Of Empires and Dust (The Bound and The Broken, #4)

by Ryan Cahill

“Your eyes are open now, Farda. Your cowardice lies in your refusal to face the things you’ve done and stand anyway. The man I knew would never see what is coming and leave the rest of us alone to face it without him.

But if instead you choose to stand and be counted, to once again fight for the right reasons, then I will stand beside you in that as well. You will not be redeemed, nor will I. That is not possible. But you can still do good in this world.

Farda drew a long breath, then flicked the coin into the air. He watched its flight, watched it glint in the yellow and red. And then, as the coin started its downward arc, he turned and walked away.

yes!

One last fight, my love. If they let me. I promise you.

He should have felt like a hero of legend, but instead he was more like a fish dragged from water and told to fly.

“I was joking, lighten up.” Dann turned his head to see Tarmon staring at him with a bemused look on his face. “What?” “You’re talking to a horse.” “And?” “I suppose you’ve done stranger things.” “This doesn’t even come close.

Be careful.” Dann eyed the bird with suspicion. “Why? How dangerous is it?” “It’s harmless.” “Then why be careful?” “Because it’s smarter than you are and will steal anything you don’t chain up.” “Smarter than us?” “No,” Vaeril corrected, a grin spreading across his face. “Just you.”

lol! yay the bird!

“Du vyin alura anis, Alea.” Dann repeated, brushing his finger against the side of Lyrei’s hand. “Du vyin alura anis, Baldon.” You can rest now.

instant bawl 😭

He would catch that bird, no matter the cost. Well, perhaps that was a little dramatic. He would catch that bird as long as the costs were minimal.

“Dann, did the bird steal your shoe?” “No.” “Then where’s your shoe?” “I didn’t need it anymore,” Dann said with a shrug. “The bird stole your shoe.”

“It didn’t steal the shoe. It borrowed the shoe… without asking… and with no intention to return it.” “That’s stealing, Dann.”

Once again, they all burst out in fits of laughter. Erik laughed so hard he started coughing and fell on his side. “If you keep chasing that bird,” he said through watering eyes, “you’re going to be naked by the time we reach Salme.”

where did this idea come from? it's so good.

“You have become everything that I should have been, Calen. Everything that I was meant to be before The Fall took that life from me. That is the reason I kept Ella’s survival from you. Because if I’d told you, then you would have gone to her, and you would have been right to do so. Because that is what a Draleid does. They protect the ones they love. They protect those who need them. Before you and Valerys rose to challenge Jormun and the others, you said, ‘We’re meant to be guardians, not survivors.’ And you were right. I’ve not been a guardian in a very long time.”

‘there’s no point in living if we don’t fight for what we love.’ No matter the outcome, I can say with my hand on my heart that you are not a puppet or an instrument or a tool to be used – not anymore. And if any try, it will be my blade they’ll find pressed to their necks. Du é myia’kar. Du é myia’ríen. Ar na daui nai din siel væra myia haydria.” You are my brother. You are my kin. And to die by your side would be my honour.

The looks on the faces of the men and women saddled with that task were ones of utter shock, which in truth was the exact response Verma herself would have given if she had been asked to fetch a bag from a dragon.

“Fight the battles you think worth fighting, Lord Animar. Just remember that if we call and you don’t answer, there might not be anyone there to hear your screams when the Lorians bring the dragonfire.”

Aurelian stared after Calen Bryer, one hand hovering, his index finger extended as though he were about to make a counterpoint. If looks could kill, the scowl on Aurelian’s face would have decapitated a horse. To Verma’s surprise, the man clenched his hand into a fist and snorted. “I like him.”

Still, he would abide the name so long as it put courage in their hearts to think him worthy of it.

“Lanan, you’re going to kill the man by making him shit himself to death.”

🤣

How, by all divine will, was he standing on the walls of Salme, awaiting relief from an army sent by Calen Bryer? It wasn’t even stuff of bards’ tales. It sounded more akin to one of Dann Pimm’s drunken stories, like that time the boy had sworn he’d laid eyes on a horse with a horn growing from its head.

I really hope at some point we see a unicorn.

“They don’t need you to die for them either, Erdhardt.” Erdhardt patted Dahlen on the shoulder, then looked around him. “I already did. I’m just lingering a little longer.”

“What? I’m just trying to be nice. What more do you want from me?” “Silence would be appreciated every now and again.”

“Don’t scream. The cliffs will carry the sound, and they’ll hear us coming.” “I’m going to fucking bite you the whole way down. I’m going to fucking bite you, and I’m going to draw blood.” Dayne’s smile didn’t falter. “Deep breath.”

