Home > Author > Lesley Livingston
61 " When people have so much money that they can do anything, buy anything, be anything, then they start to look around for the things money can't buy. Strength, courage, nobility... they see it in others. And they want it. "
― Lesley Livingston , The Valiant (The Valiant, #1)
62 " With that kill, the watching crowd realized this wasn’t just a show designed to inflate auction prices, and they howled for more blood. The brigand’s, Elka’s, mine, it didn’t matter. It made my stomach turn. This was what the Romans thought of as entertainment? And they called us barbarians. "
63 " Rome only exists because of slaves. That's how it functions. We are its muscles, its brains, and most of all its secrets. You are now a part of that world. You are what you are, no matter what you once were. But there is power in such a position. Understand that. And learn to use it. "
64 " This is Rome. Treachery and opportunism and backstabbing run in her veins like lifeblood, and if you've never had to live your life constantly looking over your shoulder, then you have no idea how dangerous it can be. "
65 " Estamos hechos de la misma materia que los sueños. "
― Lesley Livingston , Tempestuous (Wondrous Strange, #3)
66 " I stumbled blindly on, deep into the forest, with one singular purpose: vengeance. "
67 " The trader had told me that Mare Nostrum meant “Our Sea” in Latin, and I had marveled at the arrogance of Rome, which would dare to lay claim to the very elements of the earth. The goddess must have laughed at them, I’d thought. I certainly had. "
68 " But I suspect real bravery is knowing fear intimately–I mean feeling it in the very center of your bones–and then going ahead and fighting anyway "
― Lesley Livingston , The Defiant (The Valiant, #2)
69 " Elka let out her breath in a low whistle. I had to grudgingly admit to myself that I was glad the Varini girl was still with me. In a way, she almost reminded me of my sister. Sharp-tongued and haughty, but good in a fight, at least. "
70 " I would wait for you until the stars went dim and the sun and moon drowned themselves in the ocean never to rise again, Fallon ferch Virico. "
― Lesley Livingston , The Triumphant (The Valiant, #3)
71 " Through the shimmering air, I looked on the face of the girl who had been called Ismene. She looked like she was sleeping. I searched my heart for a prayer to offer, but I did not know the gods the Lanista had spoken of. I only knew my own. So I formed a silent prayer for the dead girl I’d never known but in that moment felt a strange kinship with. “May the Morrigan keep your soul,” I whispered in my mind. "
72 " I’ve never known anyone like you,” he whispered. “Ever. Since that moment on the ship.” “The moment when I tried to kill you?” “No. The one when you put yourself at risk to help Charon, the man who’d put you in slave irons, in the middle of all that chaos and death. You are uncommon in your bravery, Fallon. You are stronger than any woman I’ve ever known.” He smiled ruefully. “And you seem determined to haunt my dreams. "
73 " Once inside, I stirred the banked coals of the brazier to sullen life. It did nothing to ease the chill that gripped my bones. Not only had my father as good as severed the sword-hand from my arm, he’d cut the heart out of my body. And then given it to the brother of the boy I loved. My father had betrayed me not once but twice. "
74 " Muy bien. Veamos adónde nos lleva esto. "
75 " Toda historia tiene dos caras. Si interpretas el papel del "malo", nunca piensas en ti mismo como si fueras malo. Lo que ocurre es que los demás... a menudo no comprenden tus razones. "
76 " Kronos the trainer had explained to me what the number markings meant and how to read them, but I still got confused sometimes and mixed them up. So we made a joke out of it every time Elka asked me to spin the shield wheel and pick a number. “Thirteen!” I would call out and spin the wheel so that the markings blurred. Elka’s spear invariably pierced the twelve: XII. “Only off by one!” she would say. For some reason the joke had yet to grow stale. And her aim had yet to falter. As a prospective gladiatrix, she was good. And she actually seemed content—happy, even—that her fate had led her to the Ludus Achillea and the chance to live and die as one. Which makes her either stronger than me . . . or weaker. I didn’t know which. "
77 " They thought they could frighten me with pictures painted in tar upon my walls? The pictures I drew would be in the sands of the arena, rendered in my rivals’ blood. And the letters I carved with my sword? They would spell out Victory. "
78 " Maybe honor wasn’t always something won by a blade, I thought. And maybe it couldn’t be so easily stripped away, even in servitude. "
79 " If you slow me down,” she growled, “I’ll hack your foot off with a sharp stone.” “I won’t slow you down,” I said. “So long as you keep your big, flat feet out of my way.” Pale blue eyes blinked at me for a moment. Then the Varini grinned—an expression utterly devoid of mirth—and said, “Run. "
80 " I guess we’re stuck with each other then,” she said. “For the time being.” “There are worse fates,” I said. She rolled an eye at me. “Not many, but some.” A grin flickered across Elka’s face as Charon’s men barked at us to get moving. The slave chain hissed sullenly along the ground, but I realized that I really was grateful that the tall, fierce Varini girl was tethered to the other end. "
