Susan Dennard Quotes

He wiped his face on his shoulder, then offered Iseult his hand.

She clasped it tight, her fingers lacing between his. Together they ran. ~ Susan Dennard

It was then - at that moment - that it hit Aeduan square in the chest. Iseult was here. Not hunting after the Truthwitch but here, standing tall in a land of smoking embers. Before he could speak, before he could ask her how she knew of the Red Sails, an inhuman shriek filled the air. Louder than the receding rain, louder than the cannons' roar.

It was the mountain bat, returned and plunging right for them.

Aeduan barely yanked Iseult sideways before its talons crashed into the stones. ~ Susan Dennard

Eleanor," Daniel said. "Miss Fitt! Wake up!"
I fluttered my eyelids open. "I'm not a misfit anymore," I rasped. "I thought I told you that. ~ Susan Dennard

Where's your hair?" she shouted. "And what happened to your arm?"
"Cut my hair and got shot with an arrow!"
"Gods below, Iseult! A few hours away and your whole life tumbles through the hell-gates!"
"I might say the same to you," Iseult shouted back - though it was getting hard to scream and ride. "Four opponents on your tail and a ruined dress! ~ Susan Dennard

Curiosity is a strong fire, and once ignited, it is not easily put out. ~ Susan Dennard

It's Admiral Nihar," the prince corrected. "At least while we're at sea, Aunt Evrane."
"Is that so?" the monk asked calmly. "In that case, it is Monk Evrane. At least while we're at sea. ~ Susan Dennard

I can't believe she listened to you." I turned a wide-eyed gaze on Clarence.
A grin tugged at his lips. "Yes, I imagine I'm the only person she'll listen to."
"Well,I'm impressed." A warmth eased through my body. Despite his perfect features, he was not so difficult to talk to.
"No doubt you'd do the same with your brother."
"Not precisely." I smiled ruefully. "To be honest, I don't take orders well."
"Then I shall be sure I never give you any. ~ Susan Dennard

Someone owed Aeduan a life-debt. It was …
A first.
A first that he didn't know how to swallow. The Threadwitch Iseult was alive because he had made it so. She could breathe her current breaths and could taste the river's water because he had saved her life.
Though she had also, in a way, saved his. First, she had not killed him while he lay unconscious in the bear trap. And second, she had been the one to hook them to that stone before the Falls.
But Aeduan decided not to mention any of this, for if the Threadwitch believed she owed him three lives, then that gave him an advantage. That, he could use. He didn't know how, he didn't know when, only that he absolutely would. ~ Susan Dennard

Mhe varujta. Trust me as if my soul were yours. ~ Susan Dennard

To pile on the agony, once we reached Shantytown-a collection of shacks around the Exhibition that fed off the scraps of rich tourists - the ribbon on my bonnet decided today was the day it wanted freedom. It dangled before my face in a taunting display of rebellion. ~ Susan Dennard

Mountain bats, those massive serpentine creatures of myth. Those ancient scavengers of the battlefield. ~ Susan Dennard

Stop seeing what you want to see, Merik Nihar, and start seeing what's really here! ~ Susan Dennard

The fault is not in our stars," I whispered to the ceiling. "But in ourselves. This was my choice. ~ Susan Dennard

So tell me, Miss Fitt, do you know when your brother will return?"
"No." I wet my lips. "Do you know Elijah?"
He looked off to the right. "I know of your brother."
"Oh?"
"Of course." He folded his arms over his chest and returned his gaze to me. "Everyone knows of the Philadelphia Fitts.I even know of you."
"You mean Allison told you about me."
His lips twitched. "Certainly."
I stroked my amethysts and made my expression passive. I didn't care one whit about her gossip-though I did wish she wouldn't talk about me to Clarence. I'd prefer if eligible young men learned my faults after meeting me.
He flashed his eyebrows playfully, as if knowing where my thoughts had gone. "You needn't worry. She's said nothing unkind. She finds you amusing-she likes to talk, you know?"
"I hadn't noticed," I said flatly. Saying Allison loved to gossip was like saying birds enjoyed flying. It was not so much a hobby as part of her physiology.
Clarence's smile expanded, and his eyes crinkled. "Apparently there was an insult you gave her a few days ago, though...She had to ask me what it meant."
My face warmed, and I looked away. "I believe I might have called her a spoiled Portia with no concept of mercy."
He laughed and hit his knee. "That's right. Portia's speech on mercy in the final act of The Merchant of Venice. Allie had no idea what you meant."
"In my defense, she was taunting me-"
"With no mercy?"
"Something like tha ~ Susan Dennard

