Blood & Steel

A true man won’t cut you down as you fight your battles, nor will he fight them for you. A true man will help sharpen your sword, guard your back and fight at your side, in the face of whatever darkness comes.

It doesn’t matter who stands against you… What matters most is who stands with you.

No woman is responsible for the weak acts of a man who’s had his masculinity so easily threatened,

You will come to learn that most things to be feared exist in life, not in death

Who.’ Hawthorne demanded. ‘Who did this to you?

The bitch hit me!’ Esyllt frowned, not even sparing Thea a glance. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. But if you’re insisting that an untrained woman landed a punch on you, then I’d say you’re the bitch Sebastos.

If you seek power in a world of men and monsters, there is nothing more powerful than knowledge and the ability to wield it.

She would rather live a hundred lives in three years than waste the little time she had left in these realms.

Remember that glory will not be found in failing to fall, but in rising from the chaos when you do.

You do not become a legend overnight,’ he told her quietly. ‘A legend is forged with blood and steel. It takes time.

Who did this to you?

Althea.’ Her name sounded like a melody and he leaned across the gap between their horses, his gaze dropping to her lips, his voice low. ‘There is nothing more attractive than a woman who knows what she wants.’ Her body went taut. Hawthorne hesitated, before pulling away. ‘Remember that.

In the shadow of a fallen kingdom, in the eye of the storm A daughter of darkness will wield a blade in one hand And rule death with the other When the skies are blackened, in the end of days The Veil will fall. The tide will turn when her blade is drawn. A dawn of fire and blood.

Can you imagine? After all these years working at Thezmarr finding out you were some long lost magical heir?

Furies save us,’ Torj murmured. Hawthorne laughed darkly. ‘The Furies don’t save anyone.

For three short years was no time at all for a woman to become what she wanted. A legend.

No woman is responsible for the weak acts of a man who’s had his masculinity so easily threatened,’ Wren stated, the strength of her words commanding them all. ‘A true man would be proud to fight at your side. He would recognise that you are a force to be reckoned with, Althea Nine Lives.

You want to know my deepest, darkest desires do you, Warsword?’ There was a pause as his gaze intensified, became hooded. ‘One of many things I’m surprised to find myself wanting.

The beautiful alchemist would be his beginning – and his end.

Si buscas poder en un mundo de hombres y monstruos, no hay nada más poderoso que el conocimiento y la habilidad de blandirlo.

A true man will help sharpen your sword, guard your back and fight at your side, in the face of whatever darkness comes.

Un hombre de verdad no te impedirá pelear tus batallas ni las peleará por ti. Un hombre de verdad te ayudará a pulir la espada, te cubrirá las espaldas y peleará a tu lado para hacer frente a cualquier oscuridad que se presente ante ti».

Algún día aprenderás que la mayoría de las cosas que hay que temer existen en la vida, no en la muerte.

You’re beautiful as you are. And I’d wager even more so with steel in your hand and the blood of your enemies splattered across your face.’ Her breath caught. ‘Althea.’ Her name sounded like a melody and he leaned across the gap between their horses, his gaze dropping to her lips, his voice low. ‘There is nothing more attractive than a woman who knows what she wants.

That alone was enough to undo him.

In that moment Thea didn’t care if Hawthorne was the most celebrated Warsword of all time, or that she’d briefly admired his figure in the hall. He was an unfeeling bastard through and through.

He should have known that she was inevitable from the moment his eyes had locked on hers and every moment after.

I find you endlessly infuriating,’ he ground out. ‘And yet…’ ‘Yet?’ ‘And yet I can’t seem to stay away.

There is nothing more attractive than a woman who knows what she wants.

Always end your opponent when you can. Men are known for playing dead and running away in the night, or coming back to slit your throat in your sleep. But no man or monster can run away with his guts hanging out or with his head detached from his body.