“In sessions over in Marrow, in the ransacked halls of the Arrad Chambers, they advocated for great sums of money to go to the Bridgers to repair their tarnished heirloom.  We’d not get a penny of it. We were left to fend for ourselves. ”

“The earthquake that rocked through the city would only be a footnote. A disaster that many would tie to other events of that day. Because, at the same time as our protest, the rest of the Jubilant were over the other end of the city. And they were about to do something really fucking stupid.”

“Heat in Embrace wraps close to the skin – saturating, condensation mingling with sweat. There’s a texture to it that I’ve not felt anywhere else. When the sun breaks, it doesn’t tip-toe through dawn. It’s there in its full fury, from moment of first light til its dusk retreat.

That summer the city blistered. The scrimshawers were kept busy repairing cracks in bone; the Trill’s moisture was the only thing that stopped the fleshwood from igniting. Our tempers though were frayed to wicks, ready to catch. Hulling day would be the spark.”

“As much as Maybes had leaders, Ezra was the Jubilant’s. When we took Oken, others in the Ginnels had a dozen ideas for different ways we could use him – whether that be as a bargaining chip with the council or turning him into the weapon the Jackal’s said he was. It took all my sway to keep him with the Jubilant. I reasoned that if Ezra could help a fool like me, then just maybe they could do the same with Oken.”

“Then, there were the Jubilant. They weren’t professional or ruthless; they weren’t calculating or swift-tongued – but, they had their ways. They were resourceful, broad-hearted and brave. Uncertain in a way that kept them open to other means of doing things.

Others liked to dismiss them. All they saw was the messes they created but they never watched for long enough to see that, no matter how dire the situation, they always found a way back out.”