Born of Blood and Ash

“Do you really think I would allow anyone to take me out when I have you to fight and survive for? That I would allow anything or anyone to steal our future? That’s never going to happen, Sera. Never.”

“I will take your Court, Veses, and I will make sure all knowledge and memory of you is stripped away. No generation going forward will know of you. You will not be forgotten, Veses. You will be unknown.”

“Awed. I’m in fucking awe of you. My Queen.”

“But you will never hunger for power. Even though those who came before you ruled, none hungered for it. It is not in your bloodline.”

“The victor is simply the one who still stands. Not because of sheer willpower or even the greater strength in their values. The victor stands simply because of their brutality. But they never stand for long. Because despite every life they took, every city they burned, and every family that was simply in the way as they destroyed things to reach their target, twice that will inevitably rise to raise swords against the victor. That kind of war can never be won because it never ends. There are only reprieves.”

“I know Kolis can’t be killed. Not yet. But I will hurt him. Badly. I will make him wish he was dead. He will beg for it.”

“You will say and do anything to avoid feeling or thinking about it, but eventually, you have to. Because no matter what, Sera, it wasn’t nothing.”

“I’m scared, too, Sera. Neither of us planned for this, and our lives are about to change in ways I cannot even begin to imagine. But I know we will love them just as fiercely as we love each other. And I also know we’ll figure everything out. We’ve got this, liessa.”

“If you and Nyktos were to have a child, it’s quite possible they would have the same abilities as Nyktos, or even those of his mother’s father.”

“I gave you a chance, Seraphena. All you had to do was give me what I wanted. I would’ve left you and my nephew alone. I wouldn’t have gone after your family. I would’ve had my everything. I would’ve been happy! I would’ve been whole for the first time in my fucking life!”

“Those who are reborn may have memories of their previous lives, but they often show as dreams or instances of déjà vu. But they almost always fade as who that person has become in their new life begins to take shape. They may be the same soul and look identical to who they were before, but they are not entirely the same person.”

“Holland is…he’s like family. The kind who spends your entire life lying to you, but still, family.”

“I’m really curious to see what kind of effect fire has on you. So you’d better watch your mouth, you little fuck.”

“His false belief that there is good in all living things, no matter how many times they show that all that is left inside them is rot. I don’t think you will have that same problem, will you? So, perhaps your monster will be your savior.”

“She will be reborn of your bloodline—the giver of blood and the bringer of bone—and she will carry within her the embers of life and death. Touched by life and death.”

“The nota is strong, and it will want to take over. When you first do it, it can be difficult to pull yourself out of it.”

“The way your voice lowers when you’re annoyed makes my dick hard. I’m not sure that’s the desired effect.”

“I would’ve seen the realms burn if I lost you. You may not believe I would’ve allowed that to happen, just as you believe my decency extends beyond you, but it doesn’t. I would’ve gladly seen it all burn.”