There is no greater warrior than a mother protecting her child.

We can never be gods, after all--but we can become something less than human with frightening ease.

I remembered Nahadoth's lips on my throat and fought to suppress a shudder, only half succeeding. Death as a consequence of lying with a god wasn't something I had considered, but it did not surprise me. A mortal man's strength had its limits. He spent himself and slept. He could be a good lover, but even his best skills were only guesswork - for every caress that sent a woman's head into the clouds, he might try ten that brought her back to earth.

And in that sliver of time, I felt the power around me coalesce, malice-hard and sharp as crystal. That this analogy occurred to me should have been a warning.

There's truth even in tainted knowledge, if one reads carefully.

But when I got angry, my nerves sought an outlet, and my mouth didn't always guard the gates.

Determination could easily become obsession.