"Now it wasn't just the duty and tradition that had been passed down through her blood for damn near a millennium. Now it was a fight to save humankind. She was here, with this strange little band—two of which, vampire and sorcerer, turned out to be her ancestors—to fight the mother of all battles." Page 23, Chapter 1.

"She stiffened when Larkin put an arm around her shoulders, but when she would have shifted away he tightened his grip in the comfort of a one-armed hug. 'I don't know your father or your brother, but I do know I'd rather be here with you than either of them. You fight like an avenging angel. And you smell good.'" Page 63, Chapter 2.

"He changed, but it wasn't a hawk that stood beside her. The dragon's gold wings spread, and as it reared back, its tail sliced down...