A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

“What matters is that I choose her. And that is all that matters.

“So, those who barely have enough to survive, turn their anger towards those who have more than they could ever need. And never towards the Ascended.”

“He has done things some might find unforgivable. Things that would haunt your sleep and leave you with nightmares long after you wake. He may hate being called the Dark One, but he has earned that name. But he’s the one thing in all the kingdoms that you, and only you, never have to fear.”

“The night before I learned who he really was, I had already decided that I could no longer be the Maiden. It wasn’t just because of him. Maybe how I felt about him was the start of me realizing that I could never live in the skin of the Maiden, but I wanted to stay with him. Even though I thought he was a Royal Guard and would have to basically go into hiding with me, I wanted to be with him—to stay with him somehow. Because he made me feel…. He made me feel like I was alive. I did care for him. I cared for him a lot.”

“Your penchant for violence isn’t anything to be ashamed of. Not with me. Haven’t I told you it turns me on?”

“My mother chose my middle name in honor of her brother. His name was Hawkethrone. My full name is Casteel Hawkethrone Da’Neer. When I was a small child, my mother took to calling me an abbreviated form of that name. And so did my brother. They, and only they had ever known me as Hawke. Until you.”

“Please don’t die. Casteel would be most displeased.”

“Then fight me. Remember what I said earlier? I want you to battle me. I look forward to it. I enjoy it. None of that was a lie. Engage me.”

“I took her, and I kept her, but not to use her. Somewhere along the way, I no longer saw her as a bargaining chip or a tool for revenge. I saw her for who she was. Who she is—this beautiful, strong, intelligent, endlessly curious and kind woman who was as much a victim of the Ascended as any Atlantians. I fell in love with her, probably long before I even realized I had. My plans changed. What I believed about Malik changed. And this was before I learned what she was. That she is part Atlantian. She is the reason I came home.”

“I swear to you, Poppy. I had no idea that you were Atlantian until I tasted your blood. I didn’t even suspect that was what you were when I learned of your gift. Maybe I should have.” A shadow crossed his features, gone so quickly I wasn’t even sure I had seen it. “But no Atlantian has been capable of such a thing for, well, for hundreds of years. I didn’t know.”

“I’m not foolish enough to not feel fear when I know that any of you could kill me before I even have a chance to take my next breath. But fearing what you’re capable of doesn’t mean I fear you.”

“No, Poppy. You being mortal or half-Atlantian wouldn’t have changed what was already happening.”

“What I said that night still holds true. I’m not worthy of you. I knew that then. I know that still. But that hasn’t stopped me from wanting you. That hasn’t stopped me from concocting a plan where I can have you, if only until this is over. It didn’t stop me from wanting everything from you. From pretending that I could have everything, Poppy.”

“But I don’t think that’s the case. I think it’s something deeper than that. Something intangible, far rarer and stronger than bloodlines and even the gods. Something powerful enough that it has ushered in great change in the past.”

“Your heart was always safe with me. It always will be. There is nothing I will protect more fiercely or with more devotion, Poppy. Trust in that—in what you feel from me. In me.”

“There is no side of you that is not as beautiful as the other half. Not a single inch isn’t stunning. That was true the first time I said it to you, and it is still the truth today and tomorrow.”

“He was Casteel then just like he’s Hawke now. And you know that. You just aren’t ready to accept it.”

“A crucial part of their all-encompassing control is creating a rift between mortals who have and mortals who have not.”