Elise Kova

Every chance worth taking will make you a little scared. That means you're taking a risk. And where there is risk, there is reward.

What are you wrapped up in?' Roan whispered. Her anger and frustration had shifted to a sympathy that grated Vhalla.'I'm simply learning where I'm meant to be.' It was the only response because it was the truth.

You have to earn it.' Vhalla didn't know what else to say. She had trusted him, to lead her, to teach her, and he broke that trust. It wasn't as though it was something she could simply start again on command.

There was something severed and rough about her, something tainted and, yet, at the same time those jagged pieces were the makings of something fearsome. She'd wanted to become someone the Senate would fear, why not shatter the sky?

I am going to go into this world, and I don't care if you and_your_narrow_mind cannot be a part of it.

I told you this would never be easy, I warned you. I begged you to spare my heart if you weren__ ready for this fight.

She had thought she knew what war was, but as their empty eyes and too-thin bodies etched themselves onto her soul, Vhalla realized she knew nothing at all. They were all boys and girls playing at war, writing their own songs the bards would sing. But the bards never sang about this. Suddenly the faces of the people she had killed came back to her. We are monsters.

Stop. Stop trying to make the illusion of strength. You don't need it. Not here. Not now. Let yourself be sad until the real strength returns.

You wished for time,_ Aldrik explained. __ heard each utterance when you beseeched time to stop, for mornings not to come. I want you to know I shared your every sentiment. I wanted to give you the promise of my minutes, my hours, my days._ His long fingers curled around hers, around the watch. __y future is yours, Vhalla Yarl.

You won__ ever have everyone love you, just as you won__ have everyone hate you. find the right people to love you and return the hatred of others with ambivalence or hatred of your own.

Because our love is more than something I can wear. Our time is far greater than what can be counted by two hands and some numbers. Because, even without it, I still have you.

Numbers remained consistent. Numbers and facts attempted to bring order from a chaotic world, to make sense of the impossible. They were the foundation for colossal structures and the tiniest of clockwork machines alike. Ari loved numbers, and not just because they saved her life by keeping her alert in her surroundings.

I have yet to discover if you will be my salvation or my demise.

Progress was never meant to be stinted, and even failures weren__ to be destroyed.

The man__ words were as deep and dark as midnight

Well, if my crime is love, then I am indeed guilty