"They looked like business cards. Instead of a printed name, a filigreed gold line wrapped itself in a design in the m…"

"The jam is from my mother's pantry." "Oh, does your mother live far from here?" "Not far," he responded, "as the crow…"

"The factory doesn't like to hear too much talk about things it doesn't believe in. Contrary to what you may have hear…"

""And we never get any older. Richie and Alex will always be ten. My sister and Todd will always be newlyweds. Angela …"

"Mother said she couldn't guess what was worse, to be a two-year-old with a cold forever or to live with a two-year-ol…"

""I can steal anything." "So you claimed. It was a wager to that effect that landed you in prison." He picked a pen ni…"

""...Everything about you reveals your low birth. You'd never be comfortable at the court." "I'd be famous." "Oh, you'…"

""You can always give me some of Ambiades's food." The magus gave me an ugly look. "You'll get your share and nothing …"

"Ambiades, I realized, was the kind of person who liked to put people in a hierarchy, and he wanted me to understand t…"

"I had to ask, "Is it a true story, Aunt Charlotte?" Aunt Charlotte looked at me without saying anything for a while. …"