Daggermouth Quotes

To the system that thought it could grind us down. That thought it could silence and erase us. We are the power. Our eyes are open.

The cracks in my soul aren’t broken places. They are veins cemented together with rage. And it will take more than the hands of men to kill my spirit

Jameson fucking Vine. I believe your hands are on my wife.

If you shoot me,” he said, his voice dropping, “it will only make me want to fuck you.

Women are the backbone, the foundation, the immovable force that still does not falter when men stand on our spines to grab power. So no, Callum, I am not fragile. The cracks in my soul aren’t broken places. They are veins cemented together with rage. And it will take more than the hands of men to kill my spirit, to break my will.

Beautiful things are often built on ugly foundations.

But women? That is all we do. We endure. We wait. We survive.

You’re all riding the law like it’s a dick,

I’m a woman in a system designed to grind us down into nothing

Then I’ll find whatever’s left of her and bring her home,” Jameson replied without having to think. “And love whoever she’s become.

Maybe you should learn to use your words like an adult instead of just shooting me.

I am in awe of you. In awe of your resilience, your intelligence, your capacity for love in a world that has shown you so little of it. You are a goddamn force of nature, and I am just a man lucky enough to stand in your presence.

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” -Ernest Hemingway

Some promises were made to be broken. And some people were worth dying for.

For my readers. For those of us with rebel hearts

lesson in obedience,

So perhaps we can set aside our mutual distaste long enough to ensure we all survive it.

no force in New Found Haven would stop him from burning the Heart to the ground to find her. Some promises were made to be broken. And some people were worth dying for.

You two have that guilty look.” “Cal—” Greyson started. “I know

The old nickname stung more than it should have. My love. What he used to whisper against her ear in those stolen moments before he crushed any chance for them beneath his heel.

She was a fucking cunt

Why would you offer that?” Because I need to see you alive before they kill your spirit. Because I want to witness you uncaged while it’s still possible. Because I hate what I’m a part of

The first thing you’ll learn in New Found Haven is mercy no longer exists. Showing mercy is a weakness, and weakness will get you killed. The second thing is this—the Veyra are always watching. From the highest glass atrium in the Heart to the windowless slum dens of the Boundary, no movement goes unseen. The last lesson is the hardest. You must remember it, as Greyson Serel did now, standing in the center of the plaza’s monolithic platform behind two bound and kneeling rebels. Love outside of your ring was a death sentence.

The first thing you’ll learn in New Found Haven is mercy no longer exists. Showing mercy is a weakness, and weakness will get you killed.

The fabric folded back to reveal forearms that were . . . She took another drink. They were just arms. Nothing special about the subtle flex of muscle under skin as he reached for a knife.

It was the song of defiance

She took another drink. They were just arms. Nothing special about the subtle flex of muscle under skin as he reached for a knife.

Jameson fucking Vine. I believe your hands are on my wife.” The claim set fire to her nerves.

Daggermouths don’t cry

Murderous and curious

We’re not going to hurt you. Well

If you even think about it

You’re all riding the law like it’s a dick,” she said,

though I cannot fathom being willing to die for such a feeble emotion,

it will only make me want to fuck you.

Death doesn’t have to be your legacy.

A psychopath and a murderer

Mercy is weakness

You think they’d actually do it?” Rook asked quietly. “Sacrifice an entire ring?” “I think Maximus Serel has never let human life stand in the way of control.

Shadera strode away from him without a word toward her room and as he watched her go

Five fucking years wasted on noble intentions and misplaced protection.

Love has brought down empires

The Heart was home to the elite of New Found Haven

he’d spent most of the night plotting how best to end his own life with the salad fork.

The woman sent to kill him

I am in awe of you. In awe of your resilience

The first thing you’ll learn in New Found Haven is mercy no longer exists. Showing mercy is a weakness

The feeling had been branded into Callum’s soul

Her tongue swept across her lower lip without conscious thought

I know exactly what I am

Fear is a solvent, Greyson—it dissolves doubt, resistance, the very concept of alternative. But only if administered pure. If you dilute it, even a little, the city will learn to adapt.

If you shoot me,” he said

He reached for the abandoned vodka bottle and took a long pull

Because I need to see you alive before they kill your spirit. Because I want to witness you uncaged while it’s still possible. Because I hate what I’m a part of

They had pipes and bottles—the Heart had bombs.

Just be careful

He knew from how she fought

Well

The dress didn’t just reveal flesh

The Daggermouths owned the Boundary

It should’ve felt heroic

The second thing is this—the Veyra are always watching. From the highest glass atrium in the Heart to the windowless slum dens of the Boundary

For those of us with rebel hearts

Balance does not exist in New Found Haven.

They’d called her a monster for what she did to that first Veyra. She didn’t care. Monsters were the only ones that survived this fucking city.

Fear is a solvent

She searched the room

Love outside of your ring was a death sentence.

Distraction is a form of disloyalty.

The charges are as follows: conspiracy against the Heart

The square slowly filled with those who resided in the Heart

It was the song of defiance , of hope in the midst of despair, of unity in the face of oppression. It was the national anthem of the old world. The song that had been outlawed when New Found Haven rose. It was more than a song, it was a battle cry.

Women are the backbone

But he’d kept the guest room furnished

Don’t fucking touch her,

He knew what she wanted

What do you choose to do with the power you have?

Men never truly understand the meaning of patience. You see

I’m not some fragile

I know her,” he said

The only difference is you get to choose your contracts. I don’t. We’re both murderers. We just pay a different price for those deaths.

