House of Dragons (House of Dragons, #1)

by Jessica Cluess

These were stories that victors made up to add a romantic sheen to their conquest. You could have as much fire and blood as you liked, so long as you followed it up with a wedding.

I love this quote

“I wanted to say”—Antonia’s breathing shook—“I love you.” Vespir trembled, holding this girl in her arms. Seven words, all it took to give her the greatest happiness she’d ever known. Vespir could say nothing in reply. Nothing except— “I love you. Too. I love you…so much.”

AWWW!

One day, he might well take her head off if she made a wrong move. That was exactly right. He was a dragon. Dragons should be feared. They were like emperors in that way.

This really described the character so well. I feel like because of this passage, I knew what this character would be like.

For the first time in five years, Emilia experienced the thrill of a pleasant surprise. “Lucian?” she whispered, drawing nearer.

I love a little bit of history between characters!

“Weak.” She braced and slapped herself hard across the face. The sting returned her to her senses. Her palm was wet from the tears. Unacceptable. Hyperia clenched her teeth before striking herself again. And again. And again. The pain ebbed, the chaos bled from her soul. Gasping, she got to her feet and smoothed back her hair. She was all right. This turmoil would pass quickly. It had to.

My heart broke for her here.

Her lips formed a perfect O of surprise, her eyes fixed squarely on Lucian. Or rather, on his bare upper body. “Sorry,” she squeaked. Flushing, Lucian grabbed a fresh shirt and yanked it on. “Sorry, I was cleaning up.” “No, no. Your torso is very robust and…symmetrical. You should be proud,”

lmao. We love a socially awkward queen!

She grabbed his jaw and squeezed. His lips puckered, his veiny eyes bulged. He would never have anticipated this, because he was a fool. He did not know that a girl’s anger was her greatest weapon when handled with authority.

The way I cheered at this!

“Once you have knelt before me and apologized, you will walk bloody-footed and naked into the Ardennes region, where I will line up every single woman and girl, from courtier to peasant. I’ll have them walk through mud and rain and pig shit, so that all of the hems of their garments are sodden with filth, all so that you can get onto your worthless knees and kiss the hem of every. Single. One.” She brought her nose to Tiber’s; in his eyes, she saw the panic of a sow at slaughter. “And with every kiss, you will beg their forgiveness for entertaining the thought that a disease such as yourself could be worthy of touching them upon the shoulder, let alone…” She did not voice the unsavory thought. Sneering, she shoved Tiber backward. His chair nearly tipped over, and his sons scrambled to right him. Her father was on his feet now, but she paid him no mind. “So take that filthy slug between your legs and your ill-gotten spawn, and if you approach me again, by the blue above I will gut you.” Her fists tightened by her side. “Do you understand, my lord?”

THE POWER OF THIS MOMENT!

Trembling, she bared her teeth in his face. Julia. Julia, my beauty, my baby, my innocent. At least I saved you from him. “When I am on the dragon throne,” she said, her voice as smooth as smoke, “I will have your head.”

Her character is so compelling.

“I love you,” Antonia whispered. She raced out the door, leaving Vespir alone. Alone again. Vespir had been forced to trade her family for a dragon. Now she’d be forced to trade love and her dragon both for…nothing. She was the empress of losers. Vespir fell to her knees and sobbed. No one came to check on her.

Vespir needs a hug.

“Your dragon’s so dumb…” Oh, Lucian couldn’t resist. “How dumb is he?” Vespir’s eyes lit up. “Your dragon’s so dumb that he tries to migrate south for the winter with the geese.” Vespir kicked the table at her own joke. Even Hyperia chuckled, but it could be that she enjoyed Ajax’s humiliation more than anything. “Your dragon is so dumb,” Vespir whispered, “that he thinks the dragon throne is a place where he gets to take a shit.”

Is this the equivalent of a "yo momma" joke in this world? I'm not above saying I giggled at this

“I’m going to get girls. Girls.” He threw his head back and crowed to the ceiling. “Giiiiirrrrlllllssss.” “That is hardly a fitting argument,” Hyperia began, but then Vespir leapt up beside the boy. “Girls are amazing!” Vespir shouted, grabbing Ajax’s shoulders. “But don’t be creepy, though.” Ajax shook his head emphatically. “No, no, I will not be creepy about it. If I walk up to a girl and say, ‘Hello, Miss Girl, would you like to come back to my golden palace?’ and she says, ‘No,’ that is totally fine. But there’s, I think, a sixty percent chance she will say yes, because I am an emperor, and I have a golden palace.” “Yeah, golden palace!” Vespir shouted.

