“It smelled pretty rank, but I was getting used to the smell of death, as much as anyone could get used to it.”

“I doubted I could get any of the Vittra to step aside to a quiet place while I tried to use a bit of mind control on the guard.”

“During our session, I told Tove about how I'd done mind-speak on Duncan, but it only worked when I was irritated. Using that logic,Tove spent most of the morning trying to irritate me into using it. Sometimes it worked, but most of the time I just got pointlessly annoyed.”

“You have so much going on. It comes off like a...""Static?" I suggested."Exactly!" He snapped his fingers and pointed at me. "You need to tune it, get your frequencies in check, like a radio.""I would love to.Just tell me how.""It's not a matter of turning a dial. You have no on or off switch." He walked around in a large lazy circle. "It's something you have to practice. It's more like being potty-trained. You have to learn when to hold it and when to release.""That's a pretty sexy analogy," I said.”

“The meetings continued on, each one with the same grueling pace. The participants kept repeating the same information. What to do if the Vittra reneged on the deal. What to do if the Vittra attacked. What to do if the Vittra tried to kidnap me.And it all boiled down to one answer-fight back. Tove and I would use our abilities,the trackers would use their strength and skill,and the Chancellor would cower in the corner.”

“When you mix dirt with water, the dirt doesn't get clean. The water just gets dirty.”

“She's here now," Loki said, but I didn't look back to see if he was pulling at Finn and Thomas. "Can you let me go?""Not until the agreement is finalized," Finn said through gritted teeth."My Queen, can we settle this, please?" Loki called to her, sounding irritated. "This tracker is getting handsy.""The Markis hasn't been too much trouble?" Sara asked, her cheeds reddening with embarrassment."Not too much," I replied with a thin smile.”