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It’s never the enemy who attacks outright who will strike your killing blow, he’d taught me. It’s the one who hides in the shadows and waits. The one who strikes when you’ve finally looked away. Those are the true predators to fear.
You get five minutes to feel sorry for yourself. Then you get up, and you get back to work.
To beat your enemy, you have to know your enemy—intimately. And there’s no better place to do that than in their own home.”
I should be grateful. I had a skill, which meant I’d never go hungry. I had a family, which meant I’d never be alone. And I had safety—no enemies, no threats. Provided I could learn to follow the rules, I would live a nice, long life. A safe life.
“You still have that look on your face, you know.” “What look?” “The ‘I’m in the mood to murder someone’ look.”
“Surrender? What a shame. I much prefer a good fight.”
But I was made of swinging fists and rash words, my edges too jagged and my temper too hot. Nothing about me was delicate.
Beware of answered prayers.
To be disarmed is to court death.
The world will try to disarm you, Diem. Do not let them. By wits or by weapon, be prepared at all times.
“You know how every realm has two kinds of magic? Light and shadow in Lumnos, stone and ice in Montios, sea and air in Meros, and so on.”
“Well, in the other realms, most Descended get one type of magic or the other. Only the very strongest get both. In Fortos, it works differently. The female Descended always get healing magic, while the male Descended get the power to kill—they can make your body decay right in front of their eyes. Makes them tough to beat in a fight. There are some who aren’t fully male or female and have both types of magic, but I hear that’s rare.”
Hmmm interessante j que tem um voz dizendo Lute e ela salvou alguem da morte certa
If any man finds himself facing my Diem on a battlefield, the best end he can hope for is that she makes it quick,
“Where did you hear that—about the army spies?” Henri’s posture shifted almost indiscernibly. “I used to know one. I delivered messages for her.” He frowned at me. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
Ssuspicious .... Trocou de ssunto bem rapido
I’d passed over the Lumnos-Fortos border countless times in my life, but never had I felt anything like that.
Talvez porque Agora ela era adulta ?
War is death and misery and sacrifice. War is making choices that will haunt you for the rest of your days. You fight to protect, or to survive, but never for the joy of killing, no matter how brutal your enemy.
Henri had lied to me. I’d asked him directly about the tattoo’s meaning, and he’d lied to me.
Eu sabiaaaaaa
“Tell me what’s going on.” I crossed my arms, one brow raised expectantly. His voice went quiet. “Like you’ve told me what’s going on with you?”
Wtf
Fight. My eyes squeezed closed. I... I wanted to hurt him. Break his bones. Claw his skin until he bled. The thought horrified me. Captivated me. Purred to me. “Go back downstairs to your friends,” I forced out between clenched teeth. My quivering hands flexed and fisted, over and over.
Eu sabiaaaaa
I’d always been a spitfire, and proud of it. An unbreakable spirit in a world that wanted me to be quiet, small, subservient. But no longer was that spark manifesting in courage or innocent mischief. Now, it had become something destructive. Something deadly.
El tem dois poderesz
“I hope so,” he said, his eyes softening with some inscrutable emotion. “She is a force to be reckoned with—just like you.”
Se for a mae dea eu paro de ler
“These women are here in the service of the Crown,” Luther said coolly. “Is this how we treat His Majesty’s guests?” “But they were—” Luther’s fist tightened to a ball, and the cords constricted around the guard’s neck, choking off his protest. “No, Your Highness,” he finally wheezed out. “Then apologize.” His eyes narrowed. “Be convincing.”
I wondered if Luther had a spouse—surely no handsome face could be worth putting up with that. Gods, imagine the man in bed... he probably demanded his lovers address him by title there, too. Harder, Your Highness. Wilst thou give me permission to come, Your Highness? Let me kneel for you and show the Prince’s little prince a good time, Your H—
Hahahahahaha
even a scratch. “I think,” he said, tugging it from my grasp, “it’s safe to say, Miss Bellator, you’ve already won me over.” With a lightning-fast flick of his fingers, he spun the blade in his palm to grip it by the handle. He stepped closer and smoothly slid the dagger back into my belt. “If you hadn’t, I’d be putting that knife somewhere other than your sheath.”
