“He pulled the truck onto the shoulder of the road and parked, cell phone tight in one hand, his eyes on the landscape before him. From here he could see the foothills rippling out like a blanket from the ragged edge of the mountains. They spread in loose folds until becoming the flat expanse of prairie that crossed all the way to the Great Lakes. July’s bounty was a brash flare of colour: wind combed through golden tracts of wheat and sun-bright canola so brilliant he had to squint.The truck was balanced along the edge of an invisible wall which blocked Waterton from the rest of the world. He hadn’t thought about how very real that barrier was; now that his phone was reconnected, it felt like a physical presence. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d find on the other side.”— Danika Stone
“It’s going to happen whether you like it or not,” he said quietly.The top of the book dropped to display Susan’s wrinkled gaze. “What’s that?”“Change,” Rich said. “It’s inevitable.”— Danika Stone
“If you’re trying to figure out why something’s not working,” Old Lou had explained, “just focus on the things that do work. Move through those things first and eventually you’ll find the one part that’s stuck.”— Danika Stone
“Trapped on a school bus for an hour each morning and each evening, she devoured book after book. She explored a hundred worlds, indifferent to her peers and the passing of the universe.”— Danika Stone
“It was like a mask had been pulled away from his face, uncovering a monster hidden beneath his friendly façade.”— Danika Stone
“If #SpartanSurvived failed in its efforts, no one would be the wiser. There was no risk to her online persona. No backlash from haters. Anonymity’s cloak both protected her and kept the torch of Spartan alive. Because as much as fandom knew a fan had created the post, the faceless message held the faint promise of authenticity. And if people believed it, then the magic was real. They could change Spartan’s fate, because they thought they could, and tonight’s video would cast the first spell.”— Danika Stone
“So she’s one of the grande dames of fandom? The Madame de Staël of the Starveil world?”— Danika Stone
“There were streetlights here, but they were so far apart and surrounded by trees that light dropped away to solid black between them. The skin on the back of his neck crawled as he became aware of the darkness. He didn’t usually walk around after nightfall, but tonight he’d had no choice without his car. The wind lifted his hair, leaving him shivering; a voice in his mind chattered nervously.There was someone in my yard the other night…”— Danika Stone
“That, my dear Liv, was confidence. Talk to someone. Make jokes with them. Seem interested in what they are saying even if they’re dull as mud.” He shrugged. “Anyone… anyone at all, can be glamoured if you know how.”— Danika Stone
“Lou could imagine Rich hiding within. She closed her eyes, letting her mind wander, search, and finally focus on him. Hurry up, Rich, she thought. Feeling the tug of connection, a thrill of anticipation ran up her spine. Lou didn’t let herself nudge events often, but she did it today.”— Danika Stone
“The uneasy expression returned and his mouth twisted scornfully. She waited, certain he was going to say something. Lou’d heard it too many times before: a woman doing a man’s work. She’d already decided how she was going to cut him down if he did. Instead, he said nothing.”— Danika Stone
“It made sense, Amanda decided. People thrived on the misfortunes of others: her mother was the perfect example of that. Can’t see a car accident, she thought, for wanting to climb inside and join in.”— Danika Stone
“Sometimes,” she whispered, her lips brushing his cheek, “you need to be lost in order to be found.”— Danika Stone
“She scanned the Starveil posts, her mood darkening. Spartan had been a part of her life since elementary school. Losing him felt like having a piece of herself torn away. No amount of fix-it fics or alternate universes could change the fact her one true character had died.”— Danika Stone
“Liv grabbed the cookie nearest her and broke it open.“It’s up to you to make your happy ending.”Liv stared at it a moment, rereading the words. Did it mean life? Because if it did, then Liv disagreed. Sometimes life was downright unfair. Bad things happened to good people.”— Danika Stone
“She was determined to keep her promise of ‘no fandom’ to her mother. Trouble was, fandom was more than a hobby, it was a support system. Without it, Liv had no one to talk to when she was lonely. She had nothing to look forward to after school, and no outlet for creativity. Liv found herself spiraling back into melancholy. She got up. She went to classes.She came home… And then did it all over again. Sleep became the escape that fandom had once been.”— Danika Stone
“Xander stood at the end of the bed, hands on hips, the jacket she’d helped him sew thrown open, a gold-threaded waistcoat glimmering underneath. He was the Regency hero today, but she didn’t feel like being saved.”— Danika Stone
“I think sometimes in artwork or writing or music, you discover something that just needs to be created. It’s not even something that you want to create… You’re just pulled into it like an instrument. Like you’re part of a bigger plan.”— Danika Stone
“Ava turned to the side, staring out into the dark. In profile, her face was suddenly tired and sad, and Cole felt the urge to wrap himself around her. To protect her from whatever was dragging her down.”— Danika Stone
“In his stupor, the forest had begun to change. The sounds were confusing, his eyes blurring in his exhaustion. He tugged another branch out of the way, gasping as a jagged twig poked through the palm of his hand, momentarily catching there. The pain was almost an afterthought, his fingers no longer working effectively.”— Danika Stone
“For a long time, they sat without speaking. The air outside was filled with the lilting sound of sparrows, the buzz of traffic on Main Street, and under that the faint lapping of waves on the lakeshore. Lou smiled. It wasn’t the same, but it was better.And better, Lou thought, is a start.”— Danika Stone
“Lou stood at the kitchen sink, her eyes unfocused on her hazy reflection in the window. Outside the sky was fading from steely blue to indigo. The mountain range beyond was a solid sheet of black, cut out by a child’s sloppy scissors.”— Danika Stone
“Breathtaking.That was the word, Liv decided, which had convinced her to wear the ludicrous outfit, because no one – not the one, solitary boyfriend she’d had during high school, or the leering frat boys she avoided at college parties – had ever spoken to her with such reverence. And with Xander beaming down at her, she did feel beautiful.”— Danika Stone
“She lifted her head in surprise, following his line of sight above the tree line. Beyond the distant peaks, a green and blue symphony of lights had begun. It rippled and shimmered like sunshine on water, leaving Rich blinking back tears. He’d read something about this but had never seen it before.“It’s the aurora borealis,” Lou said quietly. “Northern lights.”— Danika Stone
“It was Red Rock Canyon. One of the most beautiful places in Waterton… in the Rockies, for that matter. And it was there, waiting for him to find it. As long as he was willing to look for it.”— Danika Stone