A Fate Of Wrath & Flame Quotes
"I made the mistake of accepting once. It was my first assignment for Korsakov, and I was nervous, eager to blend into my high-society surroundings."
"For a charity event intended to raise funds to combat hunger, it’s ironic that the amount of money hanging off wrists and encircling fingers could likely feed the country’s starving for years."
"These people have no clue how the other side lives, but they’ll take any opportunity to pat themselves on the back for a good deed while sipping their flutes of Moët & Chandon."
"Conversation leaves a trace, which leads to a trail, and trails that lead to me could end in a visit to the bottom of the Hudson River with a concrete block tied to my ankles."
"But I’ll play along with this act. 'So, do you live in New York, Sofie?'"
"Everyone on the street knows me only as Tee, short for Tarryn—the name of a grifter I met at a shelter when I was fifteen."
"I collect my drink, noting with disdain the smudge of graphite on my index finger. I did a poor job of washing my hands after my art class, but that is unimportant."
"I have to assume Sofie is somehow tied to the feds, and if those cuff links went missing tonight, my studio apartment door would be the first they kicked down."
"Once, long ago, we lived in a two-bedroom apartment in East Orange, New Jersey. My dad was a line supervisor at a factory that made bolts and screws, and my mom was a grocery store clerk."
"The blood moon was almost upon them. Sofie could not miss this window."
"The open space past the gate tapers off toward a narrow cobblestone street ahead, lined with two- and three-story brick-and-stone buildings, their roofs pitched at various angles, their windows small and mismatched."
"I’ve seen dead people before—frozen in bus shelters, overdosed behind a dumpster, stabbed inside a cardboard box—but never so many at once."
"In the air, the stench of smoke hangs thick, and the wails of despair ring frequent."
"What happened here?" I hear myself ask out loud."
"I focus on my breathing, inhaling the mixture of leather, pine shavings, and hay in the blanket’s wool."
How did you do it? Do not toy with me," he growls. "I put that arrow through your heart. I saw you fall in the rose garden. You were dead.
"I recall the blood-soaked weapon I picked up. Is he saying that was my blood? That he shot me with that?"
"I don’t know, but I’m not who you think I am!"
"You will face your punishment at dawn, along with the rest of the traitors."
"I struggle to maintain composure, focusing on the lapel of his jacket as I scramble to find the right words to convince him I’m not the Romeria he thinks I am."
"I sigh. How am I supposed to explain myself when they don’t trust a word that comes out of my mouth?"
I pray he can see the honesty and innocence in mine when I say slowly, clearly, "I’m not who you think I am—"
"I never allowed anyone to use me like this when I was living on the streets. I am not about to let it happen now, no matter how dire my situation."
"The story of my life at the moment. People don’t wake up in a strange, primitive country with an army chasing them."
"And tomorrow morning, when I’m chained to one of those posts and the wood is lit, I know in my gut everyone will hear my screams."
"The sound of the cell door slamming shut still chimes in my ear."
"I’ve been in desperate situations before—hell, the last decade of my life has been one big desperate situation."
"My father believes in demons. He’s railed against those who told him they didn’t exist, and look where that has gotten him?"
She worries her pouty bottom lip. "It turns out she was right to be cautious, though it didn’t make any difference in the end, did it?"
"I’ve sworn fealty to him. I have no wish to earn his wrath."
"You will spend your days here with no friends, no allies, no one to count on."
"I struggle to ignore the stench of its rotting flesh, curling my fist around the dagger’s hilt as I back away."
"It’s the truth, whether you believe it or not. I don’t remember who I am."
"People tend to keep those of value alive longer."
"Assume the king is always one step ahead of you and listening closely."
"The stench of Wendeline’s salve fills my nostrils, and its burn toils away inside my wounds while elves and demons torment my dreams."
"I’ve read countless stories and watched many films about fantastical creatures, enough that the term triggered a myriad of ideas to dwell on late into last night."
"I struggle to remain composed as I take in the opulence."
"What are they? Human? Caster? Elven? How am I to know?"
"A woman pleads to be blessed with a child, and she may birth a fiend."
"He’s clearly concerned about this threat and he was hoping I would be able to provide insight where others could not."
"I struggle not to stare at him, my curiosity about his elven kind competing with the anxiety I feel."
