Quicksilver Callie Hart Quotes

Nobody will ever fuck you the way I'm about to fuck you, Saeris Fane. I'm about to introduce you to all seven gods. When you meet them, don't forget to tell them I'm the one you worship on your knees.

I'll be grateful for every second that I can say that I belong to you, Saeris Fane. Eighty years or eighteen hours. It doesn't matter to me. It'll still be the highest honor of my life.

I don't want bright and happy,” he whispered roughly. “I want real.

For those who live their nightmares, so that others may have their dreams.

Fuck the fates. They don’t get to decide shit for me. I decide what my future is going to be.

Don’t call her Sunshine,” he commanded. “Why not?” If Carrion’s plan was to poke the bear, then he sure as hell knew how to go about it. But Kingfisher didn’t respond to the taunting note in his question. He just cocked his head a little, nostrils flaring, and spoke in a low rumble. “Because she is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before the killing starts. You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty.

Because she is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before the killing starts. You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty.

She has a mind and a mouth of her own. I am the keeper of neither.

He is the storm. You are the peace that must come after it. Tell me, do you believe in the fates, Alchemist?

Human, Fae, or Vampire. It doesn’t matter how long you live, Saeris, you will always be most sacred to me.

That’s what Oshellith means in Old Fae, Saeris. Most Sacred.

I'm in love with you, Saeris Fane,” he whispered quietly into my hair. “And I'm already half-mad, anyway. What's a little complicated thrown into the mix?

Urgh! Do you have to be so difficult?” His eyes danced. “It isn’t mandatory, but I do enjoy it.

I’ll be grateful for every second that I can say I belong to you, Saeris Fane.

Don't you dare die on my watch, Saeris Fane! Fisher will never forgive me if his sole reason for living is torn to pieces on her first fucking battlefield.

Never forget… Monsters thrive best in the dark.

I hadn't seen many beautiful things in my short life. But, of all the beautiful things I had seen, Fisher was the most beautiful of all.

Sure. Why not. I'm too pretty to die old, anyway.

Make me forget that I've ever suffered,” I commanded. “Make me forget that I will again.

Be unrelenting and unmerciful in the face of the wicked dead,” Fisher said. Ren laid a steadying hand on my shoulder. “And if you should find soul sundered from flesh, order a drink for us at the first tavern you come across in the afterlife. We’ll settle the tab when we get there.

An Oshellith is a type of butterfly,” he called as he went. “Osha for short. They hatch, live, and die all in one day. The cold kills them very fast. Isn’t that right, Renfis?

Always pay attention to the fine print. The devil's in the details. Now go.

He would claim my better days and carry me during my worst.

I sobbed. The name he gave me, the name I hated, was a declaration of what I meant to him even then.

There is no way you can still smell me on him.” “There's every way,” Fisher rumbled, his eyes darkening. “I'd know the smell of you anywhere. On anyone. I'd know it blind and in the dark. Across a fucking sea. I'd be able to scent you—

Rumors are next-door neighbors to gossip, and gossip always breaks bread with lies. It's just the way these things go.

Death is an open doorway that’s meant to be walked through. On the other side of it lies peace. Count yourself lucky that you get to make the journey at all.

Every warrior in Innìr will smell me on you, Fisher's voice rumbled in my mind. I'm going to make you hoarse from screaming my fucking name. I'm going to mark you in every way imaginable, so that everyone knows you're fucking mine.

For those who live their nightmares so that others may have their dreams.

Everlayne had been waiting for me when I returned to my room yesterday. She hadn't banked on Kingfisher kicking in my bedroom door, me thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and wailing like a banshee. Nor had she expected his ultra-foul temper, his split bottom lip, or the thin line of blood trickling down his chin. She'd squawked when he'd thrown me unceremoniously down onto my bed and snarled, “Bad human,” at me.

Right. Sure.” Humans and Fae were different in many ways, but sarcasm was universal.

My soul was on fire, and I didn't care if I burned for all eternity. So long as I was burning with him, then so be it.

Fisher rested his chin on top of his forearms and sighed. “What?” I whispered. He thought for a moment, appearing to decide whether he'd answer the question. Then he said, “I was wrong, y’know. You are a good thief.” “What have I stolen?” But he smiled a small, sad smile, slowly shaking his head. “Sleep a little. The water will stay warm. I'll be back as soon as I've spoken to Ren.