Dayne curled a thin thread of Water around himself and used it to splash Belina in the face. “I know that was you.” “No idea what you’re talking about,” he said, purposefully not looking at her.

He could have dealt with them all quickly, but that night wasn’t about efficiency, or haste, or even death. It was about terror. It was about the traitors and the Lorian soldiers watching their mages be ripped apart one by one. Watching the shadows hunt them. It was about making them fear the dark.

“Who… who are you?” Her lips curled into a sad smile. “On any given day? A woman trying to finally do something worthwhile. But tonight? Tonight, I am death. So very sorry to meet you.”

“You threw it at my head? How was I meant to catch that?” “With your fucking hands, lad.” He pressed his palm to his face. “I only have one, and I’d have caught that. Has anyone ever told you that you have the coordination of a drunk Varsundi donkey with one eye?” “They’ve not been that specific, no.”

Love should be hard won and defended with every shred of a person’s soul.

Home is where your heart goes when you let it wander.”

“There is nothing more important in the darkness than a ray of light.”

Calen savoured the embrace before answering. After the events of the last two years, he’d learned to savour the moments with the ones he loved.

There came a point, Arden had realised, where all children discovered the darkness in people, where they saw what living things were willing to do to each other. That point was the death of innocence.

I do not wish to leave the men and women in that city to die, but war is nothing more than a series of impossible choices, and we do what we must.”

“So let me speak simple and plain. If you dare mock one of my commanders like that again, disrespect them in any way, I will stick my boot so far up your arse we will see if your shit is as gold as your shirt.”

Dann shrugged. “True. But I think Tarmon dealt with that, did he not? ‘We will see if your shit is as gold as your shirt.’ Gods, I wish it was me who’d said that. That was beautiful. The man is a mountain with a poet’s heart.”

Elves think they speak in riddles, but they overestimate themselves.” Dann gestured to Vaeril, who stood only a few feet away. “No offence intended, Vaeril.” “A little taken.”

lol I don't know why that hit but I literally almost spit out my water.

“Wield that blade beside these warriors in battle. Guard their lives with it, carve the path forward with it. You’ll soon find yourself worthy. Legends aren’t passed down, Vaeril. They’re forged. Nobody is worthy until they are.”

“That feather-covered little shitsmear.” “Dann, it’s just a bird.” “That’s no bird,” Dann said, draining the remainder of his wine and setting his cup down, never taking his eyes off the bird. “That’s a demon covered in feathers. Its sole purpose is destruction and terror… and it has my sock. This is where I leave you both. We all have our destinies. This is mine.”

And if me standing on that wall, night after night, day after day, gives these people the courage to do the same, then that’s what I’ll do. Because I can do very little else.”

“Get your soldiers to the wall.” The man’s head lolled, but Dahlen lifted it. “If I hear word of a single man or woman among your number not fighting, I will personally put their head on a block come the rising sun. And I will be the one who swings the blade. Do you understand?” The man nodded, his good hand holding the wrist of his shattered one. Dahlen gripped Erdhardt’s shoulder. “You ready to give this place one more day?”

Darlene is hardcore

Would I lie to Valdrin in order to keep him safe? Yes, I think I would. Because I am willing to become the thing he hates as long as it means I have kept him safe and warm and loved. That is my task as a mother. I hope he loves me. I hope he thinks the world of me, because if he didn’t, it would break my heart. And yet, as a mother, I’m willing for my heart to be broken to ensure his is whole.”

“Before I die, I want to be what I was before,” Farda said finally. “I want to be who I was.”

“The last few centuries of my life have been pointless. They have been dark and empty, and I let myself become the thing that I hated. I would prefer if my death meant something. If I could, in some small way, ease the suffering I’ve caused. Then, at least, I can find Shinyara again with a heart that holds a little light in it. I would like to be worthy of her again.”

me too

But I am always willing to be wrong if I can learn how to be right.

I love you, both because of who you are and who you are not.

I actually asked Marien, the librarian, to keep the book safe for me so I could show you when we’re back. She’s not as thorough as Gault but... Wait, did you say you love me?”

But when he sees her, it’s like everything melts away and all the words he hadn’t said throughout the day come pouring from his mouth. He laughs and smiles and becomes almost a different person. It’s like he only becomes himself around her. And I think that’s love, because if that’s not love, I’m really not sure what is. And that’s what you do to me. So I think I love you, but that’s all dependent on the definition of the word. So if my dad loves my mam, then I love you.”

oh my goodness that was adorable and perfectly Rist

Rist.” She rested her hands on his cheeks once more. “You’re the furthest thing from a monster this world has ever had.”

Would you please make the mistake of taking me as your husband?”

“Belina… is that a hand… in your hand?”