Onyx Storm

“Xaden is mine. My heart, my soul, my everything. He channeled from the earth to save me, and I’ll scour the world until I find a way to save him right back.”

“I am in love with him. I haven’t so much as thought about you in years. Don’t chase just because you like a challenge. You’ll lose.”

“Just you and me today, honeybear. Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of you.”

“With that speech? At least a duchess.”

“The best leaders are the ones who never want the job. This is your mission because Andarna chose you. Tairn chose you. What they never tell us in the quadrant is that the rank is well and good, but you and I both know that the moment we fly into the battlefield, it isn’t the humans giving commands. I hate to break it to you, but you were selected by a general among dragons. You can choose to step into leadership, or he can drag you. Either way, you’re going to end up in the front.”

“My loyalty is to Violet first above everything, everyone else. Then Tyrrendor. Then Navarre in the moments when it’s worthy–usually when Violet is in residence.”

“You’re Xaden Riorson. Shadow wielder. Duke of Tyrrendor. Love of my life. You have nothing to be jealous of.”

“Seriously, figure your shit out kids. We’re in the middle of a war.”

“Telling me you’re capable of horrible things while still loving me is pretty much your idea of foreplay.”

“But ‘girlfriend’ is missing the permanent tone.”

“Shh, it’s more fun when she blows shit up.”

“Because you’re the only one capable of killing me.”

“Let’s get three things straight, Your Highness. First, I have remarkable hearing thanks to the shadows at your very feet. Second, I don’t control Violet. Never have. Never will. But third, and most importantly–She really, honestly hasn’t thought about you. At least not since the second she set eyes on me.”

“I’ve never seen him like that. Ever. I don’t even want to think about what he would have done if he’d been out here beyond the wards, because I thought he was going to rip the stones from the wall. He’s always prided himself on control—he has to when he wields that much power–and I’m telling you, he lost it when he heard you were crossing the border, Violet. He’s…not himself.

“Just like it’s gone for the last eighteen months. Everyone assumes she’ll wind up with you, but it’s my last name she ends up wearing on her flight jacket in formation.”

“Swear you’ll keep it safe, even if it’s from me.”

“I like our odds. The last time a shadow and lightning welder fought side by side, they managed to drive the venin back to the Barrens for a few hundred years. We’ll figure out how to do it again.”

“Good thing I fuck like a third.”