Saeris Fane was twenty-four years of age when she died. Honestly, she should have died a lot sooner, but the girl never did know when to give up.

You're incorrigible!” “I don't know what that means.” “Yes, you fucking do!” “All right. I do. What's your point?

That your body is betraying you in other ways. That I can smell you, Little Osha, and I’m thinking about drinking the sweet nectar you’re making for me straight from the fucking cup.

Of course Death was beautiful. How else would anyone choose to go with him without putting up a fight?

When I get you out of these clothes, you're in trouble,” he snarled in my head. “I'm going to fuck you so hard you won't be able sit down for a week.

I swore I'd be still while you kissed me. At no point did I promise to exercise restraint if you climbed up into my lap and started grinding yourself against my cock.

Did you hear that?” he said. “What?” “That smoking hot blonde said I was pretty.” “Gods alive, Carrion. Do not tell me you have a thing for Danya. She’s fucking awful.” “Eh.” He shot me a rakish grin. “I love a girl with a sharp tongue and a bad attitude. Kinda makes my dick hard.

Kingfisher considered me, one eyebrow curving with interest. “Are you thinking about running? Gods, I hope so. I'll give you a head start if you like. It's been an age since I've hunted anything.

But you couldn't hate something without caring about it just a little, too.

Funny how your own impending demise will rob a girl of her desire to take in the scenery.

Rule number three. Do not make me do any physical activity,” he snarled. “What part about 'I am hungover' did you not fucking understand!

Let your knees fall open,” he demanded. “I—” “No arguments, Osha. I've driven myself half-crazy wondering what you look like. I need to fucking see. Put me out of my misery.

Maybe the issue is that you asked me a question about my cock like a hungry little bitch in heat and didn't ask me something that mattered.

I don’t enjoy hurting people. I don’t like it at all. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t necessary. To avoid far more serious pain, sometimes we have to endure a little sting.

I can't wait to hear what kind of sounds you make when I thrust into you for the first time,” he purred. “I'm going to make you pant for me, Little Osha. And when we're done, I'll close my eyes and replay the sound of you moaning in my head every time I stroke myself to completion.

There you go again. Hungry, needy little bitch in heat, begging to be fucked...” he taunted.

Once upon a time, that was the case. Back when true mating bonds existed. Unions between true mates were blessed with marks from the Fates.

Fear the shadows, bitch. I’m made of them.

I love a girl with a sharp tongue and a bad attitude. Kinda makes my dick hard.

Do you have any idea what those boots cost me?” “Let me guess. Your virginity.

Please, for the love of the gods, don't say anything. Just let me have my fantasy. Just for tonight.

After much consideration, he said, "It looks like a Simon.

If it were up to me, we wouldn't spend another night without each other again.” Gently, he reached for the end of my braid and drew it over my shoulder toward him. He slowly unfastened it, working my hair loose with his fingers. His eyes were cautious when they sought out mine. “Does that scare you?” he murmured.

I’ve never been one to trust in the gods, but I choose to believe that all things come from the same place when life begins. I have hope that they return to the same place when it ends. I’ll be waiting for you there, Saeris Fane.

Because you're a nice Fae warrior, unlike Fisher, who is the devil incarnate.

Even filthy and tired, you’re still beautiful.

He'd accepted me as his mate.

You've got me, Little Osha. And I've got you.

It was harsh, but sometimes the cruel things we said served the kindest purpose.

I don't want bright and happy, he whispered roughly. I want real.

If you try to punch me again, I'll tie your hands behind your fucking back,

She is the dawn. She is the moon. She is the sky. She is oxygen in our lungs.

I had known Death’s voice to be a howling hot wind across the parched desert. A wet, hacking cough in the night. The urgent cry of a starving baby. I had never for one moment imagined his voice might also be the stroke of velvet in the ever-encroaching darkness.

What were you even thinking?” Everlayne growled, slapping down the folds of the skirt some more so that it hung properly. “He's a Fae warrior, Saeris. You can not go around punching Fae warriors.

