Court of Nightfall (The Nightfall Chronicles, #1)

by Karpov Kinrade

This world likes violence and winning. And I'm good at both.

I have always been a creature of knowledge. When the other children drew flowers in the sand, I drew plans for war. When they stared at clouds and gave them names, I studied the wind and predicted the weather. When they did as their parents asked because their parents said they knew best, I asked my parents why and how, and they did their best to explain—though even they said there were things a child should not hear. I did not understand why they said it. To me, knowledge was power, and I wondered if that was why adults kept it from children, why patricians kept it from plebeians. Those with knowledge controlled those without, and I would not be controlled. If you were to ask me what I think now, I would tell you this: I still think knowledge is power, but I no longer think that power is always good.

want to be one of them, not because I crave power, but because I fear weakness. It is the way I have always been; I cannot be weak. The price is too high.

"Remember, little Star, it's easy to fight, but much harder to know when. When to fight. When to win." His voice lowered. "When to lose."

"The only ones we can lose are ourselves. We can lose the dream we once had, but we can still remember. Remember, Jaxton Lux. Remember who you are."

There's a sick pleasure in watching something beautiful burn. That's the illness in human nature, that we revel in destruction.