Jade City

Expectations are a funny thing,” Wen said. “When you’re born with them, you resent them, fight against them. When you’ve never been given any, you feel the lack of them your whole life.

The Horn placed his hands on her shoulders, and pulled her close, and laid his cheek against hers. "Heaven help me, Shae," he whispered into her ear. "I'm going to kill them all.

Screw you, Hilo,” she snapped. “I can kill my ex-boyfriends myself.

Any old horse will run when it's whipped, but only fast enough to avoid the whipping," Hilo said. "Racehorses, though, they run because they look at the horse on their left, they look at the one on their right, and they think, No way am I second to these fuckers.

The clan is my blood, and the Pillar is its master. On my honor, my life, and my jade.

Possibilities that lay in the past were illusions, closed doors, as meaningless as unfulfilled intentions.

Sometimes, Andy, the people you think you can count on, they let you down in a bad way, and that’s hard to take. But for the most part, you give a man something to live up to, you tell him he can be more than he is now, more than other people think he’ll ever be, and he’ll try his godsdamned best to make it true.

He insists he loves me too much to let me get involved in the war in any way … and I love him too much to obey.

She thought, Two strong-minded women in a man’s world, if they do not quickly become allies, are destined to be incurable rivals.

I have been chosen and trained to carry the gift of the gods for the good and protection of the people, and against all enemies of the clan, no matter their strength or numbers. I join myself to the fellowship of jade warriors, freely and with my whole being, and I will call them my brothers-in-arms. Should I ever be disloyal to my brother, may I die by the blade. Should I ever fail to come to the aid of my brother, may I die by the blade. Should I ever seek personal gain at the expense of my brother, may I die by the blade. Under the eyes of all the gods in Heaven, I pledge this. On my honor, my life, and my jade.

True love, Hilo mused, was sensual and euphoric, but also painful and tyrannical, demanding obedience.

A man who wears the crown of a king cannot wear the jade of a warrior. Gold and jade, never together.

Nothing good's coming, when the dogs start disappearing from the streets.

Was it possible, Lan wondered, to be both a strong leader and a compassionate person, or were those two things opposing forces, pushing each other away?

He wasn’t dead yet. A man could be shot or stabbed, he could be fatally wounded, spurting his life out upon the ground, and still have a few precious minutes to bring down his enemy.

All he knew now was that remorse had a natural limit. After a certain amount of time, it finished eating a person hollow and had to alchemize into anger that could be turned outward lest it consume its host entirely

The gods were often cruel, everyone knew that.

And if you loved someone, truly loved them, shouldn't their happiness matter even more than your honor?

I will practice humility: putting my beloved before myself, expecting no praise or reward, for now we are joined in all things. I will practice compassion: giving gratitude for my beloved, suffering when they suffer, for now we are joined in all things. I will practice courage: for protecting my beloved from harm, facing all fears from within or without, for now we are joined in all things. I will practice goodness: offering freely of myself to my beloved, honoring and caring for each other in body and soul, for now we are joined in all things. I make this pledge to you and you alone, under the eyes of the gods in Heaven, from this moment until the last one of my life.

No one could deny that Kaul Hilo has a way with his people. It came from genuine concern, and was a talent more mysterious to Anden than any jade ability.

The seat at the other end of the table was empty. Ayt had not arrived yet. Hilo checked his watch. He leaned back in his chair and smiled at those assembled, apparently at ease as he waited. "Ayt-jen must've stopped to key my car.

Fate worked in mysterious and beautiful ways.

her straight gaze so coolly intense and enigmatic it defied a viewer to guess if she was thinking about sex or murder or grocery shopping.

You scared the shit out of boys. You were always too smart, too dangerous, for some foreign water–blooded pretty face in a uniform, don’t you know that? For his own sake, he figured it out before you did, is all.

You didn't need to speak sweetly and offer patronage at every turn to these people. You had to be honest with them and show that they had more to gain from your friendship than your enmity.

Sharply, Lan said, "I don't need my little brother to lecture me like an old man." Hilo tilted his head at the reprimand. Then he smiled broadly, his face transforming, regaining its open boyishness. "True; you have enough of that around here already, don't you?

Mutual survival was the basis of brotherhood and loyalty, even of love.

Gazing at Wen’s lovely, trusting face, he was struck with remorse that he couldn’t, even with the consuming love he felt for her, promise not to break her heart.

Hilo draped his arms over Shae’s shoulders and hugged her, then spoke into her ear. “I could still kill him for you.” “Screw you, Hilo,” she snapped. “I can kill my ex-boyfriends myself.

Only then did the realization truly strike her. Hilo was the Pillar.