And here I was, thinking that all the ladies were out so early for Roland and me. When all of them catch a vicious cold, I’ll let their fathers know that you’re to blame.
There is the darkness that frightens, the darkness that soothes, the darkness that is restful.
Nehemia took her hand. “Promise me,” she said, her dark eyes shining. “Promise me that you’ll help me free Eyllwe from him.” Ice shot through Celaena’s veins. “Free Eyllwe?” “Promise me that you’ll see my father’s crown restored to him. That you’ll see my people returned from Endovier and Calaculla.
He’d had so many chances over the years to tell her that he loved her – he’d known how much she’d craved those words. But he hadn’t spoken them until he needed to use them as weapons.
Celaena curtsied, restraining the urge to keep walking; if she had to deal with too much courtly nonsense, she might be better off back in Endovier.
Towering and heavily muscled, Aedion was every inch the warrior rumor claimed him to be.
Perhaps she should have brought Dorian. He certainly knew how to play these games. To think like a king. He’d killed that spider like a blue-blooded witch, though. Not an ounce of mercy. It shouldn’t have thrilled her the way it did.
Yrene hissed – not at him. The memory. The temper. “I don’t regret doing it.” A smile tugged on his mouth. “It’s an image I’ll likely remember for the rest of my life.
Only a few hours of daylight remained. If I didn’t leave soon, I’d have to navigate my way home in the dark, and the warnings of the town hunters still rang fresh in my mind: giant wolves were on the prowl, and in numbers. Not to mention whispers of strange folk spotted in the area, tall and eerie and deadly. Anything.
With each beat of the drum, each trill of the flute and blare of the horn, she felt all of it along her skin, along her bones. The music broke her apart and put her back together, only to rend her asunder again and again.
It had been one of the most terrifying experiences of my life, and I’d swallowed half the pond in the process, but I’d gotten the gist of it, managed to conquer my blind panic and terror and trust myself.
He’d barely breathed during that first time, and he’d done his best to be gentle, to make it as painless for her as possible. She’d still winced, and her eyes had gleamed with tears, but when he’d asked if she needed to stop, she’d just kissed him. Again and again. All through that first night he’d held her and allowed himself to imagine that this was how every night for the rest of his life would.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done it – bothered to notice anything lovely or interesting.
Today was not a day for the sounds of life. Today was for the hollow wind rustling branches, for the rushing of a half-frozen river, for the crunch of snow under her boots.
Take my body home to Terrasen, Sam,” she whispered. And with a gasping breath, she went under.
Most of the thousands of slaves in Endovier received similar treatment – though an extra half-dozen guards always walked Celaena to and from the mines. That was expected by Adarlan’s most notorious assassin. What she did not usually expect, however, was a hooded man in black at her side – as there was now.
Courage of the heart is rare, Queen Elena.
She was fire, she was darkness, she was dust and blood and shadow. She hurtled through the streets, each step faster than the last as that black fire burned through thought and feeling until all that remained was her rage and her prey. She took back alleys and leapt over walls. She’d slaughter them all.
The Queen of Faedom lifted an elegant hand, gesturing to the warrior. “Prince Rowan – ” Prince. She swallowed the urge to turn to him. “ – is from my sister Mora’s bloodline. He is my nephew of sorts, and a member of my household. An extremely distant relation of yours; there is some ancient ancestry linking you.
Aedion was not a noble in a castle, sipping wine. He was metal and sweat, sitting in this filthy tavern, drinking their ale. Whether it was real or not, they believed he cared about them, listened to them. They preened when he remembered their names, their wives’ and sisters’ names, and slept assured that he saw them as his brothers. Aedion made sure that they believed he would fight and die for them. Thus they would fight and die for him.