Home > Work > Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, #2)
1 " Dorian used to watch you like a starving man who wants meat. Now he looks at you like he wants seconds. "
― Richelle Mead , Thorn Queen (Dark Swan, #2)
2 " It’s easy to want peace and love in hypothetical situations—then reality sets in, and sometimes we have to do what’s ugly. "
3 " Since I’m presuming you don’t mean you finally bought him a leash, let me say simply that there is a big difference between allowing an animal to ravage you and allowing yourself to be ravaged. One is common. The other is art. It is planned. Crafted, even. Only capable of being done by a master. "
4 " Eugenie, you’re a woman without equal, and no matter how much you annoy the hell out of me and no matter how much I try to get you out of my head—and believe me, both occur regularly—I can’t stay away from you. Even if you were barren, I’d take you as my consort in an instant and spend the rest of my life with you — childless, so long as it meant you’d be by my side. I would gladly bring you to my bed with no other thoughts than taking joy from your body. It would be enough.”- Dorian "
5 " Nothing happened here, okay? None of this did.”His eyebrows rose. “Really? Because I could have sworn that something happened when my hand was between your—”“No!”- Dorian and Eugenie "
6 " The only way to lose a kingdom is if your power drops or..well, if you're killed.""I'm sure Volusian would love to help with that."My minion walked near me, needing no horse to move swiftly. Upon hearing his name, he said, "I would perform the deed with great relish and much suffering on your part, mistress.""You can't put a price on that kind of loyalty," I told Kiyo. "
7 " His dark eyes were on the road ahead, thoughtful. “No. I was hoping to go back to Tucson and see if I could get this hot chick I know to go out with me. I hear she’s in demand, though. She keeps putting me off each time I try to plan something romantic.”“Yeah, well, maybe if you come up with a good itinerary, you could lure her out.”“I was thinking dinner at Joe’s.”I made a face. “If that’s the case, maybe you’d better brace yourself for rejection.”“Red Pepper Bistro?”“Okay. Now you’re in the zone.”“Followed by a long massage in the sauna.”“That’s pretty good too.”“And then indecent things in the sauna.”“I hope you mean you’ll be doing the indecent things—because I more than did my share last night.”Kiyo glanced over at me with a mischievous grin. “Who says I’m talking about you? "
8 " Later, I would ask Shaya to help me compose a formal response to Katrice's letter, something a long the lines of "I am the Thorn Queen. F*** Off. "
9 " I want you to go back to Tucson and bring me the bottle of tequila I keep in my liquor cabinet. And don't scare Tim."Volusian remained motionless in that way of his. "My mistress grows increasingly creative in her ways to torment me.""I thought you'd appreciate it.""Only in so much as it inspires me to equally creative means to rip you apart when I am able to break free of these bonds and finally destroy you.""You see? There's a silver lining to everything. Now hurry up. "
10 " I had a few other things on my mind. Like if it was going to rain every time I got aroused. That was not cool. I guessed I could handle it so long as it rained other times as well. I didn’t want the connection to be so obvious. Hey, it’s raining! The queen must have gotten laid. Ooh…is that hail? Must have been into some kinky shit today. "
11 " Ah, Eugenie. I know. We will be victorious, you and me. We're the strongest monarchs in this world. You and I will lead this army, and we will conquer the Rowan land. We'll split it between us, adding on to our kingdoms...and from there, we can go anywhere. We could rule half this world together—all of this world—you and me. Kingdom after kingdom would fall to us... "
12 " I loved Aeson. You have no idea what love is.”“Oh, I do. I know that it’s the best high and the worst hurt all at the same time—not to mention confusing as hell. "
13 " Then don't criticize if you can't offer a solution," said Dorian. "It's easy to want peace and love in hypothetical situations - then reality sets in, and sometimes we have to do what's ugly. "
14 " No," I said softly, feeling all the energy run out of me. I was tired. So, so tired. "I don't want a war. I...I can't unleash something like that."Then, for the first time so far, Dorian spoke."I can," he said. "
15 " I couldn't remember the cats' names any better than the dogs'. Four of them were named after the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and all I could really recall was that Famine ironically weighed about thirty pounds. "
16 " I neither require nor desire your gratitude, mistress. I want nothing in these worlds save your death." Volusian to Eugenie "
17 " Polly Hall was thirteen but wore enough makeup to rival a 40-year-old whore. "