“Both Averill and Bayar were like actors speaking lines for their audience and not to each other.”

“ It was a peculiar marriage of interests- Lord Averill and Captain Byrne and Lord Bayar and Han Alister agreeing on anything was as rare as gold in Ragmarket.”

“Plus he was naturally lucky at cards. As Mam had always said, lucky at cards, or lucky at life. One or the other. Not both.”

“Crow paced back and forth, his form flickering like flame. “It’s been a thousand years, Alister. I never intended for anyone to find it, so it’s very well protected. One little misstep, and you and my line will be history.”“Since when are you so concerned about your line?” Han said.Crow stared at him for a long moment. “Since I found out I had one,”

“Ellen drank long and deep from her water bottle and wiped her mouth with her gauntleted arm. "Are you feeling all right, Jack? Your play's flat, all in all. I was hoping to give Seph more of a show."Jack tested the edge of his blade with his thumb. "Actually, Ellen, I wondered if you were coming down with something. You were downright lethargic. I nearly dozed off once or twice.""Well, that explains it. You looked like you were asleep."With that, they threw down their weapons and it dissolved into a wrestling match. In the end they were kissing each other.It was certainly a different kind of courtship, but there was a chemistry, an understanding, a kinship between Jack and Ellen that Seph envied.”

“They were like two pieces of a failed star, drawn together by a shared history and a memory of illicit kisses.”

“The human mind had a remarkable ability both to discount what it sees and make reality conform to expectation.”