Cass

“NO!" Raffe grips me as if he can bind my soul to my body. An upside-down view of the doorway shows up in my field of vision. Smoke waft through it.
Although the pain obscures Raffe's warmth, I feel the presure of his hug, the rocking of our bodies back and forth as he repeats the word, "No.”
― Susan Ee, Angelfall

“We walk for about an hour before Raffe whispers, “Does moping actually help humans feel better?”
“I’m not moping,” I whisper back.
“Of course you’re not. A girl like you, spending time with a warrior demigod like me. What’s to mope about? Leaving a wheelchair behind couldn’t possibly show up on the radar compared to that.”
I nearly stumble over a fallen branch. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“I never kid about my warrior demigod status.”
“Oh. My. God.” I lower my voice, having forgotten to whisper. “You are nothing but a bird with an attitude. Okay, so you have a few muscles, I’ll grant you that. But you know, a bird is nothing but a barely evolved lizard. That’s what you are.”
He chuckles. “Evolution.” He leans over as if telling me a secret. “I’ll have you know that I’ve been this perfect since the beginning of time.” He is so close that his breath caresses my ear.
“Oh, please. Your giant head is getting too big for this forest. Pretty soon, you’re going to get stuck trying to walk between two trees. And then, I’ll have to rescue you.” I give him a weary look. “Again.”
I pick up my pace, trying to discourage the smart comeback that I’m sure will come.
But it doesn’t. Could he be letting me have the last say?
When I look back, Raffe has a smug grin on his face. That’s when I realize I’ve been manipulated into feeling better. I stubbornly try to resist but it’s already too late.”
― Susan Ee, Angelfall

“Raffe looks over at the bloody knife in my
hand. “If I still had any doubts that it was
you, that would do it.” He gestures toward
my opponent rolling on the ground with his
hands cradling his package.
“He should have been polite and just let
us by,” I say.
“Way to teach him some respect. I always
wanted to meet a girl who fights dirty,” says
Raffe.
“There’s no such thing as dirty fighting in
self-defense.”
He huffs. “I don’t know whether to make
fun of him or to respect you.”
“Come on, that one’s easy.”
He grins at me. There’s something in his
eyes that makes my insides melt a little, like
something deep inside us is communicating
without me being fully aware of it.”
― Susan Ee, World After

“Raffe looks over at the bloody knife in my hand. "If I still had any doubts that it was you, that would do it.”
― Susan Ee, World After