More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
silversaints swore vows of celibacy, for fear we might perpetuate the evil of our birth and make more paleblood abominations like ourselves.
“‘His name is Justice.’
But there are two places in this world for a bastard daughter, Astrid Rennier! Before God’s altar on her knees, or in a brothel on her back!’
I am the word and the way, sayeth the Lord,’ Khalid intoned. ‘By my blood, the sinner shall find salvation, and the penitent, the keys to my kingdom eternal.’
“All in the Cathedral answered ‘Véris’—the customary reply of congregation at mass. It was an old Elidaeni word, meaning A truth beyond truth.
This is the hand, “‘That wields the flame, “‘That lights the way, “‘And turns the dark, “‘To silver.’
“‘This is the Red Rite, Little Lion,’ he whispered. ‘This is the fate that awaits us all.’
“‘We are the children of a terrible sin,’ Greyhand murmured to me. ‘And eventually, that sin corrupts us all. The thirst of our fathers lives inside us, Little Lion. There are ways we can quell it for a time, that we might earn our place in the Almighty’s kingdom. But eventually, God punishes us for the sacrilege of our making. As palebloods grow older, we grow stronger. But so does the immortal beast that rages within our mortal shell. The terrible thirst that demands to be slaked upon the blood of innocents.’
‘We call it the sangirè, Little Lion. The red thirst.
Better to end this life than lose your immortal soul. In the finale, that is the choice before every paleblood alive. Live as a monster, or die as a man.’
Theo Petit,’
My name is Talon de Montfort, Seraph of the Hunt,’
This, you lackwitted piss-puddle, is sanctus. A chymical distillation of the essence in our enemies’ veins. Through it, we alleviate the dark thirst inherited from the monsters who sired us. And unlock the gifts God granted us to help send them back to hell.’ “‘You mean that’s…’ “He nodded. ‘Vampire blood.’
“‘It is forbidden for palebloods to use their gifts upon each other without consent, under punishment of the lash.
All vampires have common abilities, which palebloods inherit. But each bloodline also has unique talents.’
‘The Ironhearts. The kith of Blood Voss. They have flesh akin to steel. It can turn aside silver. The eldest among them can even withstand the fury of the flame. But far more sobering is their ability to read the minds of weaker men.’
Blood Chastain. The Shepherds. These coldbloods exert their will over denizens of the animal world. See through their eyes. Control them like puppets. The eldest can even assume the forms of the darker creatures of earth and sky. Bats. Cats. Wolves.
‘Blood Ilon. The Whispers. A line more dangerous than a sackful of syphilitic serpents. All vampires can bend the weak-hearted to their will. But the Ilon can manipulate all manner of emotion. Heighten rage. Provoke fear. Inflame passion.
‘Blood Dyvok. The Untamed. Possessed of a strength even the other foul bastards of the night would shit their unholy pantaloons over. These creatures can tear apart full-grown men with their bare hands. Their ancients can smash down castle walls with their fists, and make the earth quake beneath their boots. Even other coldbloods look like helpless children beside them.’
Because it wasn’t a hero Talon forged that day as I breathed that beautiful poison into my lungs. It was a chain. And one I shall never break.
‘You’re a frailblood.’
“‘The child of a vampire too young and weak to have passed on his legacy,’ Talon replied. ‘You have no bloodline. No bloodgifts, other than those we all of us share.’
My mother is baronne of the richest province in Nordlund and—’ “‘And yet she wasn’t above bedding a vampire.’
“‘That’s the funny thing about highborn women,’ Theo mused. ‘They’re the same height as any other when they’re down on all fours.’
Ooooh 🫢🤭
“The wretched outnumber you fifty to one. There are four major kith bloodlines, and all have corpse armies in thrall. You think those vipers are going to give up their legions without a struggle?”
You grew to be a paragon of the Order, just as you vowed. They sang songs about you, de León. The Black Lion. Wielder of the Ashdrinker. Slayer of the Forever King. How does one rise from beginnings so low to become legend?” The monster’s lip curled. “And then fall so very far?”
