More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
“You fucking look at me. You remember who put you in the ground.”
“You asked for loyalty. But what you got is my obligation.”
“If you want fucking loyalty, you’ll earn it. Not the other way around.”
He’s a fucking lunatic. Unbalanced. Moods shifting like the fucking wind.
“For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.”
Wickedness is my sustenance, and my thirst for violence will never end.
“I can’t just be a man, Romes. I gotta be more than that. But every time I think about her, that’s all I am—a fucking guy who’s split wide fucking open with grief. Because every single day that I’m away from her is harder than the one before.”
“C. Loving her is what makes you strong. You’re taking down an entire fucking organization. For her. She’s your purpose. You told me that once. If you take that away, then all you are is a fucking animal. No better than Connor or the other families.”
Because I know what it’s like to be loved and protected. I have someone who would never close the fucking door. And I will fight, scratch, and claw my way back to him.
It’s her above all. And always will be.
“Go and finish this, and then come home.” The way she says home almost breaks me because she means her. She’s my home.
“Whatever they break, baby, I’ll spend our lifetime putting back together.”
“Don’t look back again. Promise me. It’s too cruel to only give me bits and pieces of you.”
Calder’s traded his soul for me—for us. And I love him more for it. It makes him all the goodness I’ll ever want in the world. And I’m greedy for more. A moment isn’t enough. I want him and all the magic. And I don’t care if that means that I’m damned too. “Take it,” I whisper. “Take my soul too.”
The idea of living a whole life, never knowing what it’s like to be loved by him, even for the tiniest moment, seemed tragic. Not a life worth living.
It’s not that I only want him. I need him. Like the fucking air to breathe. But I need all of him, not just a piece, because that could never be enough.
“The only thing I’ll trade you is my silence for yours. Touch me again and I promise to make sure Calder knows. It would be worth all of us dying just to see him tear you the fuck apart.”
Fuck, I can feel his anger. It’s like my own, just under the surface, always ready. We’re alike, my uncle and I, except what he does for power, I do for love.
“You don’t need to tell me what I already know. You think I’m scared of having a knife at my throat?” Connor’s eyes lift, connecting with mine. “That’s always the position of the king. And when it presses down, you flip it and stab your enemy in the throat.”
“If you think I would ever share a bed or a place with you after what you did, you’re more of a drunk than I thought. There is no flipping this bitch. I will not back down.”
A gold switchblade with an antique wooden handle is nestled on a bed of black silk fabric.
Here’s to true love, mama And slicing anyone’s throat that comes between it.
“I love you forever. Until we’re dust and bones and even after that.” My eyes close, and for the first time in a long time, I’m not scared. Because Calder is out there, and he’s coming for me.
Violent intent oozes through my veins, pumping inside of me like blood as my chest rises and falls.
“There’s a peace born from the brutality of righteousness.
Fuck the money, your life is the price you’ll pay for that.”
“Make your peace with me, you motherfucker.”
A guttural sound, almost demonic, rips from my lungs because everything inside of me breaks, shatters into a thousand pieces fracturing my soul.
I wait there until his lifeless eyes stare up at the sky, then I reach out and close them. “You don’t deserve to see her stars.”
The silence fucking bleeds out, down the fucking walls and over the floor. It banks the room in unease and fury. I can almost taste it. Our chests rise and fall together, eyes locked like two fucking lions challenging for dominance.
“Anger is predictable. So is greed. You have both afflictions in spades. So sacrifices were made. You always said that one day I’d do what was needed for this family. Guess you were right.”
“It was for her. Always. Remember that when Roman’s cutting you open. He’s gonna take his time, keep you alive. I want you to feel every cut you made to her heart.”
“You don’t get to walk this earth while she’s on it.”
“I love you. You are so strong and brave, and I’m so proud of you, baby. But let me take care of you now. Let me make it better, my sweet girl.”
Deep, gasping breaths fill my lungs as I stare up at the stars. Even though the dark blue sky is getting lighter, they’re still looking down, twinkling like they didn’t want to miss out on seeing me either. God, this is more than a sky or stars. This is our magic. The place where I dreamed of a love that would last forever and he promised all those damn stars in the sky. This is our forever.
“I’m…” There are so many endings to that sentence—broken, battered, scared, exhausted—but the only one that matters is the one I say, “…yours. Forever.” Calder cradles my face, staring down at me as the universe finds its place again. “I’m yours too, baby.”
“You don’t ever say thank you for getting everything you fucking deserve. You are owed beauty and magic. And, baby, you better demand it from me every goddamn day for the rest of our lives.”
Because that’s what this family was built on. Our violent loyalty and understanding that no man is ever above being Irish.”
“There is no longer a king. Because my family will be a fucking army.
“I am yours. And you are mine. Forever.”
“Write about a love that defies the stars. Write about yours.” “It’s as if it was meant to be. Like fate,” she whispers, leaning into me.
“It’s not fate, baby. Or destiny. We’re bigger than all that shit.”
I became a woman that could take care of herself and still had a fucking lion at her back. Two, actually. Roman’s my family too.
The moment my beautiful man put his eyes on me, I was lost—tethered to my other half, where the outside world becomes only a myth.
We exhale simultaneously, tipping our faces to the sky, because without the candles, Calder and I are surrounded by a blanket of stars.
“I vow to always love you above all others. No matter what.” My eyes close, remembering where we started as I repeat what he’s said. “I vow to always love you above all others. No matter what.” He brings my hands to his lips, kissing them over and over before saying, “I will always protect you, even with my life.” God, we came so close to that, and we’ve made it through all the bad parts, scratching and clawing our way past destiny and fate, to this—to us. We’re stronger than any of that. We’re indestructible. “And I will always protect you, even against yourself.” I’m crying, tears falling
...more
“Fellas, this is your sister. And your job is to protect her for your whole entire lives.” West reaches a finger out, and she grips it with her tiny little hands, making his little eyes shoot to mine. “I promise, Dad. Forever.”
My husband is a dangerous man, a fallen angel, but still, he came from heaven. And that’s exactly what my life has felt like. I’ve never felt alone. Always been loved, worshipped even. And from that, we have a legacy, not of hate or violence, but one from love.
She told me her mother used to tell her the story of our love. How it was so powerful that it punched a hole into the world of the living, letting Calder walk in both because not even the devil could keep him from me. We laughed, treating it as a story told by an old woman with magic in her veins and too much age to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not.
Our love has always been too big to contain.
