Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)

by Leigh Bardugo

“You know how people say two wrongs don’t make a right?” “Yeah.” Mercy pulled Alex’s plate toward her and took a huge bite of her remaining cheeseburger. “They’re full of shit.”

There were always excuses for why girls died.

But when Len had said she was a good little slut, she hadn’t felt sexy or wild; she’d felt so small. She was afraid she might cry and she was afraid he might like that too.

I let you die. To save myself, I let you die. That is the danger in keeping company with survivors.

There was a time when I had the same confidence. Time took it. Time takes everything, Miss Stern.

Mira hugged her and Alex breathed in patchouli and tuberose, the memory of being small.