You are strong and independent, I told myself as I unlocked the door. Capable and clever. No males needed. ~ Susan Dennard

People with different aims could always be pitted against one another. ~ Susan Dennard

And together we wept on. For all we had fought.
For all we had given up.
And for all we were never meant to lose. ~ Susan Dennard

No one asks for what life gives them ~ Susan Dennard

He was younger than Iseult had imagined. No older than twenty, if she had to guess. Yet he felt old, with his voice so gruff. His language so formal.
It was in the way he carried himself too, as if he'd walked for a thousand years and planned to walk a thousand more. ~ Susan Dennard

Don't pet the cat that's had a bath. ~ Susan Dennard

I'll be fine, Safi. You forget that I taught you the art of evisceration.'
Safi scoffed, but her Threads flared with with amused pink. 'Is that so, dear Threadsister? Have you already forgotten that it was me they called The Great Eviscerator back in Veñaza City?' Safi flung a dramatic hand high as she twirled toward Ryber.
Now Iseult didn't have to fake a grin. 'Is that what you thought they said?' she called. 'It was actually The Great Vociferator, Safi, because that mouth of yours is so big. ~ Susan Dennard

There was nothing to deflate a man's ego like a bit of frill around the collar. ~ Susan Dennard

Well, Safi was calling horse shit on that. She didn't lack initiative - she was initiative. ~ Susan Dennard

But he could smirk at her - and wave too. A flicker of his right fingers and then a tapping of his right palm. ~ Susan Dennard

Then the earth boomed beneath her. It crunched and rocked, lifting her like a mother carries a child. All the way out of the water. All the way back to shore. Then the stones dropped Iseult into Aeduan's arms. ~ Susan Dennard

Her eyelids fluttered open. Aeduan was still observing the fireflies. "Did you make a wish?" she asked, and to her surprise, he nodded. A curt bounce of his head. "What did you wish for?"

He flexed his hands. Then shrugged. "If it comes true, then maybe one day I will tell you. ~ Susan Dennard

Run, my child, run. ~ Susan Dennard

It was the circle of perfect motion. Of the light-bringer and dark-giver, the world-starter and shadow-ender. Of initiation and completion. It was the symbol of the Cahr Awen. Cahr Awen. ~ Susan Dennard

But one need not be evil to become it ~ Susan Dennard

I can still make a fist, and breath still burns in my chest. So look at my face. Look at my mortal soul, and remember it. You did not crush me, and you will have the rest of eternity to think on it. ~ Susan Dennard

Sitting still is a quick path to madness, she reminded herself - as if this might explain the trembling. ~ Susan Dennard

Stasis, Iseult det Midenzi told herself for the thousandth time since dawn. Stasis in your fingers and in your toes. ~ Susan Dennard

I hate this. Both the storm and the plan. Why does it have to be 'we'? Why not just me?"
"Because 'just me' isn't who we are," Iseult hollered back. "I'll always follow you, Safi, and you'll always follow me. Threadsisters to the end. ~ Susan Dennard

Paths do not come to you. You have to find them for yourself, and sometimes, you have to carve new ones entirely. ~ Susan Dennard

They aren't for disguise at all. You just didn't want to leave behind your favorite book. ~ Susan Dennard

I told you, Hell-Bard. Everyone lies. It's in the way we banter with our friends. It's in the mundane greetings we give passersby. It's in the most meaningless things we do every single moment of every single day. Hundreds upon thousands of tiny, inconsequential lies. ~ Susan Dennard

Before Nubrevna, it had been Dalmotti. Before Dalmotti, it had been Marstok. For centuries, this peninsula had changed hands, and for centuries, no one had ever fully won - or ever fully lost. ~ Susan Dennard

