Dennard Quotes & Sayings

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

Merik had seen potential trade for Nubrevna where there was none. He'd seen a navy that had "needed his leadership" when it hadn't. He'd seen a selfish domna in Safiya fon Hasstrel, a frustrating Threadwitch in Iseult det Midenzi, and then an inconsequential ship's boy in Cam - yet none of those presumptions had proved true. — 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 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

Shut the door, he ordered. Safi did, but tensed her muscles. She might have danced and fought with this man, but that didn't mean she trusted him in a room alone. — 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

Never had Iseult asked for anything. Not since learning as a little girl that rusted locks on a door were the best she could ever hope for.
Then she'd met Safi, and secretly, silently, so deep no one would ever find it, Iseult had started to hope that her life might turn into something. Little dreams weren't so bad. Iseult could brush against them from time to time, and no one would ever be the wiser. — Susan Dennard

No stopping, though. Only running onward through the weak rain. Men charged with blades, but swords were so easy for Iseult to evade with Aeduan at her side. Together, they arced, they lunged, they ducked, they rolled. A fluid combination of steps built on blood and Threads. — Susan Dennard

Allow me to serve you, Safiya. We have spent too many years apart." "And I have spent too many hours between meals." A glare. "Give it to me now, Polly, or I shall castrate you with a fork. — Susan Dennard

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

No regrets, keep moving . . . — Susan Dennard

Who betrays whom first. — Susan Dennard

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

She felt no relief at having survived this attack. No heady satisfaction surged through her because she'd made it to shore. She felt only a growing emptiness. A gathering dark. For this was her life now. Not boredom and lectures, but hell-flames and assassins. Massacres and endless flight. — Susan Dennard

Whatever mischief you're up to, I'll be there for it. Besides, someone must ensure that you behave like a lady."
I skittered to a stop. "Like a lady? Which is how exactly?" My voice was shrill. He had picked a poor moment to antagonize me.
"Biddable."
"Biddable? Biddable!" Somehow my pitch was even screechier than before. I kicked my bottom high and dipped my chest low-a perfect display of the Grecian bend. "It it's a camel you wish to have,sir,then you are on the wrong continent! — Susan Dennard

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

Initiate. Complete. — Susan Dennard

Forever after today, she would flex and furl her fingers, precisely as she did right now. She would roll her wrists and crack her neck. She would stretch her jaw and wonder who might next die at her hands. Who might not get away.
And forever after tonight, she would be hungry to outrun the nightmares. She would race and she would fight and she would kill again, just to make sure the ghosts were real.
They were. — 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

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

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

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

I guard the light-bringer,
And protect the dark-giver.
I live for the world-starte,
And die for the shadow-ender.
My blood, I offer freely.
My Threads, I offer wholly.
My eternal soul belongs to no one else.
Claim my Aether.
Guide my blade.
From now until the end. — Susan Dennard

Nothing negated beauty faster than boredom. — Susan Dennard

The holiest always have the farthest to fall. — Susan Dennard

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

Real love isn't about drama or heartbreak. Real love just is. — 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

No more stalemates because they thought her unqualified and unhinged.
No more tiptoeing around a room because women oughtn't to run. To shout. To rule.
And above all: no more blighted regrets. — Susan Dennard

I can feel their Threads waiting. — Susan Dennard

Darkness is not always a foe. — Susan Dennard

Can't say I'm surprised you were here. You have the curiosity of a cat and the common sense of a goldfish. — 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

Fool brother Filip led blind brother Daret
deep into the black cave.
He knew that inside it, the Queen Crab resided
but that didn't scare him away.

Said blind brother Daret to fool brother Filip,
does Queen Crab no longer reign?
I have heard she is vicious, and likes to eat fishes.
It's best we avoid her domain.

Answered fool Filip to his brother small,
have I not always kept you safe?
I know what I'm doing, for I'm older than you,
and I'll never lead you astray. — 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

And perhaps they too would one day be lost to history. — Susan Dennard

Always. There was always blood where Aeduan went. — Susan Dennard

Aeduan didn't contradict her. She was what she was, and fighting one's nature only brought pain. Sometimes death too. — Susan Dennard

So this is how I will die. Aeduan had never thought it would be flames. A beheading, perhaps. Old age, more likely. But not fire - not since he'd escaped that death all those years ago. — Susan Dennard

Run, my child, run. — Susan Dennard

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

I'll strip with you," Safi offered, grabbing for her shirttails. "If anyone shows up" - the shirt slid over her face, muffled her words - "I'll dance around and distract them. — Susan Dennard

