How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The sense of immense, strange power controlled and leashed by her hands and then laid to sleep once more against her arm was something like the feeling she had after a good day on the farm, work that had gone well, in fine clear weather, with larks invisibly high above the fields, pouring out their song. (9.33)
Tilja is beginning to relish her role as a fully productive member of their group—no longer is she the magic-less one. Once they're in the Empire, which is full of magic, she can contribute to their journey and becomes in charge of her own powers—and helps her team big time on their quest to find Faheel.
Quote #2
But that didn't alter the fact that she'd done it, alone and without help, and done it by discovering something totally new about herself. That discovery filled with a sort of peaceful exhilaration. (9.80)
When Tilja beats Silena, she's worried that she won't be able to do it again—but at the same time, she's also thrilled that she's tapped into a previously unknown part of herself. The magic is hers, and no one helped her find it. In other words, there's a new Tilja in town.
Quote #3
Again she felt the force of the wards that guarded teh city, but it was very different from when she had first come through. There was no numbness, but an intense, strange feeling, as if the hand that enclosed the ring box had been a wine glass round whose rim somebody was rubbing a moistened fingertip, setting up a note that in a moment would shatter the glass.
No, she told it, and raised her fist in defiance. The finger withdrew and the note stilled. (12.8-9)
When Tilja enters Talagh, she feels the power of the city's wards pressing in on her, trying to break her control. Rather than letting these intimidating powers get to her, she resists, defying Talagh's will. She tells them no, and the girl means it—and it works. The first time she came through Talagh, Tilja wouldn't have had the confidence and power to do this, but she's matured into her powers by now.