“Does that have to go in? Lada asked.What do you mean? Wistala said, brought back to the dictation.The battle. Betrayals. Incompetence, even cowardice. Boats falling, mud everywhere, blood running f...”

“Daughter, daughter, shining brightPrecious jewel within mine sightOh, if I could soar with theeAs you seek your destiny.To see with you the caves and skiesVistas grand beneath your eyesTaking wing ...”

“Does that have to go in?” Lada asked.“What do you mean?” Wistala said, brought back to the dictation.“The battle. Betrayals. Incompetence, even cowardice. Boats falling, mud everywhere, blood runni...”

“Father, it’s Wistala. Wistala.”Father grimaced. “You’re a star, Wistala — I saw you twinkling beneath dear Irelia last night. You, Auron, and Jizara all in a row. I’ll be up there soon. Wait.”

“I hug him tightly. I cant imagine my life without you, Christian. I love you so much it frightens me. Me, too, he breathes. My life would be empty without you. I love you so much.”

“Among my stillness was a pounding heart.”

“I take my hand back, like a leaf letting go. It hurts too much to hang on. So why does it hurt so much to let go?”

“Though there had yet to be a victor in this great war that had begun almost three years ago, Maurice had written to her that they had, all of them, on all sides, lost their freedom. Freedom to thin...”

“Then I thought, boy, isn't that just typical? You wait and wait and wait for something, and then when it happens, you feel sad.”

“I'm living under water. Everything seems slow and far away. I know there's a world up there, a sunlit quick world where time runs like dry sand through an hourglass, but down here, where I am, air ...”

“Witches are naturally nosy, said Miss Tick, standing up. Well, I must go. I hope we shall meet again. I will give you some free advice, though.Will it cost me anything?What? I just said it was free...”

“How can you be one of the stars of heaven, when the stars are innumerable? What star number do you have?”

“His words were full of hope and threat. Like the stars.”