"It is the iron." Grimalkin picked his way over a puddle, then leaped atop a fallen tree, shaking out his paws."This close to the false king's realm, his influence is stronger that ever. It will be worse once you are actually within its borders."Puck snorted."Doesn't seem like it's affecting you much, Cat."That is because I am smarter than you and prepare for these things.""Really? How would you prepare for me tossing you into a lake?"

"You don't need a plan. You have the Puck with you, remember? I'm an expert at this. And I've never needed an elaborate plan to pull anything off...."Worry not, human, the cat sighed, giving himself a thorough shake. "I am going with you as well. With Goodfellow's exemplary planning, someone has to make sure you go through the right door."

"I leaned back against the headboard and closed my eyes, feeling the inferno flair between us once more. It flickered and pulsed, but my blood was boiling on the inside and Ember was the fire that ignited it."

"This is the most I have ever been in the sewers in one place. If someone had said to me a month ago, 'Hey, Jackal, guess where you'll be spending most of your time in New Covington? Ankle-deep in shit!' I would've ripped their lips off."

"Having second thoughts? Puck's voice was soft and dangerous, a far cry from his normal flippancy. "I thought we put this behind us for now."Never, I said, matching his stare. "I can't ever take it back, Goodfellow. I'm still going to kill you. I swore to her I would. Lighting flickered overhead, and thunder rumbled in the distance as we faced each other with narrowed eyes. "One day, I said softly. "One day you'll look up, and I'll be there. That's the only ending for us. Don't ever forget."

"I'm sorry, I whispered. "I never wanted this for you. This life, I knew it was going to kill me in the end. I wish you didn't have to be here when it finally caught up."

"Oh, goodie," Puck said as I stepped forward. "I'm going to have a rash in the most uncomfortable places."

"Her desires are mine. Her wishes are mine. Should even the world stand against her, my blade will be at her side. And should it fail to protect her, let my own existence be forfeit."

"It had been her mercy, her refusal to kill a known enemy, that had made me realize the Order was wrong. It was because of her that I was here now, risking my life to protect the creatures I'd once driven toward extinction. Because a dragon had spared the life of a soldier of St. George, everything had changed."

"I sheathed my blade and glared at him. "And here I almost thought you weren't a complete bastard.""Well, that's your mistake, not mine."

"You will always be a monster - there is no turning back from it. But what kind of monster you become is entirely up to you."

"I get a little poetic sometimes. The moonlight does that to me."

"And in the stillness before dawn, on the brink of a war that could tear us apart, our auras danced and twined in the darkness, coiling around each other until they finally merged, becoming one."

"Leaving would imply suitcases and empty drawers, and late birthday cards with ten-dollar bills stuffed inside."

"So that left me. To save my hatchlings and my underground, even if I couldn't be there anymore."

"You know, I'm really starting to hate the insect life around here. Next time, remind me to bring a can of Off!"

"Seeing as this is probably my last hurrah, I don't suppose I could get you two bleeding hearts to massacre a village with me? For old time's sake. - Jackal."

"Without St. George, that balance would tip. Without the Order, there would be nothing to stop Talon and the Elder Wyrm from achieving what they wanted from the start: complete and utter dominion."

"Victory was close. Just one final push. "Send in the rest," I ordered. "All wings attack. Take that base down now."

"I don't see how you mortals do it, these feelings you must endure. they will ruin you in the end."

"Oh that looked painful," called another Puck, a little farther down. "We really need to talk about your anger-management problems."

"I saw Oberon charge into the fray on a huge black warhorse, glamour swirling around him, and sweep a hand toward the thickest of the fighting. Vines and roots erupted from the ground, coiling around the Iron fey, strangling them or pulling them beneath the earth. Atop a rise, Mab raised her arms, and a savage whirlwind swept across the field, freezing fey solid or impaling them with ice shards. The armies of Summer and Winter howled with renewed vigor and threw themselves at the enemy."

"I was Ashallayn'darkmyr Tallyn, son of Mab, former prince of the Unseelie Court, and I was not afraid of a witch on a broom."

"Quaint and picturesque, though I didn't voice my opinion out loud. Keirran and Annwyl were faeries, and Kenzie was a girl, so it was okay for them to notice such things. as a card-carrying guy club, I wasn't going to comment on the floral arrangements."

"The lesser of two evils was still evil."

"It seemed Lady Luck hated me worse than usual."

"You made me feel alive again."