Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1)

by Callie Hart

“I’m not beautiful. I’m filthy, and I’m tired, and my voice is full of sarcasm and annoyance, so let’s just get on with this, shall we?”

“I’m not talking about in the Hub or any of the fancy inner wards. D’you even know how much she gives us to drink every day? In the Third?” “I’m sure it’s enough—” “Six ounces.” I shoved the water canteen into his stomach so hard that his breath made an “ooof” sound as it rushed out of his body.

Anarchy and rebellion spread like a wildfire. And what do you do with a fire? You blockade it. Trap it behind a wall. Give it nowhere else to go until it burns itself out and dies a quiet death. That’s what Madra’s doing with my people. Except our fire hasn’t burned out the way she’d hoped it would. We’ve been reduced to embers, yes, but the coals that lie beneath the ash of my ward are still hot enough to burn. Do you know much about metalwork, Captain? I do. It’s under the most unbearable conditions that the sharpest, most dangerous weapons are forged. And we are dangerous, Captain. She’s turned us all into weapons. That is why she won’t suffer my people to live.”