Smaller means you’re faster and harder to hit, he’d say. Weaker means you’ll be underestimated, better able to catch them by surprise.
“If you cannot be stronger, be smarter. Choose both your battles and your enemies with care. Know when to flee a fight to win a war.”
Your life is far too precious to me to be wasted.”
“You know I would support you, right?” I said softly. “Even if you were more than ‘just friends.’ Even if you steal her from her cousin-husband and run off to Umbros to elope and have a thousand forbidden babies. I’d be the proudest aunt there ever was.”
For too many mortal men, sex was about power and control in a world where they had little of either.
Don’t choose a mediocre life for a mediocre man. Go be exceptional. If he’s worth it, he won’t judge you. And if he’s really the one, he’ll come along for the ride.”
smart and rational were privileges of the lucky, the fortunate few who could afford to close their eyes to injustice and walk away.
Choose your battles and your enemies with care,
I arched a brow. “Isn’t it strange that he called for a healer two days after I told you I was willing to help? That timing is—”
hmmmm suspicios
If you want to take them on, you have to learn to blend in, not stand out.”
My mother and father had made sure Teller and I always knew what it was to be cherished, to be given a soil of unconditional love to nourish our growth and keep us rooted no matter the world’s storms.
do. She said the light wants to please its wielder, but the shadows only want to fight.”
This was respect—the kind that could only be earned through trials and proof.
Sometimes you have to do things you hate in order to stop worse things from happening.”
“But Luther seems so fun and laid-back. I bet he would love my jokes.” Maura’s eyes raised skyward. “It’ll be a miracle if you don’t get yourself killed.” “Fine. Back to protocol. To please Prince Luther, I’m to stay down on my knees until His Future Majesty is fully and completely satisfied.”
“It’s strange, isn’t it, to think that this King who has lived and ruled for generations is now just a helpless, dying old man?” I asked.
Parece que alguém envenenaria ele já que eles são quase imortais
hips. “May I?” My brows arched. “Now you ask?” “I wouldn’t want you to think I wasn’t taught to ask for a woman’s consent.”
The intimacy of it, especially surrounded by an audience of Maura and the other guards, had heat tingling in places I tried desperately not to think about.
Uhuuuuuuuuuu hhihihihihi
Luther looked as flustered as I felt. If I didn’t feel like my skin was about to spontaneously combust, I might even have enjoyed watching him squirm. And on his knees, no less.
Akspoakspokaposkaposkaposk
Luther knew—I was certain of it. I’d seen the keen awareness in his eyes. The judgment—the warning. And yet... he’d let me go without a word. Why?
Hihihihi WHY she asked hahahahah
the shadows are as dangerous as the people.”
“Shadows work the same way. Darkness isn’t just the absence of light—it’s the absence of everything. No light, no heat, no air. True darkness can destroy even life itself.”
He was once again a marble-carved statue—pretty to look at, impossible to know.
But the Prince had not moved his eyes from me since I entered, and standing a breath away from the Crown with a knife of Fortosian steel in my boot was already pushing my luck.
“Whatever it is you’re up to, I assure you it’s in your best interest to reveal yourself immediately.” Yeah, right. If my lungs weren’t about to explode with the effort of staying silent, I might actually have laughed. “If the others find you before I do, there will only be so much I can do to protect you.” Protect me? How gullible did he think I was? Did he really expect me to— “Don’t end up like your mother. She betrayed me and lost my trust. You should learn from her mistakes.”
“Release her,” Luther growled. The guard hesitated. The knife moved away from my throat, but my body remained pinned in place. “Your Highness, she—” “I said release her.”
