Eona: The Last Dragoneye Quotes
"A foul whisper has arisen that could create more panic through our wounded land."
"I do not know how our Empire can survive with only two Dragoneyes and their beasts to control the elements."
"I will endeavor to get this account out of the palace. If you are reading this, I beg you to spread its truth as far as you can."
"Silvery pinpoints of Hua— the energy of life—were scurrying, swimming, burrowing across a swirling rainbow landscape."
"Deep within me, a sweet greeting unfurled—the wordless touch of her dragon spirit against mine."
"We would have heard otherwise. Tozay’s spy network is extensive."
"My power—inherited through the female bloodline, the only hereditary Dragoneye power in the circle of twelve."
"Every night, Dela tried to decipher some of its Woman Script, the secret written language of women."
"Do something. You owe him your life and your power. Don’t fail him again."
"With iron control, Ido and the Rat Dragon gathered our energies, binding them with the shrieking wind and crashing water."
"Sometimes I could still feel his iron grip around my wrists."
"He was in my mind again! Ido was in my mind!"
"So far you have done more harm than good. I hope you are worth all this pain."
"Check the cart," he ordered his men with a jerk of his head.
"A woman and her maid, sir," the older of the two reported.
"My apologies for intruding, madam," he said gently.
"Lean on me, mistress." Her body was tense against mine.
"Please, sir, my mistress needs to lie down," Vida said, the weight of her body edging me toward the man.
"Do not be distressed, madam. My own wife had the same kind of sickness … afterward."
"That is very generous of you, Lieutenant Haddo," I said, forcing gratitude into my voice.
"I will be glad to stop for the night, husband," I answered.
"Tonight," just in case Ryko could hear me over the rumbling of the cart.
"I mean no offense, my good man, but is there somewhere safer I can put my cart?"
"I will arrange for a room, wife." Every crease on her face was marked with dark dirt, like the painted lines of an opera mask.
"It’s just travel cricks," I said. Then I caught the aroma of meat and rich gravy. "By the gods, I’m hungry."
"I think he’s out back overseeing the stabling of his animals. Why, is something amiss?"
"Is that you, husband?" I called, running down the stairs. "I have seen him, husband. I have seen our son!"
"Lieutenant Haddo," I said, frowning. "What am I doing outside? Why do you hold me?"
"You were"—he paused—"indisposed. But I see that you have now come back to yourself."
"You must know you will be caught," he said, disengaging from my low block. "The whole army is looking for you."
"No. He wants to use my dragon power for war."
"By the gods, you’re them." He rounded on me. "You’re not a woman. You’re the Dragoneye!"
"I am the Ascendant Dragoneye," I said through my teeth. "Whether I am lord or lady or neither, I am your only link to the dragons. Remember that."
"This is not the time or place for court etiquette." He let go. "I see that you are no longer lame. Surely a gift from the gods for your courage."
"My uncle may have the greater military force, Lady Eona, but he does not have the Imperial Pearl, nor your power behind him."
"It was the most painful thing I have ever endured," he said, and I knew it was no small thing for him to make such an admission.
"Your uncle has slaughtered your mother and brother, and poisoned your father. Why would he stop at you?"
"You are very blunt, Lady Eona," he finally said. He pressed his hands against his eyes. "I’m a fool."
"I’ve heard the executioners can keep someone alive for days even after they have cut out the main organs. Something to keep in mind for my uncle."
"Although he had inherited his father’s misguided loyalties and sense of tradition, it also seemed he had inherited his mother’s flexible mind and quick insight."
"It’s as if a link opens between us when things are desperate."
"The exchange of Hua, my power flowed through you."
"So this is the price for life? To have my free will ripped from me? To be forced into action that is contrary to my nature?"
"Maybe if I stayed completely still, I would just slide back into oblivion."
"My power flowed through you, Ryko. And it flowed through Ido, at the palace."
"He was most impressed with you in the Pavilion of Earthly Enlightenment. He said you had the ability to see both sides of an argument—that, although you were unschooled, you were a natural strategist."
"When a man lifts his chin in pride, he cannot see the chasm at his feet."
"It is not often that an emperor finds someone who will do all of this in the name of friendship."
