The Traitor Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade, #1)

by Seth Dickinson

“This resistance is meaningless,” Baru said. “If they want change, they must make themselves useful to Falcrest. Find a way up from within.” “A people can only bear the lash so long in silence. Some things are not worth being within.”

a stubborn and recalcitrant sense that using her body as a political tool, in even the slightest way, was a form of surrender or compromise. Why should she be punished for her chastity?

“Because I think you’ve realized that who you are will forever hold you back from what you deserve.

I hope for freedom, and no more. I hope for freedom. I hope for freedom.”

“You have earned respect. But there are no men in Aurdwynn who can respect what they desire.

That we are not free. Not even when we march beside them, nor even when we lead them. Freedom granted by your rulers is just a chain with a little slack.