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Hope pieces together dreams out of broken glass only for reality to come and smash them all over again. Hope is the cruelest punishment of them all.
I know: it’s not her, you fool. It can’t be. It can never be. Because I killed her.
But nothing doesn’t mean you’re safe—it just means you haven’t spotted the danger yet.
The green grass is lovely and soft and yet, at the same time, hard and sharp. Like me.
But, sadly, the gods don’t honor wishes from girls like me.
I’d think it was a coincidence, but coincidences need luck and there’s none of that in Umbria. At least not for me.
The world will grab and pull at your humanity, try to strip you bare, but ultimately you decide whether to hang on or let go.
Tiyung is the Count’s son. His only heir. As cruel as his father but useless, so possibly the worst person in the three realms.
“The Queen of Khitan.” And that catches me off guard. It’s been a while since I’ve heard from my sister.
I’d expected something else when I heard about him. A bad man. A brute. And he isn’t one. I mean, yeah, he’s a violent killer, but no one’s perfect.
The second he touches me, a feeling rushes through me. Our hands fit together like a lock and key, but it’s more than that. He feels like home.
I didn’t mean for him to think I’m strange, but I guess when that’s the truth there’s not much you can do about it.
The legend is that the Dragon Lord gave his crown to the first Baejkin king, but his ring, scepter, sword, and amulet fell into the other realms as he ascended to the Heavens.
Samroc are enormous black birds that developed a fondness for human flesh.
He’s otherworldly when he’s violent. Transfixing. The God of War on earth. The most attractive being in the three realms.
On some level, people love watching others suffer and die.
I have an eerie feeling she will remember me. That the legend I heard of the birds tracking down the man’s entire family were true.
Never underestimate a person’s ability to surprise you.
Lord Yama, the King of Hells,
Sometimes revenge is a long game and, as much as you want a small win now, the larger victory needs time to manifest.
As the city fades in the distance, I get a feeling this is the last time I’ll ever see Umbria. I shake it off and go inside.
And then I resolve: once Daysum is free, I will kill Tiyung and send his head in a basket to the Count.
And while I wasn’t sure how I’d ever see him again, a part of me always knew I would. Knew our story wasn’t finished yet.
Of all the men I could’ve loved, the gods cursed me with this one.
“I get it. There are mistakes that can’t be unmade, but you try your best to make things right.”
Silence is a fantastic tool for getting to the truth, especially when you’re patient.
I’ve already seen the cost of war. It’s too great a price borne by the people who benefit the least.
A little off, a little too slow or fast, a little too early or late, and everything would be different. Life is timing, and timing is luck.
How many lives are we going to take? How much blood will my crown cost? And will I ever be good enough to warrant the price?
“I’m going to call him Royo,” I say. “He’s my angry little dragon.” I hold the toy by Royo’s face and roar.
“We make a good team, you know.” I’m teasing him, of course, but as we leave the amusement district, it strikes me how true it is. We’re different as can be, but it works. It makes us stronger. Like how iron and fire make steel.
Love is a balm…as well as a blade on your neck.”
Loving somebody is needing two hearts to live instead of just the one. You’re better off alone.
A thief, a strongman, a spy, an assassin, a nobleman, and an exiled prince add up to a ring of liars.
He feels like home, but not the one I grew up in or have now, the promise of returning home after years away. Somewhere warm and safe and inexplicably familiar.
But I remind myself that it’s not real pain—it’s a memory. But memories can cut like a blade.
I suppose we all have our own reasons and secrets, but we just killed for one another and hid one another’s crimes. That’s a kind of bloodship stronger than kin or clan. And I don’t think that even a god king can stand against six people who’d kill and die for one another.
Murder is a heavy thing that dirties your soul and infects your dreams.
“I’ve loved you since I first saw you, Sora. When you were only nine but you faced armed men with your chin up and tried to hide Daysum behind you. I fell for your beauty, of course—I’m human—but it was your spirit that did me in. Your capacity to love is deeper than the West Sea. You’re honest. You’re true. You are everything.”
If I really am falling for her, I have to say nothing. I gotta let my own heart break to save hers.
“Sora, I’d die a hundred times to kiss your lips.”
Idle Lake looks like glass because the water is so still. But the pleasant surface hides the monsters beneath. What a perfect metaphor for Qali.
Money, love, and revenge are the most common reasons for betrayal.
I suppose we all are liars and hypocrites, outraged to be betrayed as we planned to double-cross one another from the start. Liars and killers don’t make the best lovers.