“This is my story, coldblood. And if I have the right of it, these will be the last words I’ll ever speak upon this earth. So if this is to be my last confession, and you my priest, trust that I know how best to impart the tally of my own fucking sins.
“Vampires can’t cross running water. Except at bridges, or buried in cold earth. The most powerful among them might manage it with a supreme act of will. But to the newborn Dead, a fast-flowing river may as well be a wall of flame.”
“Flip you the Fathers?” Gabriel raised his right hand, fingers extended, then cupped his forearm with his left. “Old Nordish insult. It implies your mama had so many men in her bed that your paternity is impossible to determine. And insulting my mama is a good way to get your face stabbed.”
“Law the Third, vampire.” Jean-François tilted his head. “The Dead run quick.”
“What kind of hero are you?” Gabriel laughed, shaking his head. “Who the fuck told you I was a hero?”
There’s a dozen crossbows pointed at your chest right now, fuckarse. I’d be speaking more polite if I were you.’ “‘Fuckarse, that’s a clever one,’ I nodded. ‘I’ll remember it next time I’m climbing aboard your wife.’
My arm was throbbing like a virgin’s pecker on his first trip into the woods,
Gabriel tapped an empty leather pouch at his belt. “Behold the purse in which I keep my fucks for what you think of me.”
Chloe Sauvage
“Astrid Rennier,” Jean-François finally said. “The sisternovice who named your horse. Tattooed your palm. You still knew her then? After all those years?”
‘It’s not through chance alone that I find the Ashdrinker again tonight. Nor blind luck to be reunited with her master after all these years.’ She looked up at me, fire in her eyes. ‘This is Almighty God’s will. And blessed are we who share in his divine providence.’
‘It’s the Grail, Gabriel. I’m talking about the bloody Grail.’
“She wore nothing save the wind. Her hair was silken tar, flowing about her body like ribbons on a moonsless tide. Her skin was pale as the stars in a yesterday sky, her beauty born of spiders’ songs and the dreams of hungry wolves. My heart hurt to see her—that fearful kind of hurt you couldn’t hope to bear, save for the emptiness it would leave if you put it behind you. And she looked at me, out beyond the window glass, and her eyes were black gravity.
Astrid?
“There are three stages to a coldblood’s existence. Three ages to your so-called life. The new Dead are called fledglings. Young, comparatively weak, still shedding the remnants of their humanity and finding their way in the dark. After a century or so of murder, a fledgling can be thought of as mediae; a vampire in full possession of its gifts, extremely dangerous, and devoid of anything approaching human morality. The last, and most deadly, are the ancien. The elders.”
‘That’s the Beast of Vellene.’
My name is Danton Voss,’ the male declared. ‘Child of Fabién and Prince of Forever.’
“‘God didn’t want me. And the devil was afraid to open the door.’
“The Beast of Vellene stared at me across the bloody ground. Holding his ruined arm, looking on the ruin I’d made of his children, eyes like burning coals in his skull. “‘Thou shalt suffer for this, Silversaint. And it shall be legendary.’
I always find it so pleasing,’ I said, looking down at the blade, ‘when you insist on telling me shit I already know.’
“And in sight of God and his Seven Martyrs, I do here vow; Let the dark know my name and despair. So long as it burns, I am the flame. So long as it bleeds, I am the blade. So long as it sins, I am the saint. “And I am silver.
‘Gabriel de León, may I present Dior Lachance, Prince of Thieves, Lord of Liars, and incorrigible little bastard.’ “‘You forgot whoreson,’ the boy muttered around his smoke.
Danton Voss is the youngest heir of Fabién. A direct descendant of the most powerful vampire that walks this earth. If the Forever King wants someone found, Danton is the child he sends, and he’s not failed his father yet.’
‘From holy cup comes holy light; the faithful hand sets world aright. And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight, mere man shall end this endless night.’
It’s a prophecy, Gabe,’ Chloe said. ‘The Forever King. The Endless Legion. Daysdeath. The Grail can put an end to all of it.’
