“It was one of the warm nights at the end of summer that makes promises that won't be kept.”

“Oh, I am getting married," Raisa said sleepily. "You promised me that if I agreed to marry you, that you would make it happen." She extended her hand, the one with the ring Han had given her, and waved it under his nose. "So. It's time to pay up.”

“Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed.”

“As for my family, my father was Danel; he died as a mercenary in the southern wars," Han went on. "My mother's name was Sarah, called Sali, and my sister was Mari. They died last summer. But then, you already knew that. Every time you forget, I'll remind you. That's the blood sacrifice I made to be here, and that's enough.”

“He would find a way to make it work, because he finally understood that sometimes you have to raise your expectations. And sometimes you need to make a claim on the world and the people you love to get what you most desire”

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

“The time will come when you will be forced to make a choice,” Hanalea said. “When that time comes, choose love.”