“Sometimes it seemed that she and rudy were two people attempting to tango, sweating and trying, long after the orchestra had grown tired, long after everyone else had gone home.”

“After the long time of going together and the mutual trust that had grown out of that time, Payne had occasion to realize that no mutual trust had grown out of the long time they had gone together.”

“I suddenly had an idea of how adults can hold on to a feeling for very long periods of time, long after the event is finished, long after cards have been sent and apologies made and everyone else had moved on. Adults were pack rats of old, useless emotions”

“I had lunch with the staff of one of my old companies once. They were all people with whom I had worked except one particular girl who was new to the department. She said that she felt she had known me for a long time although we had never met. She said that they were still following the policies and procedures I had written way back then. Your writing, it appears, will survive long after you’re gone.” –Ken Puddicombe.”

“Somehow, she had grown into a woman in between the fall of kings and collapse of worlds. Once she had been terrified of change. Then she had been terrified of losing Elend. Now her fears were more nebulous - worries of what would come after she was gone, worries of what would happen to the people of the empire if she failed.”

“It was like coming home after you'd been gone a long, long time. It held a million promises of summer and of what just might be.”