How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"For all I know your father thinks it's more than hard on you, being cut out by Anja, but they've known the reason. Supposing it was for something they'd grown up not believing in, couldn't bring themselves to believe in […]. Do you see now why it's better like it is, in spite of what it's doing to you? And did to Grayne? I tell you, girl, it's a knife in my heart every time I see her, thinking of it." (3.219)
Tilja feels alienated from the rest of her family, but Meena explains why it might be better long-term this way—though it isn't exactly helping Til feel better here.
Quote #2
Magic, she thought. Yes, Talagh, the warded city. Wards of immense power, built into its walls by the greatest magicians in the Empire. And she, Tilja, had just carried Axtrig through them. The Ropemaker had said he didn't know if she could do it, but she had. The wards had tried to stop her, to break through her own mysterious defenses, and they had failed. Though she was still shuddering with the remembered strain and terror, beneath them she began to feel a strange sort of dazed exhilaration at the understanding of what she had done. (8.16)
Tilja is starting to realize that she might have magic of her own. She may not have the traditional powers of the Urlasdaughter family, but her power is still something special, different and unique in its own right. Tilja's beginning to discover that there's more to her than just the little girl from the Valley—she's got the power to defy some super powerful magic.
Quote #3
What had happened in the enclosure had been extremely frightening and dangerous, and she wasn't at all sure Silena mightn't have broken through her defenses if the donkey hadn't brayed at exactly the right time. Would she be able to do it again if the need rose? Do what? She didn't even know that. (9.79)
After beating Silena, Tilja isn't sure how she did it. Her newly-discovered power seems to work in ways she can't comprehend, and she wonders if she can put on a repeat performance if it's necessary. Magic is beginning to alter life as she knows it.