The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2) QUOTES

21 " I’ve heard the stories about you, Kyoshi, and I know the things you’ve seen. What do you care if a single peasant lives or dies?” She crossed the distance between them and thrust a closed fan under his chin, stopping short of his throat. “I care more for his life than I do for yours right now,” she said, examining the growing whites of Zoryu’s eyes. “Let me make myself perfectly clear. You live on top of what I control. Your islands are surrounded by my waves. You fill your very lungs at my discretion. So if I hear any news about ‘Yun’ being executed, you will truly learn what it’s like when the spirits forsake you in the face of the elements. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

22 " Human beings could drape themselves in titles and etiquette, but at their hearts they were all the same animal. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

23 " Outside, the floorboards creaked from the weight of a person walking, as if complete silence were a cloak the enemy could wear and discard at will. The treading of heavy boots came closer and closer. The doorway filled, blacking out the faint light from the hall, and a tall, incredibly tall, figure stepped inside. A thin line of blood trickled from its throat, as if it had been beheaded and glued back together. A dress of green silk billowed underneath the wound. Its face was a white mask, and its eyes were monstrous streaks of red. Trembling, Kuji raised his blade. He moved so slowly it felt like he was swimming through mud. The creature watched him swing his sword, its eyes on the metal, and somehow, he knew it was fully capable of putting a stop to the action. If it cared to. The edge of the dao bit into his opponent’s shoulder. There was a snapping noise, and a sudden pain lashed his cheek. The sword had broken, the top half bouncing back in Kuji’s face. It was a spirit. It had to be. It was a spirit that could pass through walls, a ghost that could float over floors, a beast impervious to blades. Kuji dropped the handle of the useless sword. His mother had told him once that invoking the Avatar could safeguard him from evil. He’d known as a child she was making up stories. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t decide to believe them right now. Right now, he believed harder than he believed anything in his life. “The Avatar protect me,” he whispered while he could still speak. He fell on his behind and scrambled to the corner of the room, blanketed completely by the spirit’s long shadow. “Yangchen protect me!” The spirit woman followed him and lowered her red-and-white face to his. A human would have passed some kind of judgment on Kuji as he cowered like this. The cold disregard in her eyes was worse than any pity or sadistic amusement. “Yangchen isn’t here right now,” she said in a rich, commanding voice that would have been beautiful had she not held such clear indifference for his life. “I am. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

24 " Some of my friends in the other nations would argue that, on occasion, truth and beauty must be defended with ugliness. They would claim a gardener who nurtures a flower so others can enjoy it bloom for a few moments must spend much time with their hands buried in dirt.” Kyoshi would have chosen a less pleasant word than dirt. “What do you believe then?” Jinpa smiled sadly. “I believe I have to make peace with my own choices, just like everyone else.” The tint of pain in his expression reminded her too much of Kelsang for her to believe Jinpa was at complete peace with himself. Outsiders enviously and condescendingly assumed Airbenders lived in a state of innocent bliss, but that didn’t give the monks and nuns enough credit for their inner strength. From what Kyoshi knew, belonging to the wandering nation meant a constant struggle with your own morals against the world’s. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

25 " It wasn’t the reaction Rangi was looking for, but Kyoshi swelled with a sudden happiness. She couldn’t help it. Rangi acting so completely, utterly normal tugged on a rope connected directly to her heart. It always would. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

26 " Better than open war was not a standard to live by. And yet people seemed content with it. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

27 " The instant the facts disagreed with their preconceived notions, people lost their minds. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

28 " She finally figured out how she felt about the young man who'd been there quietly in the background, providing her care with grace and compassion.
He was a dirty snitch. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

29 " An innocent man was going to die, and the whole world down to the victim himself was whispering in her ear to stand back and let it happen. Kyoshi’s shriek started low in her stomach and filled her body. It was a sound of pure and total despair. The country would be saved. Her side had won. The guards rounding the corner were thrown back by her cries of anguish, the ghost tearing itself free from her lungs. Yun’s impostor, so ready to die, shuddered away from her howls like they were curses. Kyoshi screamed in the darkness, over and over again, her hatred for the world and herself spiraling into oblivion. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

30 " It took so long for the threads of mistakes and monstrous deeds to stop weaving into the future, to just tie themselves off and end. Maybe they never ended. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

31 " All right then. In that case, I only have one question.” Kyoshi cast her gaze around the room. “Are you sure this is all of you?” The Triad members glanced at each other. Mok’s face swelled with rage, reddening like a berry in the sun. It wasn’t insolence so much as pragmatism, her instinct for tidiness and efficiency rising to the surface. “If not, I can wait until everyone arrives,” Kyoshi said. “I don’t want to have to go back and check each floor.” “Tear her apart!” Mok screamed. The hatchet men charged from all directions. Kyoshi drew one of her fans. Two would have been a bit much. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

32 " Some people in my country like to believe Avatar Yangchen watches over them. But you, Fire Lord. I can assure you that Avatar Kyoshi watches over you. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

33 " What we do without guidance defines who we are! "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

34 " Only home could make you feel this bad. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

35 " The rest of the soldiers attacked. They were the royal elite, undoubtedly selected from the best of the best to serve in the palace. But Kyoshi was the Avatar. And she still had a free hand. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

36 " Certain people . . . they turn you into who you were before. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

37 " Zoryu shrugged, a gesture that looked strange when performed by the leading figure of an entire country. His sturdy shoulder pads weren’t designed for ambivalence and almost swallowed his head as they rose upward. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

38 " One of the first lessons a player learns is never to interrupt your opponent when she's in the middle of making a fatal mistake. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

39 " A gardener who nurtures a flower so others can enjoy it bloom for a few moments must spend much time with their hands buried in dirt. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)

40 " There was no sense or structure to it, the way the world scattered lives into the wind like chaff to land so far apart. "

― F.C. Yee , The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels, #2)