ended up is where we intended to be all along.Coral shifts, and moves her hand to Alex__ arm.____ with Julian,_ I say at last. This, after all, is what I have chosen.

You don't want me to feel obligated? Well, I'm sorry, Lily. I am herebecause I feel obligated." He brought her hand to his chest, pressing herpalm flat against his rapidly thumping pulse. "I'm obligated by my heart. It'sdecided you're essential to my existence, you see. And it's threatening to go out on labor strike if I don't make you mine this very day. So yes. I am here on bended knee, acting from a deep, undeniable sense of obligation. I am, quite simply, yours." He swallowed hard. "If you'll have me.