Behemoth

Alek was right behind her now, his body pressing close as he adjusted her sword arm. She hadn't realized this fencing business would be so touchy. He grasped her waist, sending a crackle across her skin. If Alek moved his hands any higher, he might notice what was hidden beneath her careful tailoring. “Always keep sideways to your opponent,” he said, gently turning her. “That way, your chest presents the smallest possible target.” “Aye, the smallest possible target,” Deryn sighed. Her secret was safe, it seemed.

She smiled, turning toward Alek. "You don't know what a friend you have in Dylan.

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

I go where the lizards tell me.

Lilt pulled away. "I saw what he was doing, so I cleared a path for him. I helped him do it..." She shook her head, tears tracking the dust off her face, and turned to stare at the fallen tower. "Have we all gone mad to want this?

The world rests upon a turtle, which itself stands on the back of an elephant!” Alek tried not to laugh. “Then what does the elephant stand on, madam?” “Don’t try to be clever, young man.” She narrowed her eyes. “It’s elephants all the way down!

You’d best ask the lady boffin, sir,” Newkirk said. “Midshipmen aren’t allowed to have opinions.

Dr. Barlow, it is, of course, customary to check with the caption before, uh, giving away his ship." -Deryn Sharp

Alek: "Am I that obvious?" Deryn: "No. Im just dead clever.

So my foolhardiness has produced the correct strategy, Count?” “Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

But it wasn’t any of those reasons that had set her on this course, Deryn knew. Alek was here in the city and needed help. Perhaps it was daft to risk everything for some barking prince, a boy who didn't even know she was a girl. But it was no more daft than Alek walking across a glacier to assist a wounded enemy airship, was it?

But it won't be much of a battle, will it?" Alek asked. "What can an airship do to a pair of ironclads?" "My guess is, we'll stay absolutely still for an hour. Just so we don't fall into any bad habits.

The Germans were still hunting Alek, trying to finish the job they’d started on his parents. Someone had to be on his side. And, as Deryn had gradually admitted to herself these last few days, she didn’t mind if that someone wound up being her.

Aya, that's the barking strangest thing about battle - that it's real

A country with two kings will always falter.