Careful, human. We Fae have an excellent sense of smell. You’d be amazed what we can scent floating on the air.” “I—I wasn’t doing anything. I didn’t—” Oh, gods. I was going to die of embarrassment.

Ren laid a steadying hand on my shoulder. “And if you should find soul sundered from flesh, order a drink for us at the first tavern you come across in the afterlife. We’ll settle the tab when we get there.

It’s Saeris. My name. Call me that or nothing at all.” He cast an amused look over his shoulder, his lips parted a fraction, exposing the briefest glimpse of teeth. “Nothing at all? I like the sound of that. Come here and look at this, Nothing At All.

It's a fox! A pest! This is probably what was living in the hearth before we ripped that den out. They steal food from the kitchens.” The creature wasn't nearly as hideous as I'd first thought. I darted forward, stooping low, covering the little thing with my body, gripped by a sudden remorse. “You definitely can't kill it then. Not if we destroyed its home.” “It's going to bite you,” Kingfisher said. “No, it won't. It—” It bit me.

Alchemy, it turned out, was a form of magic. Forgotten, long-dead, old magic that was as much a myth to the Fae of Yvelia as they were to the people of Zilvaren.

Then he said, “I was wrong, y’know. You are a good thief.” “What have I stolen?” But he smiled a small, sad smile, slowly shaking his head. “Sleep a little.

I’ll come and tell you everything I remember about them later, but for now, I want to be alone with my mate.” He said it with such pride. My mate.

Are you going to tell me about my parents, or are you going to start undressing each other? Because I can leave. I don’t have to, but I can,” Carrion said.

She'd squawked when he'd thrown me unceremoniously down onto my bed and snarled, “Bad human,” at me.

Your personality is trash.

There's every way,” Fisher rumbled, his eyes darkening. “I'd know the smell of you anywhere. On anyone. I'd know it blind and in the dark. Across a fucking sea. I'd be able to scent you—

I searched his face, my heart working overtime. “You made it very clear that, as far as you were concerned, it was going to be a one-time thing,” I said slowly. “You made it very clear that you could hate me and still want to fuck me. And I'm not the type of person who keeps throwing herself at the things that hurt her. So no. I haven't brought it up. What would have been the point? Would you have made me a cup of tea and sat and listened while I tried to convince you how good we could be together?” He snorted dismissively.

If I were evil and using your oath for my own purposes, I'd order you onto your knees for me,” he said, cutting me off. “I'd order you to part your legs for me. I'd order you to suck and fuck me until you passed out from exhaustion. Is that what you want, Little Osha?

He was cold morning air, and smoke, and fresh-turned earth,

How the hell am I supposed to stay alive in the middle of a war zone, Fisher?” When he laughed this time, the sound was hollow. “By sticking close, Osha. Really close.

My name is Carrion Swift. But there was a time when I was known as Carrion Daianthus. First born son to Rurik and Amelia Daianthus.

He pointed at his foot. “Where the fuck is my other boot?

Pants and a shirt,” I said dryly. “And a pair of boots with really good soles. Do you have any idea what those boots cost me?” “Let me guess. Your virginity.” “Fuck you, Fisher.

Whatever the cost would be for staying with him, I would pay it. Yes, I said.

Because I don't just throw my hands up and accept defeat when things get hard. I'm honestly shocked to learn that you do.

I wanted to save you from this. I didn’t want you to suffer with me.

Because I'm magic.” “What about you is magic?” “Everything,” he said, entering the room. “My looks. My sword skills. My personality—” “Your personality is trash.

And then I punched him square in the mouth.

before a storm. The smoke that rolls across a battlefield before the killing starts. You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty.

Because she is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity in the air

I have to say, I was expecting that to go differently,” he mused. And then I punched him square in the mouth.

Salt. Quicksilver. Brimstone. The uses for all three are varied and wide. Combined

Lying is pointless with your heart betraying you so loudly.

a plume of black smoke swept me up off the floor, and suddenly I was in Fisher’s arms. His face was streaked with ichor, eyes full of panic. “Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?

By my own hand, I’ll make sure the piece of soul he loaned to me finds its way back to him. And if the fates consider it just, and I’ve done enough to earn a place at his side, I’ll go quietly and happily with my brother into whatever lies beyond.