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

Merik turned away, pretending not to hear. Not to care. But the truth was, he did hear and he did care. — Susan Dennard

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

And they fell. Together. — 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

There are degrees of freedom. Complete freedom isn't always good, nor is the lack of it always bad. — 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

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

Just before Jie and Daniel reached the street, Daniel stopped. He twirled around and gazed up at me, as if he had sensed my eyes on his back. He strode a few steps toward me, paused, and then strode two more.
He slung off his cap and pressed it to his chest. Then,with the casual grace that marked all of his movements, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
He was declaring fealty to his empress.
I laughed-I couldn't help it. The absurdity of it all. The bittersweet sting.When he lifted back up, I saw he too wore a smile.He waved with his cap, and after flopping it back on his head, he swiveled and trotted to the street. Then,without another look back, the Spirit-Hunters left. — Susan Dennard

He would find a chest full of barbed arrows awaited him. — Susan Dennard

Why do you ask?"
"Because I can."
"You can what?"
"I can go in the private collection!" I scurried toward him. "My father had a lifetime subscriptioin, Mr. Sheridan, and not just that, but he had special privileges. I'm certain I could use his name to get you into the private collection."
Daniel's jaw fell. "Why didn't you say so before?"
"What?" I recoiled. "How was I supposed to know you needed it?"
"We could've gone ages ago!"
My enthusiasm transformed into outrage. "In that case, why didn't you say you needed it?"
"Because I didn't know you had a subscription!"
"Aha!" I cried, thrusting a finger at him. "Your argument's a circle!"
Daniel sprang up. "We wasted all this time-"
"Silence!" Joseph roared. "You are like squawking parrots, and I have had quite enough. Miss Fitt, I would ask that you take Mr. Sheridan to the library immediately. Daniel, I would ask that you keep that big mouth of yours silent. — Susan Dennard

Safi snatched the other side of his shirt. These go inside these. — Susan Dennard

They each wore ill-fitting black suits and well-fitting black scowls. — Susan Dennard

Sometimes justice was all about the small victories. — Susan Dennard

Iseult's nostrils twitched. Her face hardened. The defiance, the determination - they were back, and against his will, Aeduan's lips twitched upward. — Susan Dennard

I'm a domna. I can smile at even the ugliest toad and flatter him on his perfectly placed warts. — 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

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

Even the greatest feats of man lose their luster when one's head is filled with storm clouds. — Susan Dennard

Yes," Safi breathed, swaying into one of the men holding her up. She flashed a grin at him and said, "I'm Safiya fon Hasstrel, and I can do anything. — Susan Dennard

This was not the Threadwitch who had cornered Aeduan beside a bear trap. Nor the Threadwitch who'd sparred with him that very morning. This was a woman changed.
Aeduan knew because he'd been there before himself. Soon she would learn - just as he had - that there was no outrunning the demons of one's own creation. — 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

If you wanted to, Safiya, you could bend and shape the world. — Susan Dennard

Iron might weep, but it did not break. — 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

Plague? the guard interrupted. — Susan Dennard

Please just get us through this alive. — Susan Dennard

Aeduan bundled her up and stood. She was so light, so fragile. A bird in his demon arms. — 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

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

Simply because I have lost faith in the cause doesn't mean the training has lost all of its usefulness. — Susan Dennard

Never had Safi seen so many furled sails. Or circling sea gulls.
Cursed birds. — 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

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

and she and the mare set off after Safi. — 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

You have the curiosity of a cat and common sense of a goldfish. — Susan Dennard

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

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

Because it is always easier to blame gods or legends than it is to face our own mistakes. This land is no more cursed than any other. It is simply steeped in too much blood. — Susan Dennard

I brandished my parasol at him like a rapier. You, sir, are an abominable scalawag of a man, and I'll be damned if I let you threaten me. — Susan Dennard

There was no heaven here. Eternal life meant waking up as a putrid corpse. — Susan Dennard

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

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

Each Well was linked to one of the five elements: Aether, Earth, Water, Wind, or Fire. — Susan Dennard

After tonight, Safiya fon Hasstrel would be free. — Susan Dennard

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

The world shivered and smeared before him. Still, his training took over. With his free hand, he checked that his baldric was still in place. The knives ready for the grabbing.
Then he readied his stance, for though blood might burn, Aeduan's soul would not. — Susan Dennard

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

He was good. The best fighter she'd ever faced. But Safi and Iseult were better. — 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

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

Merry... you look awful. - Vivia — Susan Dennard

But the cleaving Tidewitch didn't care. His blackened eyes had latched on to Safi now. His bloodstained hands clawed up and he barreled toward her like a squall. — Susan Dennard

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