Shadow & Storms (The Legends of Thezmarr, #4)

by Helen Scheuerer

‘I am the storm,’ she told herself. She let her lightning rage, right alongside her heart, and she split the gods-damned tower in two.

Wilder watched in awe and reverence as his love took on the world for him.

a true man won’t cut you down as you fight your battles… A true man helps sharpen your sword, guards your back and fights at your side.’

‘Welcome to war, Zoltaire,’ Esyllt told her. ‘It never feels right.’

‘For the longest time, women have been erased, little by little, or in the case of the Furies themselves, in one fell swoop. We have lived in the shadow of the rights and laws of men. But when the world is reborn, it will be of our own making. You’re fighting for that world, and you have the same right to armour as the rest of us. You are surrounded by women who want to see you empowered, and that is stronger than any fucking army in these realms.

A world of own making. Imagine.

Don’t let the world – don’t let anyone convince you that you’re not enough. Only you define your story. You and you alone. When they tell you what you’re not, when they tell you what you can’t do, remember: you are the storm, Elwren. You split the skies and flood the plains. You make the ground tremble beneath their boots. No one can fucking stop you.’

😭🥰😭🥰😭

‘We may be divided in our own histories and prejudices, but one thing unites us. We stand against tyranny. We stand against the poison and curses swallowing our world. We will break their lines. We will shatter them from within. We’ve been forced into hiding, persecuted, kept down for far too long. This is our time to rise. So rise!’

‘You’re welcome, Bear Slayer,’ she shouted across the chaos, pitching another potion right into the heart of an enemy unit. Torj shook his head in wonder, and Thea grinned at Drue.

‘You’ll slowly learn that of the three Embervale sisters, Wren is the one to fear the most.’

She had everything she’d ever wanted, and for whatever time she had left, she’d be grateful for the privilege.

Arguing with an Embervale sister was like arguing with a brick wall.

‘You are the true warriors of the midrealms – those who have been knocked down time and time again, only to rise up stronger than before. What those bastards behind these walls fail to comprehend, what they can never grasp, is the indomitable spirit that resides within each and every one of you. Together, we are a tempest that will rage. A storm that gathers must break, and by the Furies will we break upon them.’

Together, they summoned the storm.

Fuck yeah they did

‘We are all daughters of darkness, Thea. We were born into a world of it, a place that would dictate the way in which we defend ourselves, the way we live our lives. No more. That world is no longer. And the next one will be what we make it.’

‘Gods, I love you,’ he told her. He had promised himself he’d never hold back from saying it again, that when the words rose in his chest he would say them to her, wherever they were, whatever they were doing.