The Valiant Quotes

“Are you a weapon or a target? Choose!”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“Uri...vinciri...verberari...ferroque necari.
I will endure to be burned... to be bound... to be beaten... and to be killed by the sword.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“We were castoffs and slaves, orphans and unwanteds and used-to-be princesses...and we were mighty.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“Maybe honor wasn't always something won by a blade. I thought. And maybe it couldn't be so easily stripped away, even in servitude.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“There is only forward. Only tomorrow. No yesterday, no going back. And nothing of value is left behind, so nothing is truly lost.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“Be brave, gladiatrix, he said, And be wary. Bright things beget treachery. Beautiful things breed envy. Once you win Caesar's love, you'll earn his enemies' hate.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“Temper passion with control, conviction with cunning.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“I would be the master of my own fate. Me and the goddess Morrigan. No one else—and certainly no man.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“It's war. Don't leave anything behind for your enemy to use. Scorch the earth, kill the cattle, foul the water.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“Rome only exists because of slaves. That’s how it functions. We are its muscles, its brains, and most of all its secrets.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“You know the life you have committed yourself to often ends in death.

All life does.

pg 217”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“I'm so sorry, bright little thing."

"For what, my lord?:" I asked, my voice small and lost in the dim air.

His words caught in his throat as he answered. "For not making the world a place where you could choose to fight for yourself.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“I would be the master of my own fate. Me and the goddess Morrigan. No one else- and certainly no man. Mael and Aeddan could fight over me until they were both bloody. My father could deny me my blade. But they couldn't force me from my warrior's path unless I let them.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“There is no thing called dishonor. No thing called honor. There is only winning. Only losing. And if you lose, you don't leave a freshly made bed for your enemy to sleep in.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“But I also know that even a weed, cultivated with care, might eventually yield a wildflower.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“You are what you are, no matter what you once were.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“In the arena, he continued, it won't be enough just to fight your best. It's never enough to simply win the battle. What you have to win is their hearts. Caesar's heart. Charm them, beguile them, seduce the mob. That will make him fall in love with you. Because unless Caesar loves you, you cannot truly claim Victory.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“This oath is the oath we all swear. Not to a god, or a master, or even to the Ludus Achillea... but to our sisters who stand here with us. Our sisters. This is the oath that binds us all, one to one, all to all, so that we are no longer free. We belong to each other. We are bound to each other. In swearing to each other, we free ourselves from the outside world, from the world of men, from those who would seek to bind us to Fate and that which would make us slaves. We sacrifice our liberty so that, ultimately, we can be truly free.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“When people have so much money that they can do anything, buy anything, be anything, then they start to look around for the things money can't buy. Strength, courage, nobility... they see it in others. And they want it.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“I knew there had to be more to honor than just one's station in life. That's what Sorcha had taught me: that actions meant more than accolades. That honor was something worth fighting for- and dying for- no matter what house you were born into.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“This oath is the oath we all swear. Not to a god, or a master, or to the Ludu Achillea...but to our sisters who stand here with us. Our sisters. This is the oath that binds us all, one to one, all to all, so that we are no longer free. We belong to each other. We are bound to each other. In swearing to each other, we free ourselves from the outside world, from the world of men, from those who would seek to bind us to Fate and that which would make us slaves. We sacrifice our liberty so that, ultimately, we can be truly free.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“And then, when a handsome young decurion in full ceremonial armor suddenly ran down the steps of the spectator stands, leaping the barrier into the arena to sweep me into a passionate embrace, I thought the cheers would bring the stones of the Circus Maximus tumbling down. When Cai set me back on my feet, I cocked my fist again—in jest this time—and when I didn’t punch him but kissed him, long and slow on his glorious mouth . . .”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“With that kill, the watching crowd realized this wasn’t just a show designed to inflate auction prices, and they howled for more blood. The brigand’s, Elka’s, mine, it didn’t matter. It made my stomach turn. This was what the Romans thought of as entertainment? And they called us barbarians.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“The trader had told me that Mare Nostrum meant “Our Sea” in Latin, and I had marveled at the arrogance of Rome, which would dare to lay claim to the very elements of the earth. The goddess must have laughed at them, I’d thought. I certainly had.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“I stumbled blindly on, deep into the forest, with one singular purpose: vengeance.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“This is Rome. Treachery and opportunism and backstabbing run in her veins like lifeblood, and if you've never had to live your life constantly looking over your shoulder, then you have no idea how dangerous it can be.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“Rome only exists because of slaves. That's how it functions. We are its muscles, its brains, and most of all its secrets. You are now a part of that world. You are what you are, no matter what you once were. But there is power in such a position. Understand that. And learn to use it.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“They thought they could frighten me with pictures painted in tar upon my walls? The pictures I drew would be in the sands of the arena, rendered in my rivals’ blood. And the letters I carved with my sword? They would spell out Victory.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“I’ve never known anyone like you,” he whispered. “Ever. Since that moment on the ship.” “The moment when I tried to kill you?” “No. The one when you put yourself at risk to help Charon, the man who’d put you in slave irons, in the middle of all that chaos and death. You are uncommon in your bravery, Fallon. You are stronger than any woman I’ve ever known.” He smiled ruefully. “And you seem determined to haunt my dreams.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant

“The next day, I hobbled out to the practice yard, where the throbbing, livid bruises on my legs and arms went glaringly unremarked upon. Except, of course, by Elka when she saw me in the armor shed. I could only guess the meaning of maybe half the stream of Varini invective that spilled from her mouth, but I still got the general idea. And I agreed wholeheartedly. “At least Meriel was right,” I said through gritted teeth as I sat on the bench, carefully buckling up my shin greaves. “I do bruise pretty colors.” “You hold her down and I’ll be happy to see if she does the same!” Elka spat.”
― Lesley Livingston, The Valiant