Could You Repeat That? CLIX

Marrow Island, Alexis M Smith
There was a warmth in her voice that I recognized. But something else, too. Something winnowing through her words, a charged current of feeling. Like she had a secret.

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, Kij Johnson
The moon was often gone, so she watched the seething sky behind the ninety-seven stars, daytime's blues replaced with a thousand blacks: black touched with red, with brown, with a poisonous green so dark it was almost undetectable, all tumbled together in churning boils the size of planets.

Penric's Demon, Lois McMaster Bujold
Did demons manifest as a stomach ache? He was still wondering when he finally drifted off.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers
With a terrible silence, the sky ripped open.
It swallowed them.
Rosemary looked out the window, and realised that she'd never really seen the colour black before.

Glaciers, Alexis M Smith
All these things tell a story, but is it hers? It has always been more than an aesthetic choice, holding on to the past; it's a kind of mourning for the things that do not last.

Icon, Genevieve Valentine
"Is he the reason you're unhappy?"
Suyana couldn't breathe. She couldn't feel the tips of her fingers. Her spine was going to fall to pieces. She was ten years old, and all her skill at lying escaped her.
"No," she said.

Poisoned Blade, Kate Elliott
I lie there with the heat baking my bones until he finishes, until he leaves, until a hawk swoops down from the sky to poke amid the disturbed earth.

The Glittering Court, Richelle Mead
"Don't worry, it's easily forgotten."
"Well," I said huffily, "it shouldn't be that easily forgotten."
"Would you like it better if I say I'll eventually forget it but not without a great deal of struggle and torment?"
"Yes."

Full Fathom Five, Max Gladstone x2
People cherished lies. Kai herself had believed she was in love for years.

Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee
It was remarkable how much death could be held in a small box.

Invincible Iron Man (Volume 2): The War Machines, Brian Michael Bendis
Spider-man: Did that fall off of you?
Iron Man: It's from a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette convertible.
Spider-man: Did it fall off your friend?
Iron Man: War Machine is not a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette convertible.
Spider-man: Hey, I don't know what you make those armors out of.

Honey, Rebekah Peppler
Half a jar later, I sat sticky-sweet with regret: How had I let my bias against honey go unchecked for so long?

Plums, Martha Holmberg
A new plum-apricot hybrid, with a name better suited to particle physics than to food, pluots are showing up in a lot of markets.

Paper Girls (Volume 1), Brian K Vaughn
MAC: But like we say in the Scouts, "Be prepared."
TIFFANY: Wait, you used to be a Girl Scout?
MAC: I still am. Why, you want to be a bitch about it?