"You may want to explain your reasoning to them."
"The emperor who brings back the protection of the dragons will win the Hua-do of the people."
"There is, however, the certainty that without Lord Ido, Lady Eona will not be able to use her power. She must be trained, and he is the only Dragoneye left to do it."
"A war is won or lost by five fundamentals, and the first and foremost is the Hua-do of the people."
"It is not the first time a woman has been Naiso."
"Lady Eona is the emperor’s choice. That is the end of it."
"Please stop trying to hurt Kygo and take the pearl."
"Kinra, Mirror Dragoneye, leave me be. Please stop bringing your anger and desire into my heart."
"Help me be his truth. And help me know my own truth."
"If worrying out the motivations of others could be called strategy, then perhaps the Heavenly Master had been right."
"You learn faster than I do," he said, smiling.
"I am not going to be his concubine," I said fiercely.
"This is not Kinra’s journal of her union with the Mirror Dragon."
"Anyone with the blood can bind us. Find the black folio, before Sethon does."
"It wasn’t mine," I said. "It was the black book. It bound us together."
"I swear on my dragon I will not tell anyone."
"It is our duty to restore peace as soon as possible at whatever cost—otherwise there will be no land to rule."
"Fearlessness wasn’t a power, was it? And I had certainly known fear."
"We must pray that his Hua is strong enough to resist its lures."
"It would have had more honor than living like a dog, waiting for your next kick."
"Do you no longer bow to your emperor, Lady Eona?"
"I think he would need my power again to use it, but I am not sure, Your Majesty. The black folio is a mystery to me, too."
"Dillon took it. I did not give it, Your Majesty."
"I’m sorry, Ryko." I reached out with my energy, seeking the pathways of his life force. "Forgive me."
"I have been trained from birth not to truly trust anyone."
"I do not trust easily, either," I said. "Especially when I am betrayed."
"It is a good thing, then, that obedience does not require trust."
"That does not excuse cruelty and dishonor," I said.
"It always changes when you touch one another."
"Personal trust is very different from political trust, my lady. The first thrives on faith. The second requires proof."
"Yet it is your burden, as mine is the empire."
"Everything I have done has been in your interest."
"I am not afraid of you," he finally said. "I am afraid of what your power means."
"We may wish the portent and Sethon’s greater resources away, but we cannot ignore them."
"every man who passed through the gates had to wear a mask and a disguise; it was the symbolic shedding of self, he’d said loftily, to become whoever you wanted to be, or to put down the burden of who you already were. For a night, farmers could be lords, and lords could be peasants."
"All men were equal, and no one was allowed to carry a weapon inside the gates."
"The only fixed gaze came from a tiny girl crouched at the feet of a woman who strummed scales on a long lute. The plaintive rise and fall of the notes caught on a faint breeze that stirred the heavy air and brought the perfume of soap and the succulence of grilled fish."
"I recognized the pungent smell from the teahouses around the market."
"The beautiful front gates of the Blossom World did not open for a flesh trader and his wares."
"She pressed her hand to her mouth. 'Truly?' Her fierce face folded into deep carved laughter lines."
"I touched her arm. 'It does not matter. He knows who you really are.'"
"I prayed that you can control him, as you say. Let me show you something, as a warning."
"For Ryko, your control is a bond that can never be repaid or escaped. You have his spirit in chains."
"I felt Kygo’s hand around my wrist again and saw the strong line of his jaw as his head strained back, fighting for control."
"It seemed the change of an emperor—even a brutal change—did not stop the machinery of the palace."
"I sent a quick prayer to Tu-Xang, the oldest god of luck. He was known to protect fools and thieves."
"I did not have to search far; he was squatting at the end of the wooden platform, throwing dice into a ring made up of Ryko, the Trang Dein man, and two kitchen servants."
"Thank the gods—he was more concerned with what lay behind Haio’s generosity."
"They have no bearing on your current dissatisfaction?"
"I closed my eyes and prayed to Bross. Courage, give me courage."
"My whole body became a heartbeat: all I could feel and hear was the vibrating drum of my fear."
"Every moment he did not see my face was a moment that still held hope."