Good.” I flipped the sword and handed it to him. “Then give it a name and let’s go.” The evening was almost here, and the others were waiting for us. Carrion held the sword, turning it this way and that. After much consideration, he said, “It looks like a Simon.” “Simon?” “Yeah. Simon. Don’t blame me. That’s what it looks—” He stopped talking and listened. “See. It likes the name. It wants to be Simon.

It’s under the most unbearable conditions that the sharpest, most dangerous weapons are forged. And we are dangerous, Captain. She’s turned us all into weapons. That is why she won’t suffer my people to live.

She hadn’t banked on Kingfisher kicking in my bedroom door, me thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and wailing like a banshee. Nor had she expected his ultra-foul temper, his split bottom lip, or the thin line of blood trickling down his chin. She’d squawked when he’d thrown me unceremoniously down onto my bed and snarled, “Bad human,” at me.

You know I fought. I did, I fought the same way you want to fight now. I gave everything I had, sacrificed every last thing I held dear, but this city is a beast that feeds on misery, and pain, and death, and it’s never full.

Even the strongest warrior’s heart can break. His soul can still be crushed. Since I won’t be able to comfort you when the challenges before you feel too great, take this book and keep it as a guide. Above all, know this. There will be times when the world seeks to destroy you, Kingfisher. But you are stronger than you can ever know. You will not falter. And you will not face it all alone.

We are nothing alike,” he said quietly. “You nearly died from a scratch that would have been a mild irritation to me. You are soft. You are fragile. You are vulnerable. You are a newborn fawn, stumbling around in the dark, surrounded by predators with very sharp teeth. I am the thing that exists on the other side of the dark. I’m the thing that puts the fear of the gods into the monsters who would eat you bones and all.

When I'd first laid eyes on him, I'd called him Death. The likeness was even more pronounced now. This male possessed the power to end entire civilizations if he wanted to.

You asked for this. When you're sore from coming so hard and you can't recall your own name, remember that, Little Osha.

I don’t care how big it is. I care about the way you answer.” A slow, terrifying smirk spread across his face. “It’s big enough to make you scream and then some.

I fucking hate spiders,

Then where are you going to sleep?” If he thought for one second that I’d share a fucking bed with him, he was sorely mistaken.

Back when true mating bonds existed. Unions between true mates were blessed with marks from the Fates.

I just wanted to see if you knew what hard work was. I told you I was magic,” he whispered.

The mountain that weathers all storms,

Eyes were not that color. I’d never seen that shade of green before—a jade so bright and vibrant that it didn’t look real.

Rumors are next-door neighbors to gossip, and gossip always breaks bread with lies.

I'll hurt you if it means I keep you safe. I'll force you to follow me to the ends of this realm, because that is the only way I can make sure you stay alive.

Kingfisher removed one hand, but it made no difference—he only needed one hand to hold both of mine.

This was the kiss to end all kisses. Demanding, urgent, and carnal.

He was all I could see. All I could smell. He was cold morning air, and smoke, and fresh-turned earth, and a thousand other complex scents I didn’t even have names for.

It's a sex thing. If a male drinks from someone, it'll make his dick harder than it's ever been in his life. It makes you euphoric. Both of you. While you're fucking.

I raised my eyebrows at him. “You let a fire sprite jerk you off with a handful of Fae moss?

It was the kind of dress that would bring most men to their knees. I fucking hated it.

I don't need magic to mess you up, you fuck,” he growled. “This is for me. But mostly, it’s for my parents.

This is the part where...you scream...Captain.” And then I swung with all my might.

He smiled suggestively as he said, “Swallow.

I never met a rule I didn’t wanna break, Sunshine.

The world had been cruel to him, so he was cruel back.

I’m the thing that puts the fear of the gods into the monsters who would eat you bones and all.

Carrion’s grin faltered. “You are extra fucking miserable today. You should really get laid. Might help improve your mood. Tell him, Sunshine.” I choked. Loudly.

Kingfisher stuck out a hand and flipped all seven of them off as he stormed by.

There's something...between us. You know there is.

Wisps of clouds, tinged pink, stretched from one side of the dome to the other as if placed there by an artist’s paintbrush.

