The Curse of Broken Shadows Quotes

“The world has made us enemies. You can hate my people all you want. You can curse the shadow-kind and spit on the Veil Worshippers or string me up as the Veil Scholar, but hear these words and know I mean them. I trust you, and I do not want to be your enemy.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Stop counting,” she breathed. “Brela, I can’t,” he rasped. “If I stop, I won’t be able to hold myself back.” Her tongue ran over her lips. “Then don’t.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“learning the history of Ryia and the celvusa. Here, they were commonly referred to as gods-awarded familiars and guardians, for those who were deemed worthy of protection.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“I have no intention of giving up your knife, but if you hold back like you did with Elias, I will not hesitate to humiliate you.” Her heart skipped, and he could have sworn the shard in her collarbone twitched, but she just purred. “Dangerous words, for the dragon to challenge the shadow wolf. Are you sure you’re prepared for me?” Cason stepped back, matched her feral grin, and raised his sword. “Let it burn.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Working with Cason and his wildfire—showing the man behind the magic—would change the minds of many. Working with Brela could change the minds of an entire kingdom. The three of them, though? They could change the world.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Red everywhere. Soaking her black outfit. Puddling in her boots and squishing with each step. Running in rivers along the ground and splashing as she ran. No blonde could be seen in her hair, no part of her skin left clean. Only the scent of iron filled her nostrils, the slick and stick of blood and sweat dripping from her fingers and daggers. She didn’t know her name. Didn’t know where she had come from or who she was. Didn’t care if she ever remembered those things. All she knew was that she was a vessel for the Night Terror. Her muscles a conduit for shredding and ripping through skin and bone. The hum of that energy in her soul carried her through body after body. Power rippled off her skin, calling on the shadows as if they belonged to her. Heat cut through the air and burned her lungs, but all she felt was cold stinging through the shard in her chest. The taste of fear lingered on her tongue, screams never reaching her ears. She’d never stop slicing until there was silence in her head. Until the song was over and there was nothing left. The Night Terror unleashed itself on Calcheth, and no one walked away. No one.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“His eyes landed on Brela who had a wild smile on her face as she watched him. Dozens of thoughts crossed his mind about the woman—brilliant, beautiful, bold—but one description stood out among the rest. Empress of Chaos.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Two flames of the same fire,” Serill whispered. He laughed to himself before grinning at his friend. “Have you ever considered that maybe you two were meant to burn down this forest?”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“They owed her that chance at survival, even if it meant they would get caught. They would do it for the woman who had saved them a hundred times. They would do it for the woman who loved them so fiercely, even after everything she had suffered. They would do it for the woman they loved back. Elias nodded. For family.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“No, he still meant what he said. He didn’t care what she had done to have debts to pay. She had been on his mind for a reason, and even if she didn’t want it, he would fight for her. Find a way to protect her.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“While you count, I imagine a fortress. I picture their words and glares as claws, trying to scratch through my walls to release the anger or shame. They want me to feel and act like the chained creature I am, but they only win if I break.” Cason frowned at her phrasing, and she seemed to understand his question. “We’re all chained to something, Cason. Money, power, magic, our past… Something will always hold us back until we learn how to break”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Serill only smiled wider as his friend squirmed in the background. “You two are going to set the forest on fire if you aren’t careful.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“If you’re interested in this whore’s opinion”—she gave a pointed look to the soldier who averted his gaze—“that book is probably the most valuable artifact in this hall.” Serill nodded toward her. “I think Cason would disagree with both halves of that statement.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“To find a different pillar to lean against so I can resume my glaring in peace and quiet,” he growled. Boelyn chuckled. “He’s going to find a pillar that has a better view of her.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“She had a knife sheathed against her belt and leg.” Serill choked on his drink, eyes wide. “Your hands were on her enough to feel that? I’m tempted to stop in Averlyn on the way home so we can find this woman. I’ll propose to her for you.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Burning, the shard hissed. The dagger against her thigh bit her skin. Let him burn me, then.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“I think most of them are more afraid of the specific sun-blessed magic I possess.” So that’s where the ink hid. Brela ran her tongue over her lip as she leaned closer to whisper. “I’m not afraid to play with fire.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“I’m better known for my unladylike noises,” she replied. Flawless recovery.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Brela cursed her traitorous eyes that had first scanned his visible, very well-defined muscles, then cursed her lungs for releasing an uncharacteristic sigh when she realized he wasn’t hurt. She bit her tongue before it betrayed her too.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“It’s suicide, and judging by the Night Terror’s reputation, I don’t think that’s his style. That’s the safest place for me to be this week.” “From an assassin, perhaps, but a celvusa?” Serill’s jaw dropped. “Did you just make a joke about a mythical beast?” The captain grinned. “You wanted your friend back, didn’t you?” “Just make sure this version of you sticks around to the end of the festival. I will not be robbed of my chance to watch you try to flirt with a woman for the first time in years.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Cason dealt with his grief by studying his sun-blessed fire magic to honor his mother’s memory, his father had done something far worse. The man dug into the depths of his anger and traveled to Valisea with a small party of the most trained and deadly soldiers in Anfroy. He slaughtered them. Not a single Veil Worshipper was left in the village where she had been stationed. He made sure they suffered for what they had done to his wife, and then he laughed as he burned their homes with some of them still inside. Women. Children. He did it in her honor.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Brela focused on the flicker of freedom from her debts — the flame that rested far on the horizon, but still burning — and she put it out. “It seems I’ll be walking into that dragon’s lair after all.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“I think I’ll let you decide what you owe me for this.” Ovir’s face leaned forward, hovering just beside her ear, his breath hot against her skin. “If you’re at the auction, you’ll be able to see all the artifacts and who buys them. You might even be able to convince me to let you steal one—just one—back.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Averlyn just so she could taste freedom… and then starved for weeks because freedom didn’t fill her stomach.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“We all died the minute Anfroy attacked Valisea,” Brela whispered. Her fingers traced over the Veil shard in her chest. “Death is just still catching up to some of us.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“I thought I saw something in the shadows before we got in. Maybe breaking all those seals and freezing the hellthorn plant was what it needed from us. Maybe it was sent to protect the Scholar’s dagger.” Her father’s dagger.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Don’t tell me you couldn’t form words. You basically shouted ‘bad dog’ to a shadow wolf.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“The subtle flinches in Farrah’s hands that were usually steady. Elias’s desire to keep his mind occupied and hands moving. Besides Brela, no one had said the word celvusa. They were still alive, but they had seen the real Night Terror, and it would haunt all of them.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Agods-damned celvusa. Brela had laughed the entire walk home, one hand pressed against the slice along her neck that continued to gush blood while the other clung to Night Carver. She’d fought for dominance over the Veil Scholar’s blade with a gods-damned celvusa. And she’d won.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows

“Cason clapped Serill on the back, causing his friend to flinch. “Well, Prince, it seems I’ll be traveling to Averlyn in the morning to hunt an assassin.”
― Laura Winter, The Curse of Broken Shadows