It was incredible to watch. Inhuman, really, this gift to heal one's body. The power of the Void. The power of a demon.
Yet when Iseult glanced at the Bloodwitch's sleeping, dirt-streaked face, she didn't see a demon lying limp before her. ~ Susan Dennard

Never had Safi seen so many furled sails. Or circling sea gulls.
Cursed birds. ~ Susan Dennard

The assassin in the night. The fire on the Jana. The woman in Judgment Square. Each event had led Merik here, to Noden's temple. To a fresco of the god's Left Hand.
And only a fool ignored Noden's gifts. ~ Susan Dennard

So Merik embraced the rage. He let it course through each of his breaths. Each of his thoughts. He could use the anger to help his hungry city. To protect his dying people.
For although the holiest might fall - and Merik had fallen far, indeed - they could also claw their way back up again. ~ Susan Dennard

It was what the Moon Mother had told the Nomatsi people when she guided them out of the war-filled far east. It was what parents said to their children when they kissed them good night. It was what Heart-Threads said in their mariagge wows.

Mhe verujta. It was the most sacred of Nomatsi phrases - a phrase that meant trust me as if my soul were yours. ~ Susan Dennard

It wasn't freedom she wanted. It was belief in something - a prize big enough to run for and to fight for and to keep on reaching toward no matter what. ~ Susan Dennard

Unbidden, a memory stirred in the back of Aeduan's mind. Another child, another basket, another lifetime, and a monk named Evrane, who had saved him from it all.
Evrane's mistake. She should have left Aeduan behind. ~ Susan Dennard

Oh, I know!" Safi clapped her hands, delighted by her own genius. "I shall call you Un-empressed."
"Please," Vaness said coldly, "stop this immediately."
Safi absolutely did not. ~ Susan Dennard

And if I don't answer... Then what?... Oh, no. Someone protect me from the bad man with a knife. - Admiral Kahina ~ Susan Dennard

I trust you as if my soul were yours. ~ Susan Dennard

Safi was beyond anger. Beyond temper. This was her life now - forever running, forever changing hands from one enemy to the next until eventually the enemy severed her neck. It had been inevitable, really. Her magic had cursed her from the day she was born. ~ Susan Dennard

You're chained up." A wince pulled at Safi's eyes. "I upset the Admiral." "Of course you did." "It's not funny. ~ Susan Dennard

Nothing negated beauty faster than boredom. ~ Susan Dennard

Take the god's gift. Become the Fury.
It was time to become the monster Merik had been all along. No more numbed distance. No more fighting the Nihar temper. Only vicious, hungry heat.
One for the sake of many; vengeance for those he'd lost. ~ Susan Dennard

The shanty soon ended, but Ryber kept pounding the drum and hollered, "'The Maidens North of Lovats!'" - which Merik knew was her favorite song, since she was a maiden from north of Lovats. ~ Susan Dennard

Iseult hated herself for that truth, but there it was. She wanted to go after Safi; she wanted Aeduan to lead the way; she wished this child would simply disappear.
Monster, she told herself. You're a monster. ~ Susan Dennard

We will need to move fast. Are you up for that?"
She snorted, and when Aeduan glanced back, he found her face had softened. The slightest - almost imperceptible - glint of mischief hovered there now.
"I think we both know the answer to that, Bloodwitch." She stalked past him, her chin high. Challenging. "The question will be if you can keep up."
Then she broke into a run, Aeduan broke into a run after her. ~ Susan Dennard

Which left Aeduan, as always, on the edge of a scene, watching while the world unfolded without him beneath a darkening sky. ~ Susan Dennard

When Aeduan had said he would kill her in Lejna, she hadn't believed him. When he'd said he would kill her last night, she had. ~ Susan Dennard

Though we are safe with our friends near, we are safest with our enemies nearer. ~ Susan Dennard

Two girls who'd once shared tea and gossip were now bound together by death. ~ Susan Dennard

The bond forms from respect and shared experience, and though attraction can sometimes play its part, it is not necessary. Love is love and is the most powerful connection we humans have. ~ Susan Dennard

She already fought so hard to separate herself from her emotions - if she got rid of her thoughts too, what would be left? ~ Susan Dennard