Fear the shadows, bitch. I'm made of them. One night soon, I'll climb out of one and slit your fucking throat." Kingfisher

The sound of Fisher’s genuine laughter was rarer than water had ever been back in Zilvaren; it almost brought tears to my eyes to hear it.

It isn't disease that's contagious in my ward, Captain. It's dissent.

Fisher finally twisted over and laid his head back on his pillow. “Come here,” he said. “What?” “Don't make me drag you down here.” There was a tired but playful catch in his voice. He wanted me to lie next to him. Hell. I was going to have to unpack that in the morning,

I don’t hate your kind. I’m just disappointed by how breakable you are. If I held you down and fucked you the way I’m imagining fucking you right now, I doubt that you’d survive it.

That your body is betraying you in other ways. That I can smell you, Little Osha, and I'm thinking about drinking the sweet nectar you're making for me straight from the fucking cup.

Everlayne had given me, this garment was absolutely stunning. A shimmering red affair made of raw silk. It was the kind of dress that would bring most men to their knees. I fucking hated it.

Placing his hand against my stomach, he drew me close so that my back was flush with his chest. The warmth from his body was divine. I could feel his heart beating against my back—slow and even,

He showed up with these in his hand and said he'd give them to me on one condition.” “Which was?” Carrion snagged a grape from the tray and popped it into his mouth. “That I take a bath.” “A bath?

Gods alive, Carrion. Do not tell me you have a thing for Danya. She’s fucking awful.” “Eh.” He shot me a rakish grin. “I love a girl with a sharp tongue and a bad attitude. Kinda makes my dick hard.

Fisher hooked his fingers underneath the hem of my shirt and rested his hand against my skin. The move wasn't sexual. It was simple contact between one person and another. Grounding. Intimate. A connection.

I'm sorry, Saeris, but it's more complicated than that.” “Is it?” Kingfisher asked abruptly. He was no longer staring into space. His eyes bored into Everlayne so intensely that I found myself thanking the gods that he wasn't looking at me like that. “Humans are usually weak, fickle creatures, but I'll admit, I admire this one's loyalty. She values her family over everything else. There's something to be said for that.

The rebels my mother had helped before her death had done more than hide in our attic. They had trained me. Taught me how to steal. How to survive. How to fight. And now I fought like hell’s own fury made flesh.

Emerging from the silver, the huge figure rose up from the pool as if ascending from the very depths of hell itself. Broad shoulders. Wet, shoulder-length black hair. Tall. Taller than any other man I'd ever seen.

Fisher glared at me with the intensity of a thousand suns. “I hate that fucking place, but I went there for you. I got stabbed seven times in various parts of my body. For you. This prick said he was Hayden. His blood said he was Hayden. I did what I said I was going to do. Now move. We're getting the hell out of here.

You tell it a joke then!” I held out the crucible containing the quicksilver, and Carrion huffed, peering at the roiling liquid metal. “All right. Fine. A husband turns to his wife one day and says, ‘y’know, I bet you can’t think of something to tell me that will make me both happy and sad at the same time.’ The wife doesn’t even need to think about it. She turns to her husband and says, ‘your cock is way bigger than your brother’s.

Even with the cruel smirk playing across his mouth, Kingfisher was savagely handsome. “What can I say?” he purred. “Being completely cut off from civilization and summarily forgotten about has a way of changing you after a while.

There was something else there, too. Something that made my body come alive. His scent, and the way I knew that he’d entered a room before I saw him, and the melancholy tug at the root of my soul whenever he wasn’t in a room, and—

Every warrior in Innìr will smell me on you, Fisher’s voice rumbled in my mind. I’m going to make you hoarse from screaming my fucking name. I’m going to mark you in every way imaginable, so that everyone knows you’re fucking mine.

I don't want to talk about dresses,” I whispered. “Fair enough. Let’s talk about food, then.” “Food?” He nodded. “Don't share food with that prick again, Little Osha.” “What?” “Swift. Earlier. Back in the war room. You were trading that cake back and forth with him for ages.” “It wasn’t cake.” “I don’t care what it was. Just stop sharing food with him.” There was a dangerous edge to his voice. One that dared me to challenge this order. If he hadn’t learned by now that I wasn’t one to be told what to do, then perhaps he needed reminding. “Why not?” “Because I fucking said so.

