The Song Of The Marked Quotes
"Casia hated thunderstorms, because they reminded her of the night she had watched her mother kill her father."
"She couldn’t stay in that memory. Not tonight."
"Too many things were riding on tonight being a success."
"But Asra, the woman who’d raised her, had taught her long ago that Luck was a lesser-spirit that only the lazy and the foolish prayed to."
"If you don’t want to be set on fire, don’t invade people’s homes."
"I’ve already been touched by the Fading Sickness, and I survived it."
"The only good thing to ever come from thievery."
"He had sent his Peace Keepers to track them."
"After the hunt for them had died down, Asra had taken Cas home with her."
"Even all these years later, that scar still hadn’t healed."
"He hadn’t appeared moved or distressed at all by what he was seeing."
"Clouds of breath and falling curtains and cruel, distant eyes that had so easily turned away from her suffering."
"She had tossed sticks onto the burning effigies of Varen."
"King-Emperor Varen, and all who supported the House of Solasen and its desire to unite the realms under one ruling fist, stood in the way of that bright future."
"But it’s okay; soon we’ll have enough coin for plenty of food and your medicine."
"Someone around here has to have plans, don’t they?"
"You mean she lacks the impulsiveness that you have."
"And it always upset Asra to see these attacks."
"A simple exchange of silver jewelry for golden coins."
"That would be overpaying what I owe, and I’m afraid I don’t do that."
"All the way to ten and then back down again."
"She was gone in an instant, and the portal itself collapsed seconds afterward, leaving her in near-darkness."
"I’ll go with you. No more fighting. No more tricks—I swear it."
"Let’s not have a repeat of the last time you came here."
"But she was stubborn, and she would be fine in just a few minutes, and then she would carry on."
"The infamous Greythorne is losing her touch, I’m beginning to think."
"I always feel better after breakfast with you."
"Well, I was slightly intoxicated and acting generous, now wasn’t I?"
"I don’t make the rules. Master Darkhand makes ‘em."
"Nothing is ever truly lost or hidden to the Moon-kind."
"My father outlawed all magic-tainted items and substances—and that law remains to this day."
"It seems I’ve earned a bit of your trust, then."
"The dead usually do not keep secrets very well."
"I don’t need you to point out my hypocrisy, however; I am well aware of it."
"If you need another fake alias—you know, for your next late night chat at a shady inn—then I think you should go with Grace."
"And any smart person would have known enough to run away from the man approaching her now."
"But we’ve tried that kind of magic on a smaller scale, of course."
"Because I have at least one divine magic user within my own family. Or I did, anyway."
"I am not a prisoner. I could leave if I wanted to."
"I told him that because I was trying to persuade him to let me deal with the whole lot of you myself."
"Congratulations, you are the world’s most oblivious prisoner."
"Your thieving, lawless lifestyle had nothing to do with your ending up here."
"Bodies dotted the streets below. She counted ten people not moving before she willed herself to stop focusing on the lost and redirect her energy on all the things she could still save."
"What would Varen think if she brought back parts of that monster? Surely that would be worth at least several months of care for Asra."
"Cas winced with every collision those bodies made."
"Her hand gripped the sword sheathed at her hip with new determination."
"She had her target. Now she just had to figure out the best way to take it out."
"She watched it for another moment, noting how it swayed whenever it tried to make quick movements."
"She felt a brief spark of hope—she’d at least done some significant damage to the beast."
"The air around that mouth darkened as Cas struggled into a crouched position."
"Desperately, Cas lifted her hand, reaching out toward that dark mist descending toward her."
"Her eyes fluttered open, accompanied by a groan."
"She crossed her arms and fixed him with an impatient look."
"You’d better come back in one piece. That’s all I’m saying."
"You don’t have to worry about me, you know. I’ll be fine."
"It’s a big bed. I don’t think that will be necessary."
"Racing away like this likely looked even more suspicious, she knew, but she didn’t slow down."
"Instead of retiring to her own guest room for the afternoon, Cas found her way to the room Asra was staying in."
"I’m so glad you’re awake," Cas told her, her words muffled against Asra’s bony shoulder."
"A servant brought them tea, almost as if on cue—even though Cas had told no one she was coming here."
"When have I ever done anything of the sort?" Cas asked with a perfectly devious smile."
"Good," Asra said. "Not that I really believed you could be talked into anything you didn’t want to do."
"Cas placed her cup back on the tray between them and stood up, overcome by a sudden need to move."
"I’m helping the king-emperor because I believe in his mission; I wasn’t coerced, really," Cas told her."
"You made a mistake, that’s all. It happens even to people who have been wielding magic for years."
"All magic has a dark side. A dark, not always controllable side."
"I thought I could help the empire by working with Varen. Instead, I might be more of a villain than a savior."
"You can’t honestly have believed it was going to work out with no consequences."
"Knowledge being a sharper and more deadly weapon than any blade."
"I’m absolutely terrified. But do you honestly think I’m so afraid of you that I would miss an opportunity to hold you like this?"
"That was more than just a distraction earlier, wasn’t it?"