"I wouldn't know." He knows he's been forever changed, forever marred by his experiences. Maybe it is not so for everyone, but he isn't optimistic. He's stared madness in the eyes and danced with her across linoleum and marble floors. All he knows is that in everyone's minds there is a little bit of chaos. Some of them just had it more under control than others.

"I doubt he could become an ideal choice for Ace until he stops obsessing over it." As contradictory as that might have sounded. But if he tried anything to become appointed the Ace of Spades once more, he would just revert back to old patterns as soon as he re-attained his title. And this time around, he might be more bitter and resentful. More dangerous, more unpredictable.

"In the meantime you would do well to find an Ace who doesn't easily fall down half a dozen flights of stairs, isn't prone to accidental defenestration and isn't likely to trip and fall onto a bed of knives."