Because I am a woman in a system designed by men to keep power in their hands. Because every time I’ve tried to mitigate suffering

Without another word

smelt

Shadera Kael,” he said

Anonymity was a privilege the other rebels were not afforded

She could see his reflection in the glass

Lira had never stopped loving him. Not for a single second. Her heart

As time progressed

A clarion call to the fallen.

Love has brought down empires, and your father knows it.

The first thing you’ll learn in New Found Haven is mercy no longer exists. Showing mercy is a weakness, and weakness will get you killed. The second thing is this—the Veyra are always watching. From the highest glass atrium in the Heart to the windowless slum dens of the Boundary, no movement goes unseen.

Greyson’s involvement with the resistance was the only reason he didn’t fight the masks. It kept him safe

The burden of privilege. Five generations ago

He wondered what version of him she saw at that moment—the Executioner

I have a plan.

I don’t want to hide from you anymore,” he breathed

It wasn’t forgiveness—not yet. It was a man showing that he still had a heart

Shadera’s chest rose and fell in rapid succession as she dragged her eyes from the woman’s lifeless body to find all the prisoners’ eyes locked on her

A traitorous part of her mind whispered that he was beautiful, in the way that dangerous things often are—a predator in motion, a storm rolling in, a blade catching the light.

Welcome to the rebellion

Shadera knew better

Please,” the man whispered. “I’m just following orders.” “Ah

He fucking loved it rough.

It doesn’t matter if you choose to call yourself a rebel or a Daggermouth

For making an entrance. Choose your armor wisely.

Don’t take on guilt that isn’t yours to carry. You have your own nightmares from surviving in this place.

You don’t get to play tourist to my suffering.

Do your fucking worst

You know how it goes. Law makers never live within the law.

A matched set of nightmares

Even if he lives, you hurt him. You made him bleed.” A small smile flickered over her lips. “That is all that matters. That is fuel to the rebellion.

This is why Shadera was feared throughout every corner of this city

Her eyes grew heavy watching those lights

She started a fucking revolution from inside her cell.

What do you know about love?” “Nothing.” Callum chuckled. “I only know of lust

For every mark

He will keep it under twenty-four-hour surveillance with Veyra whose loyalty is resolute. We will not be able to get to them until after the Vow ceremony

Love outside of your ring was a death sentence. The Heart was home to the elite of New Found Haven

You walked into the Heart knowing you might never come back

It felt like the desperate act of a man who couldn’t reconcile the crimes he’d committed against the very people he was trying to help.

I love you,” he said

She’d let him touch her. Worse

I believed that seeing you might remind her of where she belongs,

I may not know poverty, but don’t think for a second I do not know pain.

It struck her suddenly that they’d spent hours together, traveled through the Heart’s most secure areas, engaged in conversations that bordered on treasonous—and not once had she actively plotted his death during that time. The realization was unsettling. She’d come here with a single purpose: kill the Executioner. Now, the lines were blurring in ways she hadn’t anticipated. Greyson was still her enemy, still represented everything she fought against, but he was becoming a person to her. Complex, contradictory, trapped in his own way.

then—if any word came that she was being hurt

I may not know poverty

She smiled down at him. “Python,” she whispered. “They call me Python.” Confusion crossed his features. “Why would they—” “Because I slowly consume my prey,” she explained

Her body was a battlefield

His body fought to live while his mind craved the quiet of extinction.

They were from two very different worlds but both trapped inside the same nightmare.

You deserved—deserve a better father. Love is not supposed to be cruel

I don’t deserve you. After everything I’ve put you through I don’t deserve you

And it will take more than the hands of men to kill my spirit

Your dress for today. Do not hide the damage he has done to you

The President who sat in his tower

This is insane. You want to marry me to the woman who tried to assassinate your own blood? Who nearly ended the legacy you claim to worship?

As much as he’d wanted her bullet to be the death of him

Women were creatures of emotion

But you are still a woman. I can take those freedoms away at any second

This was what he needed—complete surrender from someone who chose to give it, who understood that control was the only currency that mattered in his world.

The Heart consumes,” she said softly

You deserved—deserve a better father. Love is not supposed to be cruel, and what he’s done to you . . . it’s not your fault. You’re a better man than him, Greyson. Now is the time to be that man.” She paused as his pulse pounded in his ears, ringing as if he were hearing for the first time. “Death doesn’t have to be your legacy.

There’s always a choice, Shade.” His voice hardened. “Even when all the options are shit, there’s still a choice. You’re the one that told me that.

History is not made by accidents

You think strength is about dominance

Why don’t you—” Shadera began. “Why don’t I do something about it?” Lira finished for her. “Because I lack the power

He heard his mother’s voice

Females have no place training beside men

How does it feel to get fucked by yourself?

The masked elite looked up toward the rebels

They were from two very different worlds but both trapped inside the same nightmare. Both performing for an audience that would destroy everything they cared about if they missed a single line.

You shouldn’t have said anything,” he said

Because I lack the power

I have built this—” A small wave of his hand took in his office

Don’t,” she said, her voice sharpening. “I don’t have the energy to console your male shame.” She paused then sighed, her tone softening slightly. “Don’t take on guilt that isn’t yours to carry.

Women are the backbone, the foundation, the immovable force that still does not falter when men stand on our spines to grab power.

Is that what you thought that was? You jealous

I only know of lust

Some trauma carved itself so deep

Three guns now pointed at Maximus.

Limited resources create dependence. Dependence creates control. Surely

retreated. Still silent

It was law in New Found Haven

The kill would come

Greyson spoke up

You’re all riding the law like it’s a dick,” she said