Golden Stair Quotes

“Um, Adonis, what…what are you doing here?” she asked.
“Well, apparently, when I tried to use the magic of the painting world to give us a more appropriate setting, the magic responded a little more enthusiastically than I’d anticipated.”
“You thought my bedroom was an ‘appropriate setting?’” Kirill dead-panned.
Adonis shrugged. “I wasn’t exactly putting a lot of thought into it. I was concentrating on something else at the time. I just used the first image that came to my mind.”
“Charming. Will you be leaving for your own bedroom soon or should I tell the servants there will be two more for dinner?”
“Is he being sarcastic?” Ivy whispered.
“I think so. It’s hard to tell. He’s not the most expressive person at the best of times.” Adonis eyed Kirill, glancing from him to Irina, who seemed to be trying not to laugh.
“Thank you for your generous offer,” he said finally. “But I think we’ll take our leave.” Ivy shifted beneath him and arousal crackled to life along Adonis’ skin. He cleared his throat, fighting to keep his voice steady. “Unless you’d like to give us a little more time…?”
Kirill’s face darkened. “Irina, tell Isai we need an exorcism.”
-Irina, Adonis, Kirill, Ivy.”
― Jennifer Blackstream, Golden Stair

“I went to see a wizard today,” Adonis added. “And a necromancer. I don’t know why, the idea just came into my head this morning and I went. Asked perfect strangers if they could help me—help me not have to need sex—and told them about a situation that was none of their business.” He crossed his arms. “I’ll bet Kirill is twitching somewhere in Dacia and he has no idea why.”
- Adonis to Ivy.”
― Jennifer Blackstream, Golden Stair

“So you want to see me?” Adonis prodded.
The light in Ivy’s eyes dimmed, but only slightly. Part of Adonis waited for her to brush him off, to pretend she didn’t care one way or another. Surely she couldn’t really be as open as she seemed?
She met his eyes with a surprising calm. “If I did, would you come?”
Where? Back to her? Heat flared inside him as he remembered the feel of her body against his, the taste of her mouth, her skin. More than that, he remembered the wonder she’d greeted the astral plane with and the debilitating fear that had twisted the dream of his home world into a nightmare. For a moment he’d had the overwhelming urge to banish that terror, to hold her hand and show her the world, all of it. Her mother had tattooed the world with darkness, but Adonis knew he could change that. He could show her all the wonders that existed outside her tower and then they could paint together, capturing all the— And that’s why he’d had to leave. Foolish urges like those would only hurt them both. He couldn’t see her again.
“Of course I would come.”
Right, so I’ve lost my wits completely then. Good to know.
-Adonis and Ivy.”
― Jennifer Blackstream, Golden Stair

“For the love of Perun, what happened to you?”
Adonis cried out with relief. He struggled to get an arm under his body to push himself up, wincing when he toppled over on the first attempt. It took another two attempts before he managed to prop himself up on his forearms and raise his face to the spot Kirill’s voice was coming from.
A hiss of breath told him Kirill had noticed his eyes.
“I met the mother,” Adonis joked feebly.
“Wonderful,” Kirill muttered, disgust thick in his voice.
-Kirill and Adonis.”
― Jennifer Blackstream, Golden Stair

“Your condemnation bothers me, because it’s symbolic of an ugliness that doesn’t suit you. Hatred leaves a mark, anger leaves a mark.” He took her hands in his, pleased when she didn’t fight him. He almost smiled when he saw the paint under her fingernails, the smudges that never really came off the hands of an artist. “Don’t paint yourself with those colors if you don’t have to.”
-Adonis to Ivy”
― Jennifer Blackstream, Golden Stair

“A defensive female was no one’s friend. It was always best to start with a laugh.
-Adonis' thoughts.”
― Jennifer Blackstream, Golden Stair

“I look forward to the day I can repay my debt to each of you,” Kirill straightened and braced his arms behind his back. His voice lowered to a mere whisper. “Know that I am just as serious in repaying my allies as I am in punishing my enemies. You gave me your help when I needed it, before you had any reason to help me.” He lifted his chin, staring up at the World Tree. “Until I can make the proper repayment of your kindness, I intend for this…sharing of information, to be a step in that direction. But…” He slanted hard eyes on the werewolf. “I will not apologize for my pragmatism.” He sighed. Heavily. “And for pity’s sake, didn’t we agree that you would leave some clothes here, Etienne?”
The unexpected joke shattered the tension. Adonis, Patricio, and Saamal chuckled and Etienne flushed as if he’d only just noticed his nudity. “I left in a hurry.” Etienne scratched the stubble at his face and neck before threading a hand through his shaggy brown hair.
Kirill raised an eyebrow and pulled a small knapsack from the dark folds of his thick forest green cloak.
Eurydice leaned forward and sniffed like it would help her figure out just what else Kirill might have hidden in that cloak. Weapons, certainly, but how on earth did the vampire keep the lines of his clothes so smooth and unassuming? Surely there should have been a lump where he’d hidden that sack.
Etienne caught the knapsack as Kirill tossed it across the clearing.
Adonis crowed with laughter as the werewolf prince opened it to find a pair of plain, brown leather breeches. “No shirt for the werewolf, eh, Kirill?” Adonis snickered.
The corner of the vampire’s mouth quirked. “Adonis, even a prince as wealthy as myself could not afford to supply our lycan friend here with a complete outfit every time he shows up skyclad.”
Etienne snorted and shook his head, but raised a hand in a begrudging half-wave. “Thanks.”
-Kirill, Adonis, Etienne.”
― Jennifer Blackstream, Golden Stair