House of Ash and Shadow (Gilded City, #1)

by Leia Stone

“You said I couldn’t control how people treated me, but I could control my reaction to their mistreatment. That it would define who I was.”

“Well, the moral of the story is to be kind to others but defend yourself if you must.”

“Come back with me tomorrow and see Headmaster Clarke at The Academy.” My head reeled back in shock. “Why the Nightling would I do that?” He looked me up and down again, slowly, and my stomach warmed. “Because you have more magic than anyone I’ve ever met. I can smell it on you, like a sharp, aged whiskey. You belong here.”

‘Let’s get one thing clear. I am loyal to you and you alone, Fallon Bane. If you need my help, I offer it without question. If your heart breaks, my heart breaks too. If someone seeks to harm you, I will harm them no matter who they are or what title they carry. And if you go insane with darkness and become a Nightling, then I too go with you.’

“And what if I go dark?” I whimpered. His face sobered. “Then I will jump into the shadows and pull you back to the Light.”

“I’m saying that from the moment I met you I’ve felt some spark of myself come alive that I long thought was dead. I’m saying that I can’t get the way you smell out of my head, and I dream about tasting you. I’m saying, Fallon Brookshire, that I don’t care who your mother is, I just want to be the person that makes you happy. It’s always been you.”