More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
My only claim to strangeness was that I read fiercely, learned thirstily.
“You think in the same way men drink, Tea,” my father once said, “far too much—under the delusion it is too little.”
But you cannot bind dead folk without their consent, and you cannot make them stay. That is the first rule of the Dark. There are only two types of people you cannot raise from the dead: those with silver heartsglass like ours and those who are not willing.
“Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves how bitterness tastes.”
The first are performing asha, known for their dancing and their singing, though their magic may be weaker than others. The second are fighting asha, known for their magic and their prowess, though they may not be the most gracious of hosts. The third are Dark asha like us, the strongest of them all.”
Asha means two things in old Runic. The first is ‘truth’; the second, ‘spellbinder.’ That is what we must do—we bind the magic and force it to do as we command.
“Daeva were created by the False Prince with death magic so complicated that not even asha today know how to recreate them. They were born dead, and even dormant, the Dark constantly replenish their bones. The Five Great Heroes discovered the means to kill the daeva—and slew six of the seven. Yet, every few years, they must be forcibly raised, divested of their bezoars, and sent back to their graves.
Their bezoars slowly decay as the day of their resurrection draws near, and when they disappear, the creatures rise, and we repeat this cycle all over again. It is important that we raise them within a specific time frame—seven days before they revive, at the least. They are dormant before that and do not respond even to the Dark.
“And if you do not raise them,” Fox said slowly, “they will climb out of their tombs at the peak of their strength and kill again, as one killed me.”
The only way to kill them again is to rip the bezoar from their bodies—a messy endeavor, even for an average asha. The False Prince’s final curse is a heavy burden.”
Only bone witches can control them long enough to deprive them of their bezoars. The people of Odalia may not like us, child, but a reason for their dislike is having to be beholden to us.”
“It will always feel good,” Lady Mykaela said softly, “at least at first. But the more you draw in such a short time, the harder it will be to put up barriers in your mind, until all you will concern yourself with is drawing more power until you die from the darkrot. It is an addiction that many bone witches could not overcome, and that is why we are so few in number. I compelled you the way I compelled the creature to show you the consequences of taking in too much, of letting your guard down and allowing someone else an opening to take over. In time, I will teach you control. I will teach
...more
Lady Mykaela was telling me the reason bone witches were feared: not because we could control daeva but because daeva were not the only ones we could choose to compel.
“But the world will always look different when you open your eyes to what you previously refused to see.
“They celebrate the spring equinox,” Fox said as boys and girls alike leapfrogged over the pyres, daring each other to jump higher at every turn. “Fire is a cleansing tool, and to leap over it is to clean themselves of all sickness and evil in anticipation of the coming year.”
Composure adorned a lady’s majestic hat. It didn’t work on me; the overabundance of feathers made her look like she had assaulted an ungainly duck in a past life and wore its skin, and the thought made me giggle.
The city rich are not like bees in a hive that work together to share honey for all. The city rich are like the jungle apes; they show off their red bottoms and beat their chests because they fear to be culled from the herd if they show weakness.
Asha also means ‘truth,’ and truth is the only weapon you need.
“You will change Ankyo, for the good and also for the bad. You will change Kion. You will change the Eight Kingdoms. Return to me once you have entered a mind from where three heads sprout.”
We asha are always expected to be on our most proper behavior, to never have so much as a hair out of turn. Asha do not cry or scream or make threats. When people cut us, we are expected to do only two things: smile and bleed.”
“Our houses are named after flowers for a reason. My house, Valerian, means ‘of an accommodating nature.’ Other asha-ka hold similar meanings. Hawkweed is for quick sightedness. Calla means ‘magnificent beauty.’
“It was only after I learned the language of flowers that I learned how inappropriately my sisters were named. Lilac means ‘the first stirrings of love’—and yet my sister Lilac was a spinster, more comfortable in her own company than in others. Marigold was a happy, bouncy girl, though her name meant ‘despair.’ Rose meant ‘beauty,’ but she was the homeliest of us sisters.
