A Duel With The Vampire Lord Quotes

I might be the forge maiden, but I am no delicate flower. I am as cold as silver. As strong as iron. I will bend for destiny, but not for any man.

Death keeps a summer home in this forsaken place.

What am I going to do with you?” “Love me forever?” My mouth moves on its own. “Careful, or I just might.

That was only the beginning. I cannot wait to see what madness I will push you to with the rest of me.

Let them know.” He shrugs. “This world is dark and the night is unyielding; the least we can do is fill it with sweet, forbidden dreams.

Creation will happen for its own sake. Things happen, regardless of our intent, and all we can do is judge the result. We were helpless to change it in the process.

Knowing when to accept help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

It might feel like it happened so recently for all of you. But that’s not the truth. Those people are long dead. Honor them, but do not tie yourself and the present to the past at the expense of moving forward.

My bodily needs were met while my soul starved.

If my words were silver blades you’d be long dead.

Transform me into someone who can protect all that I love. Everything I’ve ever known. Make me strong enough to defy all that everyone thought I could be, if only for one night.

What are you?” he rasps. What am I? A strange question coming from a beast like him. I smile wildly. “I am your death.

I shouldn’t need everyone to believe in or want the things I believed in and wanted.

If we’ve ‘hardly done anything’ then how have you become my everything?

But I’m capable of hating a circumstance while still pitying the people trapped within

But the truth is… The truth is, Ruvan… Even though I was scared. Even though I feel like I’ve never been enough. I still want to try. For you, me, us.

How do we free ourselves from this torment?” “I don’t know if I want to be free.” His gaze drops farther, to my neck. “You might be torture and temptation incarnate. But you are strength and power. You are damnation and salvation trapped in curves that should be forbidden.

That’s not true. You can be and do whatever your heart desires,” Ruvan says, soft and firm. “Even the vampir who can see the future in someone’s blood will always say that the choice still lies in the beating heart of the person.” I glance away. “I wish you could look into my future. The reassurance would be easier.” “I don’t need to taste your blood to see your future.” His thumb begins to caress mine. “I don’t need magic to see a woman in the process of learning what she wants. I see a woman whose world is so much more than she thought it was, and that threatens her rigid structure.

You and I could finally go to the sea.” The sea, the symbol of that all-encompassing dream of the world beyond the walls.

How I wanted to be loved. I spent years imagining this moment—where a man swept me into his arms and claimed he wanted me. Not for the prestige of the forge maiden. Not for the clout my family brought in Hunter’s Hamlet, or the safety of being surrounded by silver. But for me. Me.

I finally did realize that destiny is like metal—seemingly unbendable until you put it under heat and pressure. You can forge it into the shape you want.

This world is dark and the night is unyielding; the least we can do is fill it with sweet, forbidden dreams.

Just because I can do something alone, doesn’t mean it’s the best way. Even the greatest vampir lord needs a covenant. Even the strongest hunter needs brothers and sisters in arms.

My power is intoxicating, isn’t it?” he whispers. “Do you want more? Break the curse on my people, dear hunter, and I can keep you drunk on my power until your body can no longer handle me.

One condition.” I rise to my toes to murmur in his ear. My hands splay across his strong chest for support. “I taste you after. Give me your power. Keep me drunk on it.” Give me that sweet haze of magic. I’ll need it for what I want to do in the smithy. I need it for my own satiation. “I will until your body gives out and you can no longer handle me,” he repeats his words from the night of our vow and descends on me. His hard body presses against mine, pinning me to him. Ensnaring me with muscle and velvet.

Time has a way of snuffing dreams.

And I feel for you.” He pulls me a bit closer, his hands still around mine. “I ache for you. I burn for you. I want you.

Everyone in Hunter’s Hamlet has one foot in the grave and one hand on a silver weapon. We don’t go down without a fight. We are the only thing standing between our world and the vampires that would consume it.

Fear marries desperation to breed poor decisions, Mother always says. We must protect the silver, for it is our only defense against the vampires. A defense that grows more finite by the day.

The place where the rot of your curse festers. Where you will see the true horror of what your dear hunters have done to our kind.

Many do. Many blame all humans for the curse. But I’m capable of hating a circumstance while still pitying the people trapped within it. I know the curse was not your fault and you must see that too.

Nothing cuts deeper than hope.

They can twirl and dance. They can sing and cry. They’re as free as the hems that graze over their thighs.

My duty is seen as more sacred than that of many of the hunters themselves. For I am the one who will arm and armor them for years to come. I know the secrets of the forge. I am the keeper of steel and silver.

Now, I wait to learn if the feelings are mutual—what face she thinks is my true one. Am I the monster or the man to her?

Stay in line and do everything you’re told. Never think about anything else because if you do you might realize just how suffocating all the demands and expectations are.

But we can fix it. You and I. We can find our freedom from this unyielding nightmare. If you can just put your blind hatred aside long enough to see the truth before you.

Your future will be what you make of it. If that is with me, then I will help you fight, every step of the way, for all your dreams. If you decide you are meant for someone else then, despite how painful it will be, I will step aside.

Everyone has power, if they claim it.

I’ve been so scared. I’ve been angry and confused—at myself, at the people who raised me.

Even the strongest steel can bend…with enough patience, time, and force.

We both looked at each other and saw a monster in those early nights. In some ways we were right. In many we were so wrong.

Every step is progress, even if we can’t see it in the moment.

I might be the forge maiden, but I am no delicate flower. I am as cold as silver. As strong as iron. I will bend for destiny, but not for any man. CHAPTER 2 No one notices my white knuckles; they’re too busy cheering.

Multiple trips are for the weak.

palms sweaty,