She did have regrets. Thousands of them, and the weight was too heavy for her to keep moving. She was a ship that could not sail, for its anchor - its thousands of anchors - locked it to the sea floor. ~ Susan Dennard

Then her Truthwitchery exploded - a coating, scraping sensation against her neck that heralded wrongness. ~ Susan Dennard

Someone's magic was cleaving. ~ Susan Dennard

Merik swiveled his wrists slowly. At night, the temple was too dark to see the blood dripping from his arms, pooling on the granite flagstones. He felt it falling, though. Just as he felt the new, burned flesh on his hands stretching beneath torn gloves.
Yet even as pain shivered through his body, he couldn't help but think: Only a fool ignores Noden's gifts. For if Merik looked at this case of mistaken identity from the just the right angle, it could in fact all be seen as boon.
The assassin in the night. The fire on the Jana. The attack of a Waterwitch in Pin's Keep. Each event had led Merik here, to Noden's temple. To a fresco of the god's left hand.
To the Fury.
Twice now, he'd been mistaken for that monstrous demigod, and twice now, it had worked in Merik's favor. So why not continue using the fear invoked from that name? Was Merik not doing the Fury's work by bringing justice to the wronged and punishment to the wicked? It was clear that Nubrevnans needed Merik's help, and his sister Vivia…Well, she was stil out there. Alive. Wretched.
So was it not Merik's moral duty to keep her off the throne? And he could do that if he could just prove she had indeed tried to kill him - that it was she who'd purchased that prisoner from Vizer Linday, and she who'd sent the prisoner to kill Merik.
Yes. This was right. This was Noden's will. It throbbed in Merik's wounds. It shivered across his scalp and down his raw back.
Take the god's gift. Become ~ Susan Dennard

That's a very comforting response, Oliver. Of course I can trust you implicitly when all you care about is using me for your own designs. ~ Susan Dennard

Why do you hold a razor in one hand?
So men remember that I am sharp as any edge.
And why do you hold broken glass in the other?
So men remember that I am always watching. ~ Susan Dennard

In that moment, Iseult knew what she had to do. Logic didn't matter, nor Threadwitch practicality, nor even the opposing halves of her heart.
What mattered was doing the right thing.
So Iseult made her choice, and she ran. ~ Susan Dennard

Until at last, they could pause and let the arrows fall harmlessly around them. ~ Susan Dennard

It is always easier to blame gods or legends than it is to face our own mistakes. ~ Susan Dennard

How long have you been standing here?"
"Only a moment." I fluttered my lashes. I am as innocent as a baby bird, I tried to say with my eyes.
"Really." He spoke it as a statement, and frowned. "You know, eavesdropping is most unladylike."
My jaw dropped. "Eavesdropping? I was doing no such thing."
"No?"
"Certainly not, Mr. Wilcox. And false accusations are most un ... most un-manly-like." The retort was a stuttered failure, but I puffed out my chest anyway. "What were you doing outside?"
"Getting fresh air."
My eyebrows shot up as if to say "Really?" He squinted at me, and I glowered back. ~ Susan Dennard

Iron might weep, but it did not break. ~ Susan Dennard

So,Miss Fitt," Clarence said once we turned onto a tree-lined road beside the river, "you are no doubt wondering why I invited you out."
I swatted the ribbon from my eyes. "And here I assumed it was my unsurpassable good looks."
He chuckled. "That was, of course, part of my motivation."
"Only part?" I slid my gaze left and watched him from the corner of my eye. "Well then,the rest of your reason must be that bribe you mentioned the other evening."
"Something like that. ~ Susan Dennard

The air, the sky, the water - it was so much like their encounter two nights ago.
Yet also nothing like it at all. Iseult and the Bloodwitch had been enemies then, bound only by coins. Tonight, they were allies bound by … Well, Iseult didn't know precisely. ~ Susan Dennard

Mama forbade me to attend the Exhibition after an over-heating spell, yet she insisted I gallivant in the park in the midafternoon sun. I almost wanted to pass out again just to spite her. ~ Susan Dennard

How could I dream when I knew I could act instead. ~ Susan Dennard

Dead grass is awakened by fire,
dead earth is awakened by rain.
One life will give way to another,
the cycle will begin again. ~ Susan Dennard

