“I never said it would be easy. Giving up is easy.”

“Lying to yourself is easy, too. I know. It's much harder to stay and deal with consequences.”

“Words are easy. It's convincing the heart that's hard.”

“I doubt I would ever be missed. Noted absent, charged delinquent, reprimanded but never missed.”

“Before Kiki and I headed toward the Keep, I thanked my friends.“For what? We didn’t do anything,” Janco grumbled.“For caring enough to follow my guards. And the next time, I might need the help.”“There better not be a next time,” Ari said, giving me a stern look.“How touching,” Janco said, pretending to wipe his eyes.“Get going, Yelena. I don’t want you to see me cry.” He faked a sniffle.“I’m sure your ego can handle it,” I said. “Or will you need to beat up some trainees to feel like a man again?”“Very funny,” he said.”

“Pretty stupid,” I called after his retreating form. “To give up before all possible solutions have been tried.”

“Valek leaned back in his chair and said to me, “I don’t think I would have made it past the audition,Yelena. I probably would have set my hair on fire by this point.”“What’s a singed head for the sake of art?” I teased. He laughed.”