Light Bringer (Red Rising Saga, #6)

by Pierce Brown

I know hate will not return what I have lost or repair what I have broken.

I can’t sustain it anymore, can’t feed this endless anger at myself and everyone. Not after what I have done.

The path is made of many stones that look all the same. When you trod upon evil, do not rest or look down because goodness is only a step away. The next may bring ruin, the next joy, but these stones are not your destination, they are but your journey to the path’s end.

Leadership is a tightrope, especially when you’re losing.

I chose the duty of an Imperator over the duty of a father. Now I’m alone playing with blades.

Inside me there is a coward who fears discomfort. That coward will offer solace in the form of excuses. But it is the coward who grooms a man for his defeats. The coward who makes him accept them because he is accustomed to finding a good reason to quit. The coward inside can only be killed one way.

Does no mercy go unpunished?

My heart is often iron, but it melts for the broken.

You’re acting like you share a secret language all of a sudden.” “Isn’t that always the case with those who’ve read the same books?”

I made myself believe my honor made me an exception.

“Maybe I am, but without power, everything else is just good intentions. Now, I have guests waiting.”

I have seen that look before. It is the look of having already chosen one’s fate. It worries me to see it in those so young.

She rolls her eyes. “Lysander the Lightbringer. Lysander the Peacemaker. A maker of peace wouldn’t keep that scar. Hideous. Does Atalantia like it?”

All your life your hands have been how you have interacted with the world. But the path isn’t a tool to be grabbed and used, Darrow. Because it isn’t a thing. It is a verb.”

“Nut to butt, Bellona. Don’t be shy.”