Safi ignored him--he was clearly an idiot ~ Susan Dennard

Weasels piss on you, Iz. I'm not done yet. ~ Susan Dennard

Don't think I'll look after you, though-the world would be better off with one less princess."
"I'm not a princess," I huffed, beating my brain for some worthy retort.
"A queen then?"
"No! That's not what I meant-"
"Oh, an empress. I see. Pardon me, Your Majesty." He swooped into a crouched bow, and when his torso sprang back up,a smile floated at the edge of his lips.
"N-no, not an empress either. I-I'm just ... " The more I stuttered, the more pompous his smile became.
"You're exasperating," I finally groaned. ~ Susan Dennard

It was time to make amends. Time to bring justice to the wronged. Time to bring punishment to the wicked. ~ Susan Dennard

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose."
"And the foolish can cite Shakespeare. ~ Susan Dennard

There was pain too, though Aeduan could ignore that. After all, pain was nothing new. ~ Susan Dennard

Aeduan." She'd never said his name aloud. She was surprised by how easily it rolled off the tongue.
He looked back, his expression inscrutable as always. But laced with … with something. Hope, she found herself thinking, though she knew it was fanciful.
Aeduan was not the sort of man to ever hope. ~ Susan Dennard

and she and the mare set off after Safi. ~ Susan Dennard

Miss Fitt, you know curiosity gets men killed."
I grinned. "Then I daresay it's good I'm a woman. ~ Susan Dennard

There were advantages to being a dead man. ~ Susan Dennard

He feeds off their fear and fans it to flames. ~ Susan Dennard

But there was no reason. There never had been. He was just a child, trapped in the wreckage of war. He had not done this, he had not caused this. Yet he had lost his life to it all the same. ~ Susan Dennard

Who the rut is that Nubrevnan Windwitch? And: He should really learn how to button a shirt. ~ Susan Dennard

Fireflies."

"What?" Iseult splashed upright. Chill bumps raced down her arms.

"There." Aeduan waved across the pond. "Fireflies. They're good luck in Marstok, I've heard. And children make wishes on them." There was something light to Aeduan's voice, as if he …

"Are you making a joke?" Iseult pushed to her feet. Water droplets splattered across the stone.

"No."

Iseult didn't believe him. ~ Susan Dennard

He was caught, like the man from the tale who wanted to feed his family during a blizzard, but could not bear to kill the lamb. In the end, everyone died of starvation, including the lamb. For Lady Fate makes all men choose eventually. Even Bloodwitches. ~ Susan Dennard

And do all Hell-Bards waddle like a duck, or is it just you? ~ Susan Dennard

And there it was - that was who she was. Split right down the middle, she bore her father's strength, her father's drive. She carried her mother's compassion, her mother's love for Nubrevna. ~ Susan Dennard

And if they underestimate you, then you're the one with all the power. ~ Susan Dennard

How is that for service? Do you know how many men onboard would kill for the use of a spoon?"
"And do you know," she retorted, "how many men I can kill with a spoon? ~ Susan Dennard

This was my true path. One without structure, without Sight or guarantee or anyone at my side to help me forge ahead. Yet I knew what mattered most, and I would do whatever it took to get there. ~ Susan Dennard

You've been there all along, Bloodwitch. Somewhere, l-lurking. You are the reason I had to go to my tribe - which means you are the reason Corlant c-c-could attack. So if I had never met you, then would I even be here right now?"
"If I had never met you," he countered coolly, "then my spine would never have snapped, and Leopold fon Cartorra would never have hired me. Monk Evrane would not have almost died. ~ Susan Dennard

The Airwitch had gone from reading nothing in his life to never stopping, buying every novel or history book he could get his hands on. ~ Susan Dennard

This girl had fought Aeduan - tricked him and broken his spine. She had battled city guards and faced cleaved Poisonwitches head-on, yet never had Aeduan seen her show fear. ~ Susan Dennard

What did you drop?"
"Nothing. Stand aside, Empress."
"So you were hiding."
He set his jaw, and I noticed his face was freshly shaved. It made his skin look soft.
"I've places to be," he growled. "So if you don't step outta my way, I will move your imperial figure myself. ~ Susan Dennard