The Darkness Within Us (The Shadows Between Us, #2)

by Tricia Levenseller

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A BAD IDEA, JUST POORLY EXECUTED AWESOME ONES. —Damon Salvatore, The Vampire Diaries, Season 2, Episode 15

And what men want most, I’ve discovered, is someone they think they can control. So I pretend to be docile. I pretend to be obedient. When men think they can control you, they don’t watch you as closely. When they think you’re stupid, they’re not so careful about the things they’ll say in front of you.

“Oh yes. Women don’t have to wait for marriage before taking part in … intimate relations. Fathers are no longer allowed to accept brideprices for their daughters. In fact, they’re required to pay their daughters dowries upon their marriages to whomever they please, a sum reasonable to the father’s yearly wage.”

I want a mistress. The male equivalent of one. What would you call that?” “I don’t think there is a word for that.” “Then perhaps we should make one.”

A man with an idea is a dangerous thing.

“You’re impossible.” I know, and it is the most delightful thing in the world.

Fair? Fair! Men do not get to utter that word in a world that favors them in every single space of life.

History has never interested me. Why should it? It’s always about men stealing each other’s kingdoms or killing each other. Men doing great deeds. Men going on adventures. I’m sick of men having the spotlight. The history of women is barely recorded, which is why I retreat to fiction, where we’re finally given our due.

“No, but I’m the center of my world, which is why I have to look after myself. No one else will.”

You are a man, and you will never know what it is to suffer as only a woman can!”

Caution is paramount when plotting murder.

“You hardly need to pay me a compliment by insulting the other women in the room,”

“You must know I had no idea. I didn’t think anything bad could happen in such a public place.” “That’s because you don’t know all the tricks men pull in public places and get away with. How would you? They don’t try that kind of stuff on those who have the strength to fight them off.”

Men are the most sensitive individuals I have ever met, yet they claim it is women who are always close to hysterics.

“Hate is not love.” “Of course not,” Tekla says, “but it’s remarkable how often the two coincide.”

“When you hate someone so fiercely, they have to be worthy of that hatred. You wouldn’t ardently hate someone who was beneath your notice or someone who didn’t compare to you in wits or charisma. You have to be on equal grounds to hate someone so much. And that level of hate inherently comes with a level of respect. You’re recognizing that they’re an actual threat. That they compare to you.”

“I’ve never had a scar before.” “Stop frowning. Scars are good. They mean you survived.”

“You. You make me forget all my rules and reasons for everything. You make me want to believe it’s possible not to be alone forever. You make me want to claim the whole world and gift it to you on a silver platter. You are unlike anyone I’ve ever known. And gods, but I love your mouth. The way it smiles. The words that come out of it. How it feels against mine. Just looking at your lips makes my mouth water.”

“I bake. I … like sweets.” “Anyone who says they don’t is a liar.”

“I think we are a good match.” “If you think fire and oil are a good match.” “Exactly. Together, we could burn the world down if we wanted to.”

“What if I don’t want to burn down the world? What if all I want is my quiet country life?” “Then I’ll burn anyone who tries to take it away from you.”