“If I was really, really lucky, Felix might throw a fireball at me, and I'd get out of the rest of this freakshow.”

“The obligation d'âme meant that his only allegiance was to Felix, making them a separate kingdom of two, with Felix as king and Mildmay as ministers, army, and populace all combined in one. A stormy little kingdom, I thought, with periodic flare-ups of civil war and a magnificently unstable government. And I was glad I wasn’t a citizen of it.”

“Felix just sat there, not smirking exactly - or not so as you could call him on it - but clearly happy with how unhappy he'd managed to make all of us.”

“I gave up on cussing - I'd run out of words filthy enough - and just started praying.”

“He's not my lover," Isolfr said.She raised an eyebrow, a long feathery, shaggy sweep. "You're his beloved. Both of them. I saw enough on the war-trail to know." Then she laughed, and took her hand off his and pushed his chest like a wolf-cub nudging playfully. "We don't get to pick who loves us, you know. And better to get him to write the song than be remembered forever as 'fair Isolfr, the cold.'"He scrubbed a hand across his face, roughness of beard and scars and the smooth skin of the unmarked cheek. "Is that really what they call me?"She smiled. "You frighten them, Viradechtisbrother. You went down under the mountain and came out again, twice, and the alfar call you friend. They'll have you among the heroes before you know it. And you can seem quite untouchable—'ice-eyes, and ice-heart, and ice-hard, his will.'""Othinn help me. It is a song already.”

“Well fuck me sideways 'til I cry”

“Isolfr," Frithulf said, "you weigh a hundred stone.""Do I? Sorry," and he tried to straighten, but nothing was working.Frithulf swore and said,"Kari, I think I'm going to need you to get his feet."Are they running away? Isolfr wanted to ask.”