“I have learned that newborn infants roll their eyes around and move their heads and their arms in short jerky spasms. And if you homeschool them, they will stay this way forever.”

“Except for a roll of Harding's eyes, everyone ignored me, which is the way I liked it when I had to hang around with senior officers. They had a way of thinking up ideas that got you killed and them promoted.”

“The bloody red head emerged.The white sheet turned crimson.The infant sat up.Unfurling soft, white feathered wings, the newborn demigoddess regarded the world around her with large, beguiling blue eyes. As if satisfied with what she saw, she seized her own umbilical cord between her small, sharp teeth and severed her tie with her mother with one, quick bite.”

“His breath was warm on her neck as he bent his head, resting his cheek against her hair. Her heart beat so quickly, and yet she felt utterly calm—as if she could have stayed there forever and not minded, stayed there forever and let the world fall apart around them. She pictured his fingers, pushing against that line of chalk, reaching for her despite the barrier between them.”

“So you would literally take a bullet for me.""No," Claire said, with zero emotion."No?" Ryan said, surprised at her answer.Claire rolled her eyes, annoyed that she had to answer. "If I have time to stand in the way of a bullet, you have time to move.”

“The other ninja righted himself and moved beside her. "Any last words?" he asked.I rolled my eyes. Why did people always ask you that before they killed you? It wasn't like you were going to say something that would make them change their minds."Yes," I answered. The first tendril of power pushed though my wound and wisped the hair around my head. If I was going down, at least I would take them down with me. "Why did the chicken cross the road."She hesitated and glanced at the guy. Her eyes were scrunched in a way that I knew she was frowning under her mask. The other ninja looked at her and shrugged.I licked my dry lips. "To escape the onslaught of exploding ki headed his way.”