The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood, #2)

by Jeff Wheeler

“My training says that I should always refer to you as my lady. Or Lady Maia.” “Just Maia,” she replied, taking another bite of the wonderful cobbler. It melted on her tongue, the apples still hot enough to burn a little. “It would not be . . . proper,” Suzenne said haltingly. “What about my situation strikes you as overly proper?” Maia said with a laugh.

All of us will die eventually. We must not be afraid to live.”

“My father once said that beauty is a test that most fail. He said his Aldermaston once taught him that the most unhappy couples he ever knew were the handsomest pairs.” “Is that so?” Maia said, laughing softly. “Indeed. Things come easier to those with beauty. Respect and attention are more freely given. Is that respect earned? Is that attention worthy? Often not. No, my father said to be plain is more of a blessing, though I could tell, as my father, he was proud of me. But he always praised me for my character, not my accomplishments.

How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it. A single word, spoken in enmity, can scar a heart for a lifetime.

“You are the only one of us to have defied the king and survived.

we are slow to believe that which, if believed, would hurt our feelings.”