The Thief's Daughter

If your master demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty.

In our lives, we don’t always get what we deserve or what we want. But how we deal with those misfortunes mold our character.

She was soft and warm, and her hair smelled like home. “Are

It’s almost as if history were a waterwheel that keeps coming back to the same point in the river.

Every person who is Fountain-blessed demonstrates a remarkable power, and sometimes more than one. They keep their lore secret from the world, except for some general principles that I will speak on. The terms used to describe the two major ways in which they draw in power are “rigor” and “vigor.” The term “rigor” implies severity and strictness. The magic comes through meticulous and persistent adherence to some regimented craft or routine. These individuals are iron-willed and self-disciplined to a degree very uncommon amongst their fellows. The term “vigor” implies effort, energy, and enthusiasm. To do a task out of the love of it, not for ambition’s sake alone. These two concepts mark the twin horses by which the magic of the Fountain can be drawn. Why one individual may prefer one to the other or whether there is difference in the efficacy of these methods remains, to the rest of us, a mystery. —Polidoro Urbino, Court Historian of Kingfountain

If your master demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, then give him loyalty. I

There is a story told about the sculptor Michelangelo. As he was chiseling the statue David out of a huge marble block, a young boy asked him, “How did you know he was in there?

There was still that solitary little boy inside him, though, and he would always prefer the company of a few to the company of many. It

If your master demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, then give him loyalty.

When an opponent threatens you, the best way to respond is not by reacting to the threat but by turning the game around and delivering a new threat.

War is all about deception, Etayne. If we’re going to face this army, I want to do it on ground we’ve chosen. On our terms, not theirs.

In our lives, we don’t always get what we deserve or what we want. But how we deal with those misfortunes mold our character. As with this second book, time will leap-frog again into the future for book three, where the ramifications of the decisions made here will play out.

When he glanced at the corner where he used to play by himself, he could almost see the ghost of the little boy he had been. So shy and bashful, afraid to speak to anyone. Owen was rarely tongue-tied now, and his good looks and confidence made him approachable. There was still that solitary little boy inside him, though, and he would always prefer the company of a few to the company of many.