Smoke in the Sun (Flame in the Mist, #2)

by Renée Ahdieh

For fear was the greatest of equalizers, save for death itself.

Everything in life began with an idea.

Was the empress’s comment a compliment or a criticism? Or worse, was it a criticism veiled as a compliment?

“Our deepest truths are usually the hardest to conceal.”

“You look like you need to be held.” “Because I’m a girl?” “No.” He smiled as he struggled to keep his body straight, every motion visibly taxing. “Sometimes we just need to be held.”

“The measure of any life is not in greatness. But in goodness.”

“Forgiveness is not a thing granted. It is a thing earned.”