"Three out of five. Those were the odds. Three out of five new recruits would die within their first cycle as a Hunter."

"What was he doing, trying to teach lessons of bravery to another person? He squinted at the dark colors forming above his head. Some days he couldn't even see the sky through his own fears."

"No. That would not be him. He would not die on a battlefield, choking on blood and honor without making any difference at all."

"Lungs burning, he charged forward, shadows gathering around him. Perhaps he could outrun them. But he'd never been able to before."

"Wood and fabric, a symbol of a time long gone. That was not where Masiah dwelled. Not in a temple. Not high up in the oasis hills, as some claimed. If he dwelled anywhere at all, it was not in this forsaken oasis."

"Nyara paused, silver hair sparking in the moonlight. "Every part of you was created for a reason. You have to tune out the voice inside of you that says otherwise."

"Some people thought that camouflage meant blending into the surroundings, but they were wrong. Camouflage was misdirection: A visual lie. And very few people could tell a lie as well as she."

"That’s right. A halfblood. A halfblood with the skills and the talent to fight alongside the best. They’d all seen her. Who were the Hunters to turn her down after that? They wouldn’t dare."

"Fear devours the soul. You don't have to let it consume yours."