Meeting? I thought this was dinner. And how would it be fair for me to enjoy the pleasure of your company while these two miss out?” Carrion held up a hand. “I'd prefer not to be here, actually.” “Sit the fuck down,” I hissed. “All right. Gods.

The ink flowed beneath his skin, crossing from him to...to...sinners, it flowed along my fingertips, spreading over my skin, flowing just like his smoke over the backs of my hands. A delicate little bird took shape on the inside of my right forearm. It stretched its wings and took flight, its tiny body flitting over my stomach as its wings beat a thousand times a minute.

Just hang me already and be done with it,” I snapped. “If you don't hurry up and get on with it, you’re gonna miss your opportunity.” He arched an eyebrow. “I wouldn't bother trying to escape.” I rolled my eyes. “I meant that I was dying of boredom in here.

Saeris, if I knew I could buy your time, I'd be bankrupt, and you would be a very rich woman. You'd have spent the past three months on your back, begging for me to ride you harder, and—” “One more word and I'll relieve you of your fucking balls, thief,” I snarled.

It’ll take a while for him to...wake up. Humans are so...” Kingfisher groaned. “You’re all so fucking fragile.” I rounded on the warrior, the dull roar in my ears growing progressively louder, louder, louder... “This is not my brother, Fisher. This is Carrion fucking Swift!

He looked down at himself, his mouth twisting into a cold smile when he caught me looking at his upgraded armor. “You like it?” he purred. “I figured some extra protection was in order this morning since you’re now given to hurling yourself at me like some kind of rabid feline.

Trot? I laughed scathingly. “Nothing you can say or do will incentivize me to smash my genitals against this saddle any harder or faster than they’re already being smashed.” “Feeling a little sore, human?” “Sore doesn’t come close,” I grumbled. “I’ll happily kiss all of your aches and pains better for you once we strike camp. I’ve been told my mouth has healing properties. Especially when administered between a pair of thighs.

The walls keep shifting,” I bit out. “Which means the path keeps changing. I need to make sure we’re going the right way, but if you want to take the lead, then be my guest.” The thief held up his hands. “You’re right. I apologize. I’m just a little on edge right now. I’m not my best self.

I had spent the past hour painstakingly engraving words down the very center of the blade. Words that would hopefully bode well for both the weapon and the warrior who bore it, and badly for those who found themselves at its sharp end. By righteous hands, deliverance of the unrighteous dead.

If he’d been human, I would have judged him in his middle years. His face was lightly lined and had a kindness and wisdom that took me by surprise. He looked up at me, his hands resting on his knees, and said, “You know who I am?” I bowed my head a little, again looking down at my boots. “Zareth. God of Chaos.

Fisher’s very single-minded sometimes. There’s no grey. Only black and white. I fear that part of him has only gotten worse while he’s been away. He has to keep things very straight in his mind, otherwise lines get blurred. Right now, you’re a tool he feels he has to use to make life better for us all. My concern is that a tool pushed to its limit is a tool that will probably break. And to be blunt, Saeris, you’re a tool none of us can afford to let Fisher break. He needs to see you as a person. He needs to know that you’re more than our way out of a tight corner. And the only way to accomplish that is if he learns more about you.

made sure to arrange myself so that no part of my body was touching Fisher's, but he made a vexed sound and wrapped his arm around my body. Placing his hand against my stomach, he drew me close so that my back was flush with his chest. The warmth from his body was divine. I could feel his heart beating against my back—slow and even, in time with the soft push and pull of his breath. Somewhere toward the foot of the small bed, Onyx groaned comfortably and nestled deeper into the blankets.

I slept with him months ago. Months. It was once, and I was drunk, and he's never let me live it down since. There is no way you can still smell me on him.” “There's every way,” Fisher rumbled, his eyes darkening. “I'd know the smell of you anywhere. On anyone. I'd know it blind and in the dark. Across a fucking sea. I'd be able to scent you—

My hands shook as I looped the apron ties around my waist and then knotted them over my stomach. “It's Saeris. My name. Call me that or nothing at all.” He cast an amused look over his shoulder, his lips parted a fraction, exposing the briefest glimpse of teeth. “Nothing at all? I like the sound of that. Come here and look at this, Nothing At All.