“There are many different kinds of daisies. A garden daisy means ‘I share in your sentiment.’ A wild daisy means ‘I make no promises.’ A Michaelmas daisy is to be an afterthought. And the common daisy means innocence.
These parties were the bread and butter of many Houses, where nobles and others who could afford it pay asha to bring life to what might otherwise be boring functions.
asha policy required that they all wear the traditional hua when attending functions at an official capacity, including entertaining guests within Ankyo.
She was quite adamant, however, that all who wished to be asha be strong in the Runic magic, a law still enforced today.
“Being the most powerful asha there does not always mean you are the most influential or the most popular,”
“In war, asha influence outcomes with their prowess in fighting, with their skills. But sometimes a beautiful voice can change a kingdom better than a sword ever could. Asha gifted in the arts are highly sought after in royal courts; quite a few go on to marry royalty. Defeat them in war and beguile them in peacetime—Vernasha believed both to be the way to stability.”
I was not ashamed that I spent many a night coming up with different ways to kill that woman.
His death had always felt like a barrier between us, like it prevented the closeness we had once shared.
A hua collection is as personal and as private as toiletries or underclothes and as distinctive as a face or a voice.
To put on someone else’s would be an invasion of her privacy, like stealing into her house or secretly assuming her identity.
“The Dark asha’s numbers dwindle daily with little to replenish them. There is only you and the girl left.
“You forget, Tea, that Dark asha cannot raise those who share the same silver heartsglass as theirs. Whatever the advantages our abilities give, we cannot enjoy them in death.”
Black heartsglass is a punishment meted out to those who commit certain atrocities that asha find repugnant. No one with a black heartsglass should be able to sense the Runes, much less wield them. It is why they gave me exile instead of death.”
Prince Kance started out as a simple infatuation. Back then, I had no inkling how much of my life he would change. But when you are younger and know no better, an infatuation can lead all the world to burn.”
if there is one thing constant about the dead, it is that they cannot lie.
“But I feel so helpless.” “That is usually the rule when you are taken advantage of. You can be the most powerful witch in the land, but you will always have a weakness, and that will always make you believe you have no power when someone exploits it. There is no greater strength than the ability to understand and accept your own flaws.”
“I have told you many things, Tea, and this is the most important of them all. Never give your heartsglass away to anyone. Anyone else versed in magic can do you harm with it. People will never be what you make of them, but at least your own heart stays yours and true.”
“She is a mix of both Water and Metal and a faint touch of Fire,” she told Mistress Parmina. “Determined and highly intelligent. This is good. She will strive for perfection, and she has a strong sense of righteousness. She accepts change quicker than others might, but she will always be questioning herself and her abilities, no matter how far her training takes her. That is not necessarily a good thing.”
“She must look after her lungs and her stomach, for she is weaker to poisons taken through the air. I will prescribe her gingerroot tea, taken every morning for as long as she is able to. She will not require any further modifications when it comes to the lesser spells, but she will need some extensive changes for several of the stronger ones to take hold.
“In Drycht,” I admitted, “men consider such trivialities beneath them. The performing arts are not a show of strength. They are a sign of weakness.”
“Then perhaps we should carve a world one day where the strength lies in who you are rather than in what they expect you to be.”
He is a wise man but often sad—though I have found that both frequently go hand in hand.”
“If only his son had his father’s guts,” Councilor Ludvig snorted, unswayed. “Councilor Ludvig! Such a thing to say about your king!” “He’ll live. I have said worse things to his face.”
“Peacetime does not excuse the reality that there are numerous factions there out for blood.
It doesn’t matter that the people clamor for a show of force. Pomp and fanfare for so few results will not help defend a kingdom, only expose its weaknesses to the unseen enemy.”
“Everyone is believed to have two faces—one they show to the public and one they wear in private. The first face is their shaxsiat, or their honor. The second face is their ehteram, their dignity.
Many actions that elevate people’s opinion of you are not necessarily what you truly wish to do. It is a matter of balancing both faces so you can do what is expected of you and at the same time pursue your personal goals.”
Ailments give very specific tints, Tea. Green only tells me that the illness is a physical one. Hues, heart rhythms, brightness—they show me the specifics of a disease.
