“I look up to say something but he puts his finger to my lips and whispers, Dont talk. Youll just spoil my fantasy of rescuing an innocent damsel in distress as soon as you open your mouth.”

“Im fine, Mom. Thanks for asking....Of course youre fine. She keeps walking. Youre the devils bride and these are his creatures....Im not the devils bride. He carried you out of the fire and is lett...”

“He is the one pocket of warmth in a sea of ice.”

“So thats your sister? asks Dee in a quiet voice.Yeah.The one you risked your life for?Yeah.The twins nod politely in that automatic way that people do when they dont want to say something insulting...”

“They always always understimate women”

“The only thing that matters in the end is your own survival. It's what humans and cockroaches are best at.”

“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”

“I've always said that idleness dulls the spirit. We have to keep the brain busy, or at least the hands if we don't have a brain.”

“If your workplace was somehow transplanted into the jungle and everyone was forced to survive at a very primitive level, it's safe to say that eventually your boss would rape you.”

“Words are not swords.”

“Some carry beautifully crafted swords all their lives, and never realise, until they are daubed in blood, that the pleasure comes not from owning a sword, no matter how perfect, but from letting it...”

“A shy smile, strong arms, clever fingers, and two sure swords. What more could any woman want?”