Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1) QUOTES

82 " Cass’s stomach flipped over as Falco reached into the stinking heap of garbage. He closed his hands around a tangled chunk of blackened metal.
“What is that?” she asked.
“Blacksmith’s error, most likely,” he said, reaching up and slamming the metal into the shutters. The wood splintered.
Cass jumped back and covered her face with her hands as a cloud of dirt sprayed outward. “Are you insane?”
“Only occasionally.” Falco brushed the dust from Cass’s cloak. He reached his arm through the jagged hole and winced as he felt around for the latch. The shutters opened with a groan, unveiling an inky rectangle of open space that reminded Cass of a coffin.
Falco hoisted his body up through the opening and into darkness.
“We can’t just break into the place,” she whispered loudly.
“And yet, it appears that we can,” Falco said, perching like a cat on the narrow windowsill. “Were you hoping a servant might admit us through the front door? "

― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)

84 " The following day, Cass still felt as if the villa were suffocating her. Not only was she trapped inside, but she was bored out of her mind--so bored that she sat on the stool and plucked random strings on her aunt’s harp for a while until Bortolo reminded her that he was blind and not deaf. "

― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)

86 " A sharp rapping at the front door startled her. She glanced around for Bortolo, but the butler had conveniently disappeared. Probably snuck downstairs for a nap in his office. Cass jumped up from the divan, eager for any distraction.
Narissa descended from the servants’ quarters with more speed than anyone her age and size ought to be able to muster. She waved Cass back to her seat. “Young ladies do not answer doors.”
Young ladies, Cass thought bitterly, do not do anything but sit and rot. "

― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)

88 " I don’t need to be fed,” she said. “I may be weak and old, but I have always been remarkably coordinated.”
Cass resisted making a comment. She was simply grateful her aunt wasn’t speaking to her in the soft, disappointed tone she had used last night.
“Remember that,” her aunt continued, going after a green bean slick with butter. “Don’t fall into the trap of letting others do everything for you. It’s noble to accept help when you need it, lazy to accept it when you don’t. "

― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)

90 " Don’t fall into the trap of letting others do everything for you. It’s noble to accept help when you need it, lazy to accept it when you don’t. "

― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)

92 " Something sticky slapped across her cheek and she fought to keep from screaming. She flailed her free hand out in front of her face.
“Spiderweb,” Falco said. “It got me too.” His voice was calm, reassuring.
They crept farther down the corridor. The hair on the back of Cass’s neck pricked up. She could swear they weren’t alone, that someone else was walking alongside them, toying with them. “Do you hear that?” she whispered. “I hear someone breathing.”
“All I hear is you huffing and puffing,” he answered.
Cass paused and held her breath. Sure enough, the hallway was silent except for Falco’s smooth, even exhalations. How could he be so calm when she was panting like a dying animal? "

― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)

94 " A familiar odor, crisp and cold, wafted up into the air. Where had she smelled it before? Falco drew his index finger across the surface of the liquid.
“Are you crazy?” Cass hissed. “That could be poison.”
He held his hand up to his nose and sniffed. “I didn’t plan on tasting it,” he responded. "

― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)

96 " She looked again at Falco’s painting of her--for her. Even though her expression was full of joy, he’d somehow managed to catch a hint of sadness in her form. The hesitance in how she lay there, as though expecting that happiness to vanish at any moment. This must be what Falco meant when he said he had done it for the art. For the first time, Cass understood. This, this truth, was exactly what she wanted to capture in her writing.
She felt like weeping, but she wasn’t sure why. She and Falco understood each other, finally. It was the best possible outcome--the only possible outcome. But as she refolded a single corner of muslin over the canvas, an overwhelming sense of loss gripped her. This painting, this letter, it was Falco’s good-bye. Even if he remained in Venice, he would be gone to her. They would exist side by side, but in parallel worlds that never crossed over.
Cass couldn’t believe she had ever thought Falco might be a murderer. What he had done went against the Church, but he did have reasons. Maybe de Montaigne was right. Perhaps Cass had no right to judge what Falco was doing--what he must do--to survive. She had never known, would never know, what it was like to want for money. For anything, really, except for love. Maybe love was to be the one thing that would remain forever out of reach.
The thought was unbearable. Cass sat down at the servants’ table and laid her head down against the rough canvas. She tried to feel each individual brushstroke through her cheek. Each stroke was a part of Falco, a tiny piece of the man she loved. "

― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)

98 " The servant escorted Cass up the stairs into a vast portego lined with dark wood and accented with red and yellow paint. Cass fought the urge to wince. The whole room, even the ceiling, was adorned with elaborate sculptures of angels and winged horses. There must have been forty little flying creatures in there, each painted more garishly than the next. The walls were deep mahogany, with white marble moldings carved in swirling patterns. A giant square mirror hung at the center of each wall, reflecting the swirls and wings from across the room, magnifying the entire effect.
It was hideous. "

― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)

100 " You’re disgusting,” she spat out.
“Would you like help with that?” Falco reached toward her.
“Don’t touch me.” Cass gave up on the bodice. She wrapped herself tightly in the woolen blanket.
Falco laughed aloud. “You’re the one with the fiancé, and I’m disgusting?” He shook his head. “Women.”
“You’re disgusting because it doesn’t bother you to have an affair with an almost-married woman.” Cass felt tears pushing at the back of her eyes. That was all he wanted from her: fun. “You could be thrown in prison for that. Executed, even!”
Falco leaned in toward Cass. She stiffened, but didn’t pull back. “I know you want this as much as I do,” he said. “You aren’t going to report me. And even if you did, I’m inclined to think a night with you might well be worth imprisonment.”
Cass looked away from him, fighting the urge to soften. He was just trying to flatter her to get what he wanted.
Falco’s voice turned gentle. “I wish we could have more. I wish I could lie next to you every night. I wish I could parade you around on my arm in the daylight,” he said. “But if we can’t be together like that, then why can’t we be together like this?” He moved to kiss her again.
A part of her wanted to let him, really wanted to, but she was still offended by his thinking she’d be so willing to have a tryst with him and then marry Luca as if no one would ever be the wiser. “Don’t,” she said, leaning against the side of the boat. She stared into the night, seeing nothing. No movement. No lanterns. It was as if Cass and Falco were the only two people in the world.
Now it was his turn to look offended. “It can’t be wrong if we both feel the same way.”
Cass didn’t know how she felt; that was the problem. She could feel Falco’s eyes burning into the back of her neck, and resisted the desire to turn and meet his gaze. She skimmed her fingers over the water. She wondered exactly how she had found herself in this place. "

― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)