Truthwitch Quotes
"I will never gamble again, and I will never flirt again."
"Safi hated gulls; they always shit on her head."
"If you open that door, the Bloodwitch will smell you."
"Please, Noden, can you please make sure no one comes after us?"
"We’ll head inland, as if we’re going to Guildmaster Alix’s, and then aim south."
"It costs more, but it would’ve been worth it."
"I most certainly do mind, and if you so much as touch my person, then I will have you fired immediately."
"Guildmaster Alix has a Bloodwitch in his employ, and that creature is straight from the Void with no mercy or fear."
"Which would allow the Bloodwitch to find you."
"The fact is that we don’t know why Henrick wants you here, but Eron could hardly refuse."
"There are big wheels in motion, Safi. Wheels your uncle and many others have spent twenty years rolling into position."
"With your right hand, give a person what he expects—and with your left hand, cut his purse."
"Stasis. Stasis in your fingertips and in your toes."
"Sever, sever. Twist and sever. Threads that break. Threads that die."
"Never in ten million lifetimes—would Safi have expected to slip into her role as a domna this easily."
"It was strange, for as Safi and Leopold moved amongst the curious nobility of all ages and nationalities, there was a single bright question on everyone’s lips."
"Her gaze snapped left. Alma bolted toward her on an unsaddled mare. Its brown coat and black legs were almost invisible in the darkness—as was Alma’s black gown."
"For this man seemed to be mocking her—just like the doms and domnas from her childhood, just like Uncle Eron."
"Aetherwitch, he thought. Then he specified it to Glamourwitch."
"The saying that a Carawen monk was prepared for everything was not an understatement—and Aeduan took that phrase to a completely different level."
"Aeduan yanked down his fire-flap, and the smell of blood rushed over him."
"Yet he could ponder that later. Leaping aside, he propelled himself into a sprint that was impossible to follow."
"His toes barely skimmed the marble; the shadows approached; flames thundered—hot and desperate—behind him."
"A fatal mistake for anyone but a Bloodwitch."
"The Silk Guildmaster, Alix. The tiny, effeminate man was unarmed. He was waiting to die. Willing to die."
"The man who led the Silk Guild wasn’t magically tied to silk at all."
"With a battle cry, Aeduan ripped his sword from its scabbard and attacked."
"As she risked a peek back—and saw herself. Standing exactly as she had stood. False! her magic frizzed against her spine."
"Eron fon Hasstrel transformed before Safi’s eyes."
"The moment when she would be declared the future Empress of Cartorra and would run away from it at breakneck speed."
"A marriage to Henrick would have been the same thing as enslavement for you, Safi."
"Every piece of her training—every lesson Mathew and Habim had ever hammered into her brain, had been leading up to this moment."
"She had finally reached that strange aloofness Iseult latched on to so easily—the place Habim had tried to teach Safi for years."
"Iseult dragged herself onto the willow’s roots, her back against the wide trunk."
"Alma and I began making preparations to flee shortly before you left six and a half years ago."
"Gretchya tossed the stone impatiently; it landed on Iseult’s lap, the quartz glowing a dim pink."
"Aeduan’s eyes snapped wide. The hilt of his stiletto poked from his heart."
"She shoved the blade deeper into Aeduan’s heart."
"Either the Truce’s magic was broken, or the Nubrevnans hadn’t taken this domna against her will."
"You’re a threat, Domna. That’s why I have to keep you in chains. You would do anything for your Threadsister, and I would do the same for Kullen."
"I’m just showing you what a sea fox looks like. They’re these huge serpents in water, see?"
"Because those who win wars are those who write history."
"But the pain was refreshing. Iseult embraced it, glad that it made her spine straighten and her throat open."
"It started with the Cartorrans. Their Earthwitches tainted the soil."
"But when Evrane—and when Habim and Mathew… and even Gretchya too—polished their swords, they scraped away blood and death and a past Iseult couldn’t imagine."
"The empires focused their final attacks during the months leading up to the Truce. Then, when their armies and navies were forced to withdraw, their magic was left behind to finish us off."
"Peasants and farmers were forced inland. As close as they could get to Lovats. But the city was already too crowded."
"Our people are starving, girls, and the empires are very close to toppling us once and for all."
"Yet as Safi’s Threads melted from gray fear to a lush, determined green, Iseult’s breath rolled out with defeat."
"It makes all the difference. You told me no one sought you. You told me you were not important, and yet you’re a Truthwitch betrothed to Emperor Henrick."
"Your magic knows when I speak the truth, Domna, and I told you I never intended harm. All I want is to get food to my people."
"She refused to be what Eron—or anyone else—expected her to be. She was stuck in this body, with this mind, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t reach outside. It didn’t mean she couldn’t change."
"I, who am the Destroyer of Kendura Pass? To deny me is to ignite your own funeral pyre, Prince Leopold."
"I have you, Monk Aeduan, and trust me when I say that that has the Empress of Marstok now sailing scared."
"The air in the room tightened even more. Vaness’s chest expanded… but then Aeduan felt her blood cool, her fury back in control."
"A rigid pause stretched through the room, and Aeduan kept his witchery quaking high."
"I can’t believe it, but there it is. Your god actually listened."
"Her heart was stuck somewhere in her throat, and it made her movements jerky."
"The triangle between his brows was creased in, but not with a frown. With concentration."
"She needs more than rest. She needs healing."
"The hardest part, though, was the steep climb to the double-ridged peak on which the Origin Well stood."
"No painting could ever capture all the angles and shades and movement of the place."
"The healing properties are strongest at the center of the Well."
"A burst of wind lashed through the trees, breaking Aeduan’s thoughts."
"You aren’t the demon your father wants you to be."
"I take it seriously—even if no one wants me to."
"I will find both of you in Lejna. Thank you for giving me hope, girls."
"The storm was on its way now, and Merik could do nothing to stop it."
"You can either join the Marstoks as an ally or you can die as our enemy!"
"The head!" the girl shouted before spinning her blade wide.
"I'll dirty my hands for the people that matter to me."
"I'm Safiya fon Hasstrel, and I can do anything."
"I guard the light-bringer, and protect the dark-giver."
"Claim my Aether. Guide my blade. From now until the end."
"Think of all you could do. Think of all you could be."