A Soul of Ash and Blood

“I know you want to do something irresponsible and reckless, but you can’t kill him.”

“Let me show you just a little of what you missed by not coming back to the Red Pearl.”

“I would really appreciate not having to do the whole dying and coming back to life thing at the moment. Or having to regrow limbs. That shit sucks. Growing skin and bone isn’t fun. It’s painful, in case anyone is wondering.”

“Do you remember when we were boys, and I first shifted after being in my mortal form for a while? I had trouble separating myself from the wolf, but you were there. You helped remind me who I was. I know it can be difficult to pull yourself out of this, but you’re still in there, and I’m going to need you to come back to me as Cas. She needs you to come back as Cas.”

“I don’t know if you picked up on what I was feeling during that time. I was a… “I was a fucking mess of guilt and worry, and this desperation I didn’t fully understand then. I just knew I couldn’t allow you to remain under the Blood Crown’s control. That you deserved a shot at a real life.”

“From the first time in the Red Pearl to this moment, what I felt was real. It was always real because I…I’d fallen in love with you long before I realized it. I was on the edge before we even left Masadonia, and I began falling when we arrived in New Haven. By the time we made it to Spessa’s End, I knew I was in love with you.”

“No one knows about any of that—what I used to do to escape everything. Except for Kieran. He knows. He had no choice with the bond.”

“The Queen will be most pleased with your devotion, Hawke. I’m sure she’ll reward you greatly for your service to the Crown.”

“We all know what is ultimately at risk here. Not just what we’ve carved out in New Haven, but our lives. Our futures. Our children’s futures. And if we’ve got to bleed for that, we will.”

“No one in there will care that he struck the Maiden. Right or wrong, they don’t see her as a person. When they look at her, all they see is a symbol of the Ascended, of those who have killed many of their kin and drove their people to near extinction. That doesn’t mean they all agree with what he did, but you need to think about what it will do if you walk in there and kill him—a wolven who descends from one of the eldest families.”

“Yes. I find women who can wield a dagger and nearly knock me on my ass to be extremely alluring. And arousing.”

“Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.”

“I should’ve known something was up with the Duchess when she had no problem with me being in your chambers, but things always seem different in hindsight, don’t they? I couldn’t even consider then that they knew who I was and not only allowed me to take you but practically helped facilitate it.”

“The fear I felt when word of your attack reached me on the way back to the keep? I should’ve known then. Kieran did. More so than before. He saw my panic, what I was willing to do to save you.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever told you about that. It wasn’t that I was hiding it from you. I just didn’t want you to feel embarrassed. I also figured you’d probably stab me if you ever learned I had been in your bedchamber while you slept. More than once.”

“Only the bad can be influenced, Princess.”

“What I was doing to myself was weakening him. You’d think that would’ve been enough to snap me out of it, seeing what it was doing to him, but it wasn’t. I was too lost in my head, though not lost enough that I didn’t know how fucking selfish it made me.”

“You’re an absolutely stunning murderous little creature.”