Helene Aquilla személy

Laia egy nomád tábortűz vad tánca, Helene egy alkimista fáklyájának hideg kékje.

301. oldal, XXXII. fejezet

“How many blades hidden in that skirt?”
“Five—no, wait—” She shifts from foot to foot. “Seven.”

“I thought you were but a woman, but you—”
He barely ducks the throwing knife I fling at his throat. I shake my head. Men and their skies-forsaken bleating. They think words matter in a fight when really, they’re just a distraction.

“Haven’t you learned?” I say. “You don’t get to decide if you deserve my love or not. I decide that. You are worthy of my love. You are worthy of the love Mamie has for you, and the love the Blood Shrike feels. You’ve done terrible things? So have I. We were born into war, Elias. It is all we’ve known. Your mistakes only define the rest of your life if you let them. Don’t let them.”

“Most people,” Cain says, “are nothing but glimmers in the great darkness of time. But you, Helene Aquilla, are no swift-burning spark. You are a torch against the night—if you dare to let yourself burn.”

267-268. oldal

“Force won’t work,” Harper murmurs. “You need to outwit them. You need secrets.”
“Secrets are a snake’s way of doing business.”
“And snakes survive,” Harper says.”

233. oldal

– Gondoltad volna, hogy Lavinia Tanaliának volt képe megkérdezni tőlem, hogy említetted-e őt nekem valaha? Jólesett volna a feszülő kis ruhácskájára borítani egy tányér ragut. – Helene hangjában épp csak, de észlelem a feszültséget, és megköszörülöm a torkom.
– És mit mondtál neki?
– Azt mondtam neki, hogy mindig az ő nevét kiabálod, amikor ellátogatsz a dokkbéli lányokhoz. Nem volt több kérdése.
Kitör belőlem a nevetés, most már értem Lavinia rémült tekintetét.

Loyal to the end,
Pater Aquillus

P.S. Your mother asks that I remind you to eat.

“Are we decided, then?”
The Blood Shrike and I nod, but Musa clears his throat.
“I know the Shrike needs to speak to the princess,” he says. “But I’d like to publicly state that I find this plan far too risky.”
Darin chuckles. “That’s how we know it’s a Laia plan—utterly insane and likely to end in death.”

It is torment to love someone hopelessly, with no chance of requital. There is no salve for it, no cure, no comfort.