Elemental Origins: The Complete Series (Elemental Origins, #1-6; Elemental Universe)

by A.L. Knorr

Grief was a deep-sea monster lurking far below, occasionally wrapping a cold tentacle around an ankle to pull me under.

And isn't that the way the most precious moments of our lives come and go? They're over in a moment leaving us breathless and dizzy, and feeling like yelling 'Wait, don't go!'

You can't really hate someone unless you've loved them first. You might feel revulsion, or anger, or indifference, or any number of negative feelings toward a rude stranger, but hate was reserved for a special circumstance. It was reserved only for those whom we have loved, but who have betrayed our love at the deepest level.

Some kisses take, some kisses give. This kiss entrusted and endowed.

'Even the smartest people tend to seek out evidence that confirms what they already think, rather than new information that would give them a more robust view of reality.'

"There is only one thing that is for certain, Akiko, and that is that love is the most powerful force in the universe." His voice became that distant candle, dimming now. "When all else fails, love does not."