The teenage boy and the lesbian are both girl obsessed and I found this super cute. I had a chuckle at this

A white ferret popped its head out of the guy’s collar, and nibbled the bread. While Aidan cooed at his pet, Lucian elbowed Rufus. “I wondered why he smelled so…musky.” “The ferret’s clean. Aidan’s the one who needs a bath.”

lol

“Stay.” She nodded to the others. “Come, and don’t dawdle.” She swept into the stall, knelt, and fit the key into the lock. With a click, Hyperia lifted the door. “I want her to crush me,” Ajax whispered.

Mood, Ajax. Mood.

Hyperia’s voice did not waver as two hot tears slipped down her cheeks. “But I was the greatest freak of all. I killed my beloved sister, my baby. For nothing.”

She should regret what she's done, it was desperate and wrong. I still felt sad for her here, though.

“To the empire, then. Long may it flourish under my rule,” she said, and drank. Petros beamed. Hyperia smashed her glass against the table’s edge, and with one lithe blow, she slashed Petros’s throat open. The man upset a chair as he fell. Hyperia was upon him in an instant, the warmth of his blood decorating her cheek and chest as she stabbed him again and again through the eyes. The man’s face became a slab of torn meat; his hands ceased fumbling at her shoulders, and his gurgles died.

Hyperia might've been my favorite character because yes, she's a ruthless bitch, but she's also a total bad-ass.

And a face and body spattered in blood. Hyperia did not bother to clean herself. She had entered this Trial golden and bloody. Best to finish as she began.

YES!

No one should ever condemn a woman to stay quiet.

Amen!

A white-hot explosion of noise like the howling wind cascaded over Emilia, rushing into her soul. “Emilia!” The voice that called her now was feminine and sweet, familiar as her own breath. The voice—her Chara, her dragon—called for Emilia again and again as chaos exploded over the world, rippling through flesh and bone and stone and steel. Emilia’s back arched, and she gasped as the blood and flesh inside of her sparked with power. Chara was free. And so was Emilia.

This was such a cool moment!

“Vespir! My little Vespir!” It was a voice of baking bread, of calm nights in front of the fire, of warm hands smoothing her hair, of home. Overwhelmed, Vespir pitched forward, only for Karina to break the fall. As Vespir clung to her dragon’s neck, she heard that voice once more: “I’ve got you now.” Vespir couldn’t see through her tears. She felt as though a warm, wonderful liquid had filled her. “Karina,” she whispered. “How?” The dragon’s eyes held an amused gleam. She cocked her head to the side, nosing Vespir’s hair. “It’s like I’ve never seen you before,” the dragon whispered, her voice—sedate and playful and young and old—reverberating in Vespir’s mind. “As though I’ve dreamed you for years.”

MY HEART. MAH SOUL

Then…Vespir had made Karina her servant. Her slave. “You mustn’t think that.” Karina tutted, sniffling at her cheek. “A dragon’s bond with their rider is the most precious thing in this world. It is a choice. And it makes the joining of man and wife appear quaint.” Karina booped her nose against Vespir. “A demonstration of my love, my little Vespir.”

KARINA IS SO PRECIOUS!

“Master Ajax, though I am blind, my spirit merges with yours, and my heart is as your heart. Your presence steadies me, and if I did not cherish you before, I do so now, and shall devote myself unyieldingly to your safety, your security, your happiness. An oath of fealty cannot be too great—a promise of fidelity unwavering, of love unquestioning, of devotion unparalleled is yours as ever, my dear boy. “Ah, so many words to speak! Maladroit! Pineapple! Antidisestablishmentarianism! Fluffy! Oh, and guess what? I love you! I love you! I love you! The best words of all! Huzzah! I love you!” Ajax gaped. “What the f—” “Fibula? Another excellent word! Tra la!”

This was so cute, and then Ajax's response made me lol

I will burn this city to the ground. Thousands will die in the streets, and…and our five bodies will lie together among the ashes. As dismay got its teeth in her, Hyperia tried to smile grimly. If that heinous image she’d seen in the gateway of Truth had been inevitable, at least it meant they would all soon be dead.

Mad Queen moment!