She was determined to master it, not just because fire was useful or dangerous, but because it was warm, and no matter what happened, Lila Bard never wanted to be cold again.

Kell looked down at Delilah Bard, a cutthroat and a thief, a valiant partner and a strange, terrifying girl.He would see her again. He knew he would. Magic bent the world. Pulled it into shape. There were fixed points. Most of the time those points were places. But sometimes, rarely, they were people. For someone who never stood still, Lila still felt like a pin in Kell’s world. One he was sure to snag on.

Hastra handed him a blanket. "Shouldn't you take off her knives?""There's not enough tonic in the world to risk it," said Kell.

For someone who never stood still, Lila felt like a pin in Kell's world. One he was sure to snag on.

Don't you have enough knives?" he grumbled, his lip thrust forward in a pout.Lila's smile sharpened. "No such thing," she said, wrapping her fingers around the blade.

Don't you see?" said Calla. "He wasn't coming to pay your debt. He was coming to see if you'd returned to pay it yourself." Lila felt her face go hot. "I do not know why you two are circling each other like stars. It is not my cosmic dance. But I do know that you come asking after one another, when only a few strides and a handful of stars divide you.

Don't get yourself killed.""I'll do my best," said Kell, and then he was going."And come back," added Rhy.Kell paused. "Don't worry," he said. "I will. Once I've seen it.""Seen what?" asked Rhy.Kell smiled. "Everything.

I'm not going to die," she said. "Not till I've seen it.""Seen what?"Her smile widened. "Everything.

And strategy is just a fancy word for a special kind of common sense, the ability to see options, to make them where there were none. It’s not about knowing the rules. It’s about knowing how to break them.