Of Blood and Aether (Harbingers, #1)

by Harper Hawthorne

Unto the moon, within her glow These strands of aether ebb and flow The Fates align and set the course Of lives that started at the Source Immortal blood and mortal flesh Their hearts entwined, their realms enmeshed Sins of the past, forgotten strife A debt of death is paid with life The ties that bind, he will forsake And pay the cost left in their wake The ties that bind, in turn, unmake her Restore these realms of blood and aether

OFF TO A PHENOMENAL START WOW

The coming of this Catalyst was written in the stars, they said. And he would wreak havoc and vengeance upon those responsible for the blight that consumed their realm. One day, the Crones had promised, all would kneel before the Harbinger of Hel.

“He who has been chosen, this star-split soul, shall be the Catalyst to this prophecy of mirrored fates. He is our reckoning. The other, our deliverance. Together, they are our salvation.”

I was good at arguing. I liked to argue.

she's just like me fr

I felt the warmth bloom in my chest as my Resonance stirred to life,

SCARRED FROM IPB

The Arcane Studium. It was here that a Resonant could become a Conduit, learning to channel their elemental abilities into the complex arcana of the gods themselves—or at least something akin to it. We mortals would never be able to access the near-limitless powers of creation that our ancient, immortal ancestors once had.

nEver...right

“Your Resonant element of aether?” “Light.” And Shadow. And Fire. And Water. And Earth. And Air. But he didn’t need to know that.

Fucking slay

I broke him. If only I could bring myself to give a shit.

Lol mood

I was not a betting man… but I was still a man, one with as many carnal cravings as the next. Perhaps more. Probably more.

Tell me more

supposedly Shadow aether was the strongest resource for Light arcana. But that... that was arcana. Not Resonance. There was a difference.

The potential for powersharing...

If Light could fade to Shadow, Shadow could grow into Light. Night into day. Dusk into dawn.

I would be so lucky to encounter a thief with the balls to fuck around and find out. Let them make my day.

I love him

Which is why, when some stunning little thing breezed past me in the Market District first thing on a Monday morning, her head buried deep within the pages of a book, it was easy enough to step back into the Shadows and give chase in silence, sight unseen.

STUNNING LITTLE THING

I couldn’t quite place the reason behind the immediate desire. Her shoulder had brushed mine as she passed, just barely—not that she’d seemed to notice.

“Okay so full disclosure, I’m a lesbian, but… the hot one.

lol word

the captain stood out, partially because he was so tall. The man would likely tower over me if he were closer, and I wasn’t particularly small in stature. I also liked the deep, golden tan tones of his skin, and the way that his dark hair was lengthy enough on top that it fell into his face as he leaned forward into his laughter.

a h a

The left side of his face was marred by the slash of a scar through his brow, eye, and cheekbone.

A H A

I could sense a wicked, dark sort of edge to the man that I found strangely intriguing. It wasn’t just the scar, or the hint of a tattoo I could see crawling up his neck. It was just in his energy, the way he carried himself, the way he laughed. It felt dangerous, but also beautiful.

hehe

I could not stop staring at that woman if I tried.

oh my god

Not that I was entirely above the idea of stalking her from the Shadows… but no, not yet.

If I could parrot those around me well enough, I could surely pass myself off as somebody perfectly average. Just another Conduit. Nobody would suspect that I had something to hide. Nobody would suspect I was different. Not in the ways that mattered.

“Well hello there, Little Conduit,”

He was so cocky, but I held my tongue. Mostly because I liked it.

word

But up close? Fates above, she was something else. A stunning little seraph—if a seraph could evoke such unholy thoughts.

Her mind was quick as a whip, immediately ready for the sort of banter that left me weak in the knees. Under any other circumstance, I would gladly allow this beautiful creature to be the death of me for a night.

“Have a nice morning, freshling.” But naturally, the attractive guardsman added one more comment in passing on his way out. “You and that wicked tongue of yours.” Gods, I hated him.

IM GIGGLING

Come, come. Let us sunbathe and get drunk.”

this is so celaena sardothien coded

Gods, she was gorgeous. I had tried to forget it, honestly. But then I had to go and run into Arken at the bakery this morning. And the moment I was in that woman’s presence again, I forgot all about my endeavor to avoid her.

sir,” Arken spat. I had to disregard the way hearing that last part of the sentence made me feel if I had any hopes of remaining coherent.

mans is sweating

“What’s your favorite number?” “Thirteen.” Interesting.

arken is a swiftie confirmed

In time, the Elders discovered that the first humans were far more emotional, passionate, and creative than their progenitors—within their shortened lifespans, they innovated, they explored, they created art and music and laughed and screamed and cried and loved, all so viscerally.

Together, the gods determined that in order to close the chasms and restore balance to the plane, a majority of the Aetherborne’s arcane power would need to be condensed and shifted into the hands of a select few.

huh yeah not sus at all

“Just trust me, freshling.” Arken rolled her eyes at the term, and I laughed again. I seemed to laugh often around her, and it was a breath of fresh air in contrast to my habits of more apathetic brooding.

SOFT

She talked about the past like it was something of great importance to consider, not just a forgone conclusion.

Her frenzied enthusiasm for it almost reminded me of Viktor—though I promptly pushed that thought out of my mind.

is viktor the previous light conduit?? did he die right before she was BORN????

a bowl of tomato bisque paired with a cheese sandwich on a cold day? Divine.

A MAN AFTER MY OWN HEART

She was too clever for her own good. And mine, really.

For a moment, I just stared at her. A strange blend of awe, appreciation and discomfort—feeling somewhat exposed by her insights. A Light Conduit, comforted by the Shadows.

I was fascinated by this woman. I wanted to know so much more about her. Despite my better judgment, I wanted to know everything.

That night was the first time I dreamt about Kieran Vistarii.

OHOHOHO

I knew that he hadn’t really been stalking me, but a pathetic part of me had wished he would.

PFFFFFT mood

If I got lucky and ran into the guardsman again, I would simply focus on being his friend. Surely, we could be that much. We couldn’t ever be more than that, but I could at least use a friend. No harm in that, right?

famous last words

I could not get that godsdamned woman out of my head, and that was… exceptionally unlike me. It was so unnerving that I felt like I could crawl out of my skin every time that she crossed my mind,

oh he’s GONE

The idea of tears in those pretty little golden doe eyes? Caused by me? Intentionally? It kinda made me sick to my stomach.

It was ultimately better for the both of us, because whether the Little Conduit enjoyed her time in the Shadows or not, she would not enjoy her time in mine.

😩😩😩

it was far too dangerous for me to want… what I wanted from her. Everything. Anything. Fucking Hel.

I set my jaw to avoid a very irrational response to this poor kid, who was catching me on the worst night to receive this exact information. It wasn’t even jealousy that had me simmering, it was the crude description. Kinda cute? Unless there was some other short, deliciously soft, doe-eyed woman I’d accidentally ensnared recently and didn’t know about, Grant had to be talking about Arken, and she went well beyond “kinda cute.” She was so godsdamned hot that it had been ruining me for a week straight.

I AM FUCKING DEAD

so it was just me and the tea kettle, screaming to ourselves at midnight.

kieran is in horny jail fr

I’m terribly bored, Little Conduit. What are you up to?

using a raven to slide into her dm’s…. nice

“The notion of… eternal protectors. The thought that the Fates might actually be real.”

👀