"There are things that you learn about war between humans that I hope you never learn Baron Hanrahan," Isabell told the slack-jawed baron as she finished telling her tale. "I hope you never learn to take joy in windy days because the wind drowns out the sounds of people screaming as they burn to death," she said coldly. "I hope you never count it a double blessing because the flames burn hotter and spread faster when the winds are high and the work will be done sooner."
"More than anything, I hope you never fight demons who learn to fight the way humans do in the old countries," she added as she stared at the trembling baron with gray eyes that felt so haunted they must have belonged to a ghost. "Because the day they learn that is the day you learn what it's like to survive the destruction of your entire city, and what it feels like to preside over funerals that last for days."
