Foundryside (The Founders Trilogy, #1)

by Robert Jackson Bennett

And now you, Sancia Grado,” said Giovanni, tying up the sack, “at all of five foot no inches, and a hundred and nothing pounds, are going to take them all on.”

I want to…to do things with you. To be alive with you, to help you. You’re the only person I can remember ever truly knowing. I’m not even sure if I want to be fixed, to be honest, even if someone could fix me—because then I’d go back to my original state.

She told herself she was free, and strong, that she’d been alone for years, and she’d be alone again one day, and she would, as always, survive. Because surviving was what Sancia did best.

Remember—move thoughtfully, give freedom to others, and you’ll rarely do wrong, Sancia. I’ve learned that now. I wish I’d known it in life.”