The Garden (Into Shadow, #1)

by Tomi Adeyemi

“I think I’m addicted to sadness.”

She could smell sadness like a fragrance sprayed in the air. Something young girls dotted behind their ears. She smelled the way men carried sadness in their chests, always given to them by their fathers, or a girl who broke their heart.

Angelo was adept at maneuvering around a question, polite at responding, yet rarely answering.

did you know you were born with magic? deep inside your chest? did you know you carried power in your wombs the power to break tombs a power they wished did not exist? did you know you could awaken this power take hold of all you are owed? ask yourself, dear, be bold— are you ready to transform?

How could Lęina tell him if she could, she would share every secret she had. she would unload them one by one set down her armor and remove every bullet from her gun.

but she feared he was listening because it was his job, not because he needed to hear every single word.

venture into the Garden, my child. reach your fingertips up to your neck. feel for the pulse that tells you you are still here today, you have escaped death