The Exile (The Bound and the Broken, #2.5)

by Ryan Cahill

A true leader, Dayne, leads by example, not by command.

“What idiot isn’t afraid of the dark? Did you not hear me? Nothing good happens after dark. You’re a storyteller. You, of all people, should know this. Tell me one happy story that takes place on a mountainside at night in an abandoned fortress.”

“Love, my son, cannot be quantified by how and why. It is the intangible tether that connects your heart to others. It holds no conditions or rules, for if it did, it would not be love, but simply convenience. It is not found in the ‘because’, it is found in the ‘and yet’. Your father is strong, compassionate, and understanding, but it is not because of those things that I love him. Rather, they are why I admire him. He is also foolhardy, pig-headed, and he always says the wrong things. And yet, I love him anyway.”

“It is never weak to grieve for the ones you love.”

“To hide your tears is to do them a disservice. They have earned your love. Let them have it.”

“Give people hope, and they will fight.”