Iliri Quotes

“Nah. That is na what I see." He pulled her hair away from her neck and kissed the thin edge of her ear. "Ya look deceptively fragile, like a deer, but yer solid muscle, