The Shadow Of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1)

by James Islington

Let them think you’re robbing them, then ask them for what you really want.”

“If you want to act the fool in future, be prepared for someone to call you on it,”

“Everyone has a darker nature, Caeden. Everyone. Good men fear it, and evil men embrace it.

they considered him to be the center point of this time—the fulcrum on which things in this era turn.”

we might be young, Taeris, but we’re not children.

“Trusting someone is one thing, lad. Trusting them with your life is another entirely.

It was still his old friend, but a bleaker version. A more world-weary version.