And I ate. I ate so much fucking food, Cook would scream the moment he saw me strolling into the kitchen.

And if you should find soul sundered from flesh, order a drink for us at the first tavern you come across in the afterlife. We’ll settle the tab when we get there.

Now, will this one do or not?

Have you heard about the fire at the circus?” I paused for dramatic effect. “It was in tents. Get it? In tents.

The easiest way to win any war was to create dissent amongst your enemy's ranks so that they wasted their time and energy fighting each other instead of you.

Was this what I had to look forward to? Every single member of the Fae giving me sideways glances every time I was the least bit turned on?

This...is a learning experience, I think. There are always consequences to our actions. Your new furry bracelet is a consequence of human weakness. Wear it with pride.

He does not have fleas.” “That you know of,” Kingfisher said.

Feeling a little sore, human?” “Sore doesn't come close,

It's under the most unbearable conditions that the sharpest, most dangerous weapons are forged.

And yet you’re coming to help me end a war, aren’t you. What more noble cause could there be? Congratulations on achieving fucking sainthood.

And if you should find your soul sundered from flesh, order a drink at the first tavern you come across in the afterlife. We'll settle the tab when we get there

Fisher will never forgive me if his sole reason for living is torn to pieces on her first fucking battlefield.

Don't share food with that prick again, Little Osha.” “What?” “Swift. Earlier. Back in the war room. You were trading that cake back and forth with him for ages.

We didn't forget about you. You have no idea what we went through to try and get you back.” “Oh, yeah. I'm sure my suffering paled in comparison to yours.

Because she is moonlight. The mist that shrouds the mountains. The bite of electricity

But fuck Danya. Danya was the worst.

Everlayne bowed and touched her head to them as she hurried by. Ren grumbled, giving them a cursory nod. Kingfisher stuck out a hand and flipped all seven of them off as he stormed by.

I’ll happily kiss all of your aches and pains better for you once we strike camp. I’ve been told my mouth has healing properties. Especially when administered between a pair of thighs.

He shook his head emphatically, his eyes begging me not to speak. Quickly, he took hold of my hand and placed it onto his chest, right in the center. Thum, thum, thum, thum, thum, thum....

I've fucked plenty of humans,” he whispered. “Does that surprise you?” “Yes. Seeing as how you... seem to hate us... so much.” His mouth. Gods, his fucking mouth. I needed to look away. I had to. “I don't hate your kind. I'm just disappointed by how breakable you are. If I held you down and fucked you the way I'm imagining fucking you right now, I doubt that you’d survive it.

Elroy swears that a man will lie about the size of his cock every time a woman asks him.” Kingfisher stilled. “Are you asking me how big my cock is, Osha?” “I don’t care how big it is. I care about the way you answer.” A slow, terrifying smirk spread across his face. “It’s big enough to make you scream and then some.” “See.” I jabbed a finger at him. “You're not going to be honest.

His fingers were lighter than the dawn breeze. He'd talked me out of my underwear—perhaps the greatest heist ever performed in Zilvaren—and people hadn't stopped talking about that for months.

There he was, sitting at a table on the far side of the tavern with three of his dim-witted friends, his back to the corner so he could keep a weather eye on the crowd. Carrion Swift: the most notorious gambler, cheat, and smuggler in the entire city. He was also uncommonly good in bed—the only man in Zilvaren who'd ever made me scream his name out of pleasure rather than frustration.

It’s dissent. Anarchy and rebellion spread like a wildfire. And what do you do with a fire? You blockade it. Trap it behind a wall. Give it nowhere else to go until it burns itself out and dies a quiet death.

For that alone, I’ll make your undying existence an unending agony. An eternity of suffering the likes of which even your evil mind cannot comprehend. You’ll know no peace at my hands. I will destroy your empire and erase your name from the annals of time. When I am done with your legacy, Madra the Undying will never have existed. And you’ll live on at my behest, suffering for all of eternity. And no one will know. And no one will care.

I said, verbatim, ‘I go, and I try to get your brother. You help me and assist me in any way I ask you to, and you do as you’re told. You agree to this pact?’ to which you replied, ‘Yes, gods, I agree! Just get on with it!

It's the most beautiful thing a person can experience in this lifetime. They glow blue and pink and silver, with an ethereal light. They have music, though no one knows how. A sweet, soft song that's capable of healing. The Oshellith mate and lay their eggs, but once that's done, they fill the air, and they dance. Protecting them while they live is considered a sacred rite that many die in order to perform. That's what Oshellith means in Old Fae, Saeris. Most Sacred.

Even in times of peace, the Fae are always at war. There are those among our ranks that might pretend to be your friend, but often they’re hiding knives behind their smiles, ready to sink them into your back. You’d do well to remember that.

Do you know much about metalwork, Captain? I do. It's under the most unbearable conditions that the sharpest, most dangerous weapons are forged. And we are dangerous, Captain. She’s turned us all into weapons. That is why she won’t suffer my people to live.

burned right behind my breastbone. It wasn't just how he looked. There was something else there, too. Something that made my body come alive. His scent, and the way I knew that he'd entered a room before I saw him, and the melancholy tug at the root of my soul whenever he wasn't in a room, and—

You say our ward's locked down so tight because we're quarantined. You say we're afflicted with a sickness. That we're contagious. But we aren't, Captain. We're being slowly and methodically poisoned because we don't matter. Because we ask questions. Because we say no. Because Madra sees us as a burden on the city. She feeds us foul, dirty water, and we die in droves because of it. Meanwhile, you and yours turn the handle, and fresh, clean water flows into your canisters. No one standing over you, looking over your shoulder, beating you and telling you enough. Have you ever asked yourself why—

then went to all three of the tall windows in the room, ripping the curtains closed at each as he went. I got up and followed after him, drawing the curtains open again. “What are you doing?” “I'm hungover,” he announced. “The sun is trying to crack my skull open, which is making me very unfriendly. But please. Feel free to open the curtains.

Whatever happens to you affects me. And I'm not stupid. You've been less of a prick these past fifteen minutes than you have been since you scraped me off the floor in the Hall of Mirrors and saved me. You only started snapping again when you wanted to push me away. The cold barbs and the awful shit that comes out of your mouth are a way for you to keep people at arm's length, aren't they?

Hold on tight then. I hope you're not afraid of the dark.” He thrust forward, slamming himself inside me, and I screamed. Not from the pain. There wasn't any. Only a stretching, and a fullness, and an awesome wave of energy that fired up my spine in a series of bursts that felt like small explosions. It was so much, all at once, that I had to scream. As if he were experiencing something very similar, Fisher threw his head back, the muscles in his neck straining, his jaw clenched tight, roaring through his teeth. 'Fuuuuck!” Just one stroke. He'd entered me once, and I was done for. I was a ball of sensation, humming with energy. In the darkness, Fisher slowly lowered his head, his lips parted, hair mussed, and the dazed look of surprise on his face sent a rush of adrenalin powering through me. Gods and Martyrs. I would never forget seeing him like this. If I did manage to make my way back home, the image of him like this, seated inside me, skin slick with sweat, chest hitching, would sustain me until the day I died. Fisher. Kingfisher. Lord of Cahlish. I hated him, I did. But you couldn't hate something without caring about it just a little, too. “Witch,” he accused. “You do have magic.” He was so fucking big; his hard length twitched inside me, and my body answered in kind, tightening around him. His fingers gouged into my skin, digging deeper into my hips. With a mantle of black smoke swirling around him like a dark wind, he moved. Slowly, at first. The tendons in his neck stood proud as he pulled back and eased out of me just an inch. The smallest of movements drew him home. Again, he shifted, rolling his hips, working his cock a little deeper each time he thrust back into me. The pace he set was torturous.

The pain made me wish I’d been better in life. This had to be a punishment. My ribs threatened to crack with every breath I drew—and I was breathing somehow. My insides felt as if they had been torn out of my body, shredded to pieces, and then stuffed back inside me. Everything hurt, every second of every minute, of every hour... I prayed for an oblivion that refused to come. And then, out of nowhere, I opened my eyes, and the darkness was gone.