Rules of Redemption (The Firebird Chronicles, #1)

by T.A. White

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.

Kira had chosen her name from a book, thinking it meant rebirth. Instead, she'd been off by a letter and ended up with a name with a different meaning. She'd taken her surname from the forest where Himoto had discovered her.

"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.