Rules of Redemption (The Firebird Chronicles, #1)

by T.A. White

She was average-sized for a woman, barely hitting five feet, seven inches.

actually average height is shorter but WHATEVER

Something about her warned him she would one day be important to him. At home, you could sometimes feel the coming of a storm when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. He got the same feeling when he looked at her.

She'd learned many hard lessons about the peril of letting hope run away with you. It was the ultimate liar, an illusion turning smart people into fools, sundering their hearts from their chests when hope inevitably crashed them against the rocky shore.

Most civilians thought fighting and combat were simple things driven by instinct and decided by strength. This held true at times, but like war, a fight was more than the power behind a punch or the speed of an attack. It took foresight, planning, strategy. Good warriors had brains as well as brawn.

"I'm going to appeal to his better nature," Graydon said. Solal sighed. "You mean you're going to threaten him." Graydon shrugged. Same difference.

Kira shifted, uncomfortable at the sight. Things never ended well when people looked to her as a hero. She always proved a disappointment, eventually.

she's lowkey giving carol danvers

Graydon's lip curled. "His cape is ridiculous. An opponent can grab it and strangle him with it. No other weapons necessary."

soldier boy to homelander

People in power inevitably took advantage of those weaker than them. Just as those who could never rise, would eventually become resentful of those they envied.

"Many Tsavitee have underestimated the Phoenix," Lothos said mildly. "They have all lived to regret it. I will not make the same mistake."