Crown of Souls

No sane person could witness what they saw every day in the field, or carry out the acts of violence they were tasked with, and not come away affected.

You weren't meant to fight this alone. On our own, we are nothing.

He couldn't do it alone. That was the point, wasn't it? Bring him to the end of himself.

Haven sighed. Then shrugged. "He's the best man I know, but he believes himself to be the worst. He sees himself as some...monster." She narrowed her eyes, watching Cole, thinking how best to help him. "I don't know how to change that.

Because he listened to you. When everything in him told him to fight, he listened." Mr. Tzaddik's kind brown eyes met hers. "Loving a warrior is not easy. I pray our Lord Jesus will strengthen you for the journey

Do not let your confidence or love be easily removed or frightened by the rage of a warrior

Alec isn't worried. He isn't bothered by his actions or who he hurts." She came closer, her long blond hair curling around her neck and shoulder. "And worst of all, he is content with his actions. You?" She smiled around an airy laugh. "You're running from yourself. From anyone who sees good in you. Because you're struggling with it, with the belief that you're the same, that you've done bad things. That guilt, that shame? That should be your compass, Cole. But I don't need a compass to know you're not the same as Alec. And I wish my belief in you was enough to convince you. The actions of man speak to what's in his heart." She pressed a hand to his chest, right over the four-valved organ pumping blood through his veins. And it seemed in a hurry right now. "Read what's there, Cole.

Loving a warrior is not easy. I pray our Lord Jesus will strengthen you for the journey.

I have a report here from McKenna that says you and King were like brothers." "Not like." Tox spoke evenly. "We were. Soldiers, the men I fight with are my family. We eat, sleep, and breathe the same air, chaos, bloodshed, and war.

What concerns me," she said, "is that he's treading a fine line between fighting evil and becoming it.

One of Tox's favorite quotes by Mark Twain was, "Everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody

She might not be as hard-hitting as Tzivia, but she had a depth of sincerity and gentleness that he appreciated. Needed. She cared about people. In the war of life, she was the medic and he the guy on the front lines fighting.

He might not like that she'd dated the guy one, but he didn't want him dead. Most of the time.