The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)

by Samantha Shannon

A stable hand seemed to be counting the freckles on her neckline with his tongue. “Good morrow to you both,” Ead said.

“Reading,” Ead said lightly. “A dangerous pastime.”

Ead made it her business to know the secrets of the court. If the Mother willed it, she would know this one, too.

OK GOSSIP GIRLY

The dragons watched her. It was said they could see the deepest secrets of a soul, for human beings were made of water, and all water was theirs.

Ead leafed through pillow talk and riddles until she found a letter dated from early spring, when Sulyard had gone missing.

Ead is a nosy ass bitch and i love it bc same

Niclays had never been in love before. It was Jannart who had been intrigued enough to paint him, but soon, Niclays had longed for the ability to paint him in return, so that he might capture the darkness of those lashes, and how the sun glowed in his hair, and the elegance of his hands on the harpsichord. He had gazed at his silken lips and the place where his neck met his jaw; he had watched his blood throbbing there, in that cradle of life. He had imagined, in exhilarating detail, how his eyes would look in the morning light, when sleep made their lids heavy. That exquisite dark amber, like the honey made by black bees.

For a moment, Ead was speechless.

Impressive bc she always has something to say

That is the problem with stories, child. The truth in them cannot be weighed.

“Damn your warnings,” Sabran hit back. “I do not fear you, lizard. Your threats have as much weight as smoke.”

Love the energy of using “lizard” as a derogatory name term for a whole ass dragon

“The Saint will protect me.” Even the most god-drunk fool could not believe Sir Galian Berethnet would extend a hand from the heavenly court and shield them from a bellyful of fire. “You speak to one who knows the weakness of the flesh. I slew Sabran the Ambitious on the first day of the Grief. Your Saint,” Fýredel said, mouth smoking, “did not protect her. Bow to me, and I will spare you the same end. Refuse, and you will join her now.”

He said “fuck your god he can’t protect you” lol

“You are a witch.” Truyde stepped away, ashen-faced. “Witch. You practice sorcery. I saw it—” “You saw nothing.” “It was aëromancy,” Truyde whispered. “Now I know your secret, and it reeks far worse than mine. Let us see how far you can pursue Triam from the pyre.”

Damn not Truyde having the tea on Ead now. This is about to get messssssy

“If you mean to accuse me of sorcery before the Virtues Council, I bid you find some way to prove it—and find it quickly, before I make poppets of you and your lover and stab them in the heart. Do you think that because Triam Sulyard is in the East, I cannot smite him where he stands?”

OK GO OFF EAD. I think I’m team Ead but I also don’t know if I like her? I think I’m supporting women’s wrongs here. She’s a morally gray queen

The sickness had first oozed from the Nameless One, whose breath, it was said, had been a slow-acting poison. A more fearsome strain had arrived with the five High Westerns. They and their wyverns carried it, the same way rats had once carried the pestilence. It had existed only in pockets since the end of the Grief of Ages, but Loth knew the signs from books. It began with the reddening of the hands. Then a scalelike rash. As it tiptoed over the body, the afflicted would experience pain in the joints, fever and visions. If they were unlucky enough to survive this stage, the bloodblaze set in. They were at their most dangerous then, for if not restrained, they would run about screaming as if they were on fire, and anyone whose skin touched theirs would also be afflicted. Usually they died within days, though some had been known to survive longer. There was no cure for the plague. No cure and no protection.

Gross

Vinegar and fish and acrid smoke formed the rotten posy of Perunta.

Horrifying combo of smells. 11/10 would vom

“You have not seen death, my lord. You have only seen the mask we put on it.”

“Not our most dignified entrance.” Panting, Kit let his chest fall. “How do you suppose we find this tavern?” “By . . . relying on our instincts,” Loth said, unsure. “The commons must get on well enough.” “Arteloth, we are courtiers. We have no useful instincts.”

We love when useless people know they’re useless

“I have received another report about you. Lady Truyde utt Zeedeur has been telling my courtiers that you are a sorceress.” Damn that red-haired gurnet. Ead almost admired her mettle, ignoring the threat of a curse.

Idk what a gurnet is but I just know that it’s some sort of nasty insult bc truyde was being a menace

No,” she said, “what I need tonight is a stiff drink. And perhaps a stiff—” She glanced at Dumusa, and though their lips quaked in an effort to contain it, they both laughed.

OOOO SCANDALOUS. GET IT GIRL. PURRRRR

Do you not see that this is a divine mission?” “No, I do not, you witless cabbage.”

WITLESS CABBAGE. what an insult. I love these ye olde insults sm

Challengers would joust in view of a thousand citizens from the city.

Hell yeah i love jousting!!!!

“I am not yet wed, of course. A betrothal can always be annulled.” “You should do as you see fit. There will always be voices telling you what to do, and how to act, but it is you who wears the crown,” Ead said. “Let His Royal Highness prove that he is worthy of a place by your side. He must earn that honor, for it is the greatest one of all.”

go off ead tell her

“Ah, sirrah, ’tis a beautiful day in the land of death and evil.”

“The first place I look for in any new building is the kitchen.

Me too

“I have a sense,” he said, “that you do not think well of me, Mistress Duryan.” “I do not think of you often enough to have formed any opinion of you, Your Grace.” The corner of his mouth flinched. “A fine hit.” She made no apology.

Purrrrr queen of retorts

“On other nights, I dream of the childbed. As I have since I had my first blood. I lie dying while my daughter struggles out of me. I feel her tearing my body, like a knife through silk. Between my legs, waiting to devour her, is the Nameless One.”

“So you see, Ead,” the queen said, “I do not sleep because I am not only afraid of the monsters at my door, but also of the monsters my own mind can conjure. The ones that live within.” Ead held her hand a little tighter.

You wear so much armor by daylight that, by night, you can carry it no longer. By night, you are only flesh. And even the flesh of a queen is prone to fear.”

“In darkness, we are naked. Our truest selves. Night is when fear comes to us at its fullest, when we have no way to fight it,” Ead continued. “It will do everything it can to seep inside you. Sometimes it may succeed—but never think that you are the night.”

She looked to their hands and slowly circled her thumb in Ead’s palm.

AHHHHH IS THIS ~wlw~?!?!?!?

Niclays dimly remembered that it was the height of fashion in Ginura to appear as if you had just emerged from the sea.

Slay ginura

It was customary for the vows to be taken at midnight, during the new moon, for it was in the darkest hours that companionship was needed most.

“your betrothed extends to you the hand of fellowship. Will you accept, and be her faithful companion, from this day to the end of days?” “Friend,” Lievelyn said, “I will.”

“Friend, I will” is so cute I love that vow

Ead went to the queen and moved her hair aside to reach her nape, where her carcanet was clasped. “Ead,” Sabran said. “Did you enjoy the ceremony?” “Yes, Your Majesty. You looked magnificent.” “Do I not still?” She asked it lightly, but Ead heard the trace of doubt in her voice. “You are always beautiful, madam.” Ead worked the hook free and slipped the jewels from about her throat. “But in my eyes . . . never more so than you are now.”

AHHHHHH IS THIS SAPPHIC THIS FEELS SO SAPPHIC

Her body was a sandglass. Round hips, a small waist, and full breasts, the nipples whetted. Long legs, strong from riding. When she saw the dusk between them, a chill flickered through Ead.

I am giggling and kicking my feet’s like a little girl over this omfg

As Ead followed them back through the door, she looked back at the queen, and their gazes touched.

STOP I CANT TAKE THIS

As she reached for the linen, Sabran caught her wrist. Ead grew very still. An Ordinary Chamberer did not have leave to touch the queen, and this time Roslain had made no promises to overlook it. “The rose smelled beautiful, Mistress Duryan.” Sabran slid her fingers between hers. Thinking she meant to say more, Ead leaned down to hear—but instead, Sabran Berethnet kissed her on the cheek. Her lips were soft as swansdown. Gooseflesh whispered all over Ead, and she fought the need to let out all her breath. “Thank you,” Sabran said. “It was generous.”

🫨🤭🫨🤭🫨

Nobody could stop speculating on what a baseborn convert had done to become a Lady of the Bedchamber. Even she had no notion of why Sabran had chosen her over the many noble women in the Upper Household.

Bc sabran wants the eadussy

He bowed to Sabran, but there, in sight of them all, she took his nape in hand and kissed him. Ead grew suddenly cold. She watched Lievelyn wrap his arms around Sabran and draw her flush against him.

“No need for haste, small one. The night is newborn.” A rattling breath passed through the dragon, right down the length of her body. “I thought we might talk about stars.”

I desperately need a dragon to be my bestie and talk to me like this

Before Ead could answer, Roslain approached. Ead stepped away, and Sabran’s hand slipped from hers, but she still felt the ghost of it against her palm.

Niclays Roos was conniving.

And obnoxious

“The dawn shines on you, friend,” the merchant said.

Fire itched along his back. His hands were becoming scaled, and he could only wear gloves for so long without raising suspicions.

Sounds like my hand eczema rn

A shadow moved into the moonlight. A bronze mask loomed over him, and then all was dark.

God dammit lol is he reuniting with his bestie boy in death?

throat, “but when he was inside me, even when I found pleasure in it, it felt—” She closed her eyes. “It felt as if my body were not wholly my own. It . . . still feels that way now.”

“If I had convinced myself I was no sinner, I would never have kissed the lips I longed to kiss. The lips of a man with rose-gold hair, whose birth, by the laws of a long-dead knight, made him unworthy of my love.”

I need taylor swift to write a song about these men

When Niclays turned to look at him, Jannart smiled—that roguish smile that teased at one corner of his mouth. Now he was older, it made his cheek crease in a way that somehow only served to make him more beautiful. Niclays raised his head to meet the kiss, and Jannart cradled his face in both hands as if he were framing one of his portraits. Niclays drew a line down the white canvas of Jannart’s stomach, making his body arch closer and quicken. And even though they knew each other by heart, the strength of this embrace felt new. By the time dusk fell, they lay entwined in front of the fire, heavy-eyed and slippery with sweat. Jannart skimmed his fingers through Niclays’s hair.

Niclays is insufferable but i love this for him

“I would have asked your name, had you proven the existence of your backbone,” was her answer, “but you shall be called Sea-Moon now.” The pirates at the door roared with laughter. Niclays winced. Sea-moon—the Seiikinese term for a quarl. A spineless jelly in the clutches of the current.

Absolute facts

“Go to Queen Sabran, Ead. Leave me to my beliefs, and I will leave you to yours,” she said. “We will see soon enough whose truth is correct.”

I'm starting to think Truyde isn't full of bullshit

But Ead called fire her friend, and she would plunge into the furnace for Sabran Berethnet, for just one night with her. Let them come with their swords and their torches. Let them come.