Darren, Prince Darren, the sometimes-bane-of-my-existence, had put faith in a future that even I had never bothered to foresee.
I gave my all... for him. I only hoped it was enough.
My victory had come at the cost of a friendship. I swore I would never make the same twice.
There was a steady burn rising in me that I couldn’t ignore. My whole body was in flames. I was losing myself in what it felt like to be near him. This was what I had wanted. This is what I was missing. This was what I needed.
The charge to produce lightning requires a very intense emotion – one that would not be forgotten so easily.
So, yes, I am sorry, I am sorry because even if I was right, I was also wrong. And I’d rather lose a silly battle than your friendship.
This was why people left the Academy. Eloise and Isaac took away our brains, Piers broke our bodies, and Cedric took what little magic we had and destroyed it.
Nine times out of ten a knight dies not because of a direct wound, but minor ones that amass over time. The smart enemies don’t strike to kill. They just wait for you to do the work for them.
It wasn’t always the easiest conversation, having someone else point out your flaws, but it was a necessary evil if we wanted to improve. Better to hear truth, a certain someone had said, than false flattery.
Sir Piers spent the whole exercise shouting. I was convinced someone had told him the louder he yelled, the harder we’d try. It didn’t work.
Too often we allow sigh and pain to dictate our actions.
Sleep and fail.
Why would one wish to live out an eternity remembering everything they lost?
No one is going to sway me but me.
Only fools – or bandits – would travel so empty-handed. We.
If I weren’t struggling, if I weren’t keeled over in agony, if my muscles weren’t screaming at the end of a long day... then I wasn’t trying hard enough.
I forgive you.” I cleared my throat so the whole camp could hear. “Darren, did you hear me? I. Forgive. You.
The worst thing wealth does is give those who have it a false sense of security.” Piers chuckled as he moved on to another student to correct. “You stop trying as hard, and there’s always another who will gladly take your place.
He was nothing, even in the eyes of his brother. He could see it in the way the older boy accepted their favor like it was the most natural thing in the world. Never once did he offer anything to the boy sitting beside him, just taking for himself. Somehow, that was the worst part. And it hurt the boy. So he dealt with it the only way he knew how. He retaliated and hurt his brother back. For.
Magic learns over time,” he panted. “Keep challenging it, and the casting becomes instinct. The projection is already stored up in your mind.
I want to make you laugh,” he said. “I want you to make me laugh, because gods know you are the only one who can.