Men do monstrous things but if you call a man a monster you have absolved yourself of blame. You don't have to think that you might ever do these thi… - Patrick Ness

"Because humans are complicated beasts, the monster said. How can a queen be both a good witch and a bad witch? How can a prince be a murderer and a saviour? How can an apothecary be evil-tempered but right-thinking? How can a parson be wrong-thinking but good-hearted? How can invisible men make themselves more lonely by being seen?

"I don't know," Connor shrugged, exhausted. "Your stories never made any sense to me."

The answer is that it does not matter what you think, the monster said, because your mind will contradict itself a hundred times each day. You wanted her to go at the same time you were desperate for me to save her. Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truths that make those lies necessary. And your mind will punish you for believing both."

"I do what I have to do," I say.
I do what I have to do to save him.
I do what I have to do to save Todd.

"Viola blows out a thoughtful air. "My dad used to say, 'There's only forward, Vi, only outward and up.'"
"There's only forward," I repeat.
"Outward and up," she says."