"You breathe as loudly as a daaknar, Your Highness."
"I have a hundred more questions—mainly, how us together will help strengthen Islor and what exactly does selling this story to the people entail."
"See? Not completely insufferable," he murmurs.
"That’s because you are to blame for what happened." Zander’s voice is so much closer now, and it rings with a hint of bitter amusement.
"Many in Islor want a union between us. Seeing you with me like this will quickly sow doubt in what they fear to be true, and soon they will think what we want them to."
"I’m not throwing coins at them like bread crumbs. Help me off this horse."
"Your Highness. Your Highness," come the murmured echoes.
"They’re people, even if you can’t find a use for them anymore."
"You will never understand the bond that immortals can form with their tributaries," he says.
"Fates bless you, Your Highness!" she glances around furtively before tucking them into her pocket for safekeeping.
"Don’t you have somewhere else to be?" Someone else’s mood to sour?
"You’re kidding me, right? I saw his bone."
"Yes, well … I suppose it’s not effortless for you either, not remembering who you are."
"I’ll be behind you the entire time," Elisaf whispers. "Stop before the first step. Remember what I said."
"He begged Zander to take his life as punishment for his failure."
"And yet you live in a castle painted with gold," I mutter.
"I think you may be correct." Elisaf falls into step beside me. "But Her Highness seems delighted."
"They did not like seeing their creation corrupted in such a way, and so they unleashed a wrath like never seen before."
"It is the only way for all to survive. With hunger comes desperation."
"The result of the fates’ anger was far more reaching than originally thought."
"It took years, but it worked. It is still in use today."
"That is certainly something Neilina would do. But I don’t have cause."
"The duplicity would be tenfold. People like Adley and his ilk have no place ruling Islor."
"I do not feel that the mortals are inferior. I have never felt that way."
"To stir a new wave of suspicion now that you have risen from the dead and your brother is sitting in the dungeon, awaiting execution."
"Believe me, it is an urge I struggle with daily."
"Betrayal rarely approaches from a straight line."
"It's probably best I focus on the more imminent problem at hand."
"You would have healed within a week or so regardless, but I am always happy to speed up that process."
"It breeds loyalty. Also, when the king knows a servant's name, that servant is less likely to do something they shouldn't."
"I’m telling you, it does. Just as that flame calls to me."
"I hate to say it, but I’m beginning to doubt your reasons too."
Atticus does not need an affinity," Zander says. "He has a king’s army to swell his ego.
"We’re moving away from the industrial area now and closer to the water’s edge."
"Straight ahead, the silhouette of an enormous ship stands solemn, its mast reaching into the indigo sky."
"Mixed with the ocean air are faint wafts of spilled ale and stale urine."
"A busker sits on a wooden crate ahead, strumming an energizing melody on his banjo."
"This looks more like the evening festivities after a city parade."
"She’s an immortal, and her thoughts are clear."
"But it’s weird, having someone openly lust over feeding on me like I’m a slice of chocolate cake."
"I’ll wager it’s significantly less unpleasant than what you experienced."
"You make me believe that I can accomplish everything I’ve ever wanted for Islor."
"I was under the impression that you were another commoner tonight."
"I remember Eli before. He was a regular at my establishment."
"Because Ybarisan blood is intoxicating. Most Islorians have never had the opportunity to taste it."
"I do not know, but he was an accomplice, at minimum, and surely he has blood on his hands."
"I will not be a victim to Neilina’s plans. I will not be a bewitched king."
"The Goat’s Knoll is known for its prudence."
"It’s a good thing I’m not the queen, then."
"The fates cannot gift affinities, the only possibility I have come up with is that Malachi somehow bound a key caster to Princess Romeria’s body."
"A difference of opinion on whose army it is, the king’s or Atticus’s."
"You mean honest? I know that’s a foreign concept to people around here."
"Everyone has given me a reason not to trust them."
"This place and its goddamn web of lies and secrets!"
"He may want to be king, but he would not want to wear a crown drenched in blood."
"That’s basically what I said. But the more I learn, the more I understand why you don’t trust anyone."
"I’ve never seen my brother behave so carelessly. He’s not thinking straight."
"It’s obvious Neilina did something to get in his head as far as you’re concerned."