Deathless

by Catherynne M. Valente

That is a beautiful hawk, and I will let him put his claws into my heart.

Did everything that had magic have teeth?

“Husbands lie, Masha. I should know; I’ve eaten my share. That’s lesson number one. Lesson number two: among the topics about which a husband is most likely to lie are money, drink, black eyes, political affiliation, and women who squatted on his lap before and after your sweet self.”

You will always fall in love, and it will always be like having your throat cut, just that fast.

I still want to kiss you. To feel the life in you seize on the life in me. Raw and fresh and new.