Vow of Thieves (Dance of Thieves, #2)

by Mary E. Pearson

“Never. Not through a thousand tomorrows could I ever be sorry. Trouble with you makes me glad for it. I love you with every breath I will ever breathe. I love you, Jase.” “More than an orange?” he asked between kisses. “Let’s not get carried away, Patrei.”

“What about us, Jase? Will someone write down our story?” “What do you mean?” “Like the hundreds that are on the vault’s walls, and the ones in your bookcases.” An amused smile pulled at his mouth, as if it hadn’t occurred to him and he was intrigued by the thought. “We will, Kazi. You and I. We’ll write our own story.

And it will take a thousand volumes. We have a lifetime ahead of us.” “That’s a lot of trees.” He shrugged. “We own a mountainful, remember?” We. Everything was we now. We wove our dreams together like armor. Nothing could stop us now.

Sometimes you need to own one whole day. Maybe that’s what makes you brave enough to face another.”

“Brave? You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.” I looked sideways at her. “Of course, the most scheming too.”

Zane would be left for Kazi. After she got her answers.

Lest we repeat history, Let the stories be passed, From father to son, from mother to daughter, For with but one generation, History and truth are lost forever. —Song of Jezelia

“Shhh,” I said. “Go back to sleep.” “What are you thinking?” My arm tightened around her. “I’m thinking how much I love you.” “Then I’m glad you’re awake. Tell me again, Jase. Tell me the riddle…” She mumbled a few more incoherent words and drifted back to sleep, her cheek nestling into my shoulder. I kissed the top of her head. My breath, my blood, my calm.

you are on the lowest rung of society, you are a comforting reminder to those just a bit above you that life could always be worse, that they are not you.

“Or what, Jase? What are you going to do? I am your brother!” My chest heaved. “And Kazi is my wife!”

“The Patrei was my husband. We were married.”

“A thousand times over, Kazi,” I whispered. “I would marry you more than a thousand times.”

Waiting for someone else to write your history was no way to live. Sometimes it was only a certain way to die.

makes this worth your life?” “A vow. Jase.” “Jase is dead.” “Only to you,” I said.

“Her mind is gone!” Banques snapped. “Let’s get on with this.”

But I had loved and been loved deeply and completely, not once but twice in my life. I would not trade that for all the riches that Montegue had to offer.

Synové’s brows pulled down defensively. “When opportunity knocks, you don’t go punching it in the face.”

“I love you, Jase Ballenger, and I will for all of my days.”

“Not to mention,” Kazi continued, “I’m the ambassador around these parts, and ambassadors trump Patreis.” She put her hands on her hips. “There! I guess everyone knows everything now.”

Jalaine.”

Mama My chiadrah My beloved

“Kazi of Brightmist … you are the love I didn’t know I needed. You are the hand pulling me through the wilderness, The sun warming my face. You make me stronger, smarter, wiser. You are the compass that makes me a better man. With you by my side, no challenge will be too great. I vow to honor you, Kazi, and do all I can to be worthy of your love. I will never stumble in my devotion to you, and I vow to keep you safe always. My family is now your family, and your family, mine. You have not stolen my heart, but I give it freely, And in the presence of these witnesses, I take you to be my wife.”

“I love you, Jase Ballenger, and I will for all of my days.

You have brought me fullness where there was only hunger, You have given me a universe of stars and stories, Where there was emptiness. You’ve unlocked a part of me I was afraid to believe in, And made the magic of wish stalks come true. I vow to care for you, to protect you and everything that is yours. Your home is now my home, your family, my family. I will stand by you as a partner in all things. With you by my side, I will never lack for joy. I know life is full of twists and turns, and sometimes loss, but whatever paths we go down, I want every step to be with you. I want to grow old with you, Jase. Every one of my tomorrows is yours, And in the presence of these witnesses, I take you to be my husband.”

Good-bye, Mama. Good-bye.

“What else would I be?” “I don’t know, brother. Sometimes you can be a little harsh. Just be nice to everyone. It won’t cost you anything but maybe a little of your pride.”

“My heart is undying, my wings spread wide, When I’m set free, I soar, I glide. I tame tomorrows, I offer shade, I make the fearful, Unafraid. I’m a rope with no end, A sword and a shield, No army can match, The power I wield. On occasion I’m lost, Or tossed in the fight, Downtrodden, beat, My hands bound tight. But a shout, a stand, A smile, a jest, A meal, a drink, A good night’s rest,

A swing on a tree, an orange, a kind deed. How little it takes, for me to be freed.”

The queen once told me there were a hundred ways to fall in love. Maybe there were a hundred ways to find and give forgiveness too. I think I had already found a few of them.

Who will write our story, Jase? We will, Kazi. You and I will write our own story. And side by side, every day, that is what we do.