A Tempest of Shadows Quotes

“How many marks do you think you’ll get for treason?”

“One from the Scholar to make my skin fairer, one from the Weaver to make me taller, one from the King to make me fatter, one from the Inquisitor to make me stronger, and one from the Warmaster to fix whatever it is he doesn’t like about me.”

“Probably your general attitude. He gets at least a dozen offers of marriage a week; he doesn’t understand what you don’t like about him.”

“Probably his general attitude.”
― Jane Washington, A Tempest of Shadows

“How,” his familiar voice growled, free of its usual seductive polish, now grating with irritation, “are you covered in dirt and blood again already?”

I peered up, pushing a wet flop of hair from my face. “It’s a skill”
― Jane Washington, A Tempest of Shadows

“It leaks in here sometimes,” the Weaver said dully.

“You’re one of the great masters,” I couldn’t help saying. “Why do you live like this?”
― Jane Washington, A Tempest of Shadows

“I watched him climb to the platform and take a seat in the short row of benches along the wall, wishing that I had been wiser in my choice of heroes. I wished I had known about Calder. A man broken twice over, still willing to hand his life over to the greater good. A man drowning in bitterness and resentment, still a steadfast protector to the very source of his anguish. A man who lost everything and turned it into something, who had done what I was trying to do now. I was staring down the path of impossibility, knowing he had already walked it … and that was what a real hero was.”
― Jane Washington, A Tempest of Shadows

“My wife said you would be here,” he muttered lowly. “You and a boy … though I don’t think this counts as a boy.” He flicked a finger at Calder, who scoffed, the sound vibrating against my back.”
― Jane Washington, A Tempest of Shadows

“It seemed stupid that I had stayed in the cold stone room, knowing that as soon as the new day had crested, I was no longer in the Inquisitor’s service and no longer had to follow his orders. I finished eating and opened the package, revealing the complicated sections of leather pieces that somehow made up an outfit. Some of the sections were hardened with inlaid metal, a tarnished golden colour peeking through the stitching. I finally discerned something resembling the usual bodysuits worn beneath sectorian women’s clothing, though this one was different. It was thick brown leather, a silk underlining hidden on the inside. It moulded tightly to the body, two ovals cut into the sides, exposing the hips and the sides of the stomach and back. Some sort of covering fit over the top of the bodysuit, ending a few inches above the waist. The metal-inlaid patterns curved around the front of my chest and the top of my spine, connected with brown, buckled straps along my sides. A belted skirt slid over the hips, the belt pulling along the cut of the bodysuit, above my hips, another band looping around my hips. The skirt had two short layers. Yet another section of the outfit fit over my shoulders, metallic glimpses peering out from the leather that cupped my shoulders, attaching to the upper chest armour with straps. Another set of wraps covered my wrists and forearms, and I was glad to see the Inquisitor’s mark and the Spider’s mark disappearing from view. I was able to re-wear the same footwear, as there were also knee and thigh wraps in the same boiled brown leather that complemented the knee-high boots. The outfit was clearly some kind of warrior’s uniform. The Vold—and the Sentinels in particular—often wore revealing, scant clothing to show off their impressive physiques. With Calder’s cloak still on the ground, I could see half of his bare back above the golden armour that wrapped his torso. The muscles bunched and stretched as he pulled his forearm up for investigation. He had clearly stitched and re-dressed his wound after my dismal attempt at caring for it the night before. Despite my outfit showing so much skin, it was by far the heaviest thing I had ever worn, and I started to truly appreciate how quickly and silently Calder moved, weighed down as he must have been by so much armour. I tugged my hair over my shoulders, arranging the strands so that they might hide my face better. There was a lump in my throat when I stuffed everything back into my pack and muttered, “Done.”
― Jane Washington, A Tempest of Shadows

“You’re right,” I muttered, Calder’s eyes flashing to mine. “I won’t be manipulated. Not anymore.” I turned back to the Warmaster, forcing my gaze up to his, categorising the freckle of gold in his translucent brown eyes, a thick white scar cutting into the right side of his temple, a shadow of stubble hiding further nicks and cuts, his neck mottled dark with a healed burn.”
― Jane Washington, A Tempest of Shadows

“The Inquisitor stood before me in the way that a landslide stands before a crude hut.”
― Jane Washington, A Tempest of Shadows