By the Sharp and Shadowed Wings (Fate of the Nine, #1)

by Rachel N. Harker

It was hard to guess the woman’s age. Those who age from pain present differently than those who age by time alone.

“Besides,” Revna said, as she quirked an impish smile, “the smarter the woman, the more easily offended the man.”

“You know a festering wound can kill you. And I speak for everyone when I say it would be embarrassing for you to die that way.”

“And I learned. Someone may cast you down, but they cannot keep you there.”

“Better than your tongue will be when I carve it from your mouth, girl.” Girl. As if that word was an insult. As if she didn’t owe everything she was to the girl she used to be. The girl who’d fought, the girl who’d held strong through so much pain and despair, never knowing if there was another side. The girl who’d tended to her cuts and bruises alone, but still always hoped. That girl was her fighting, bleeding, unwavering heart. And Revna owed it to her to fight.

“To kill them would acknowledge their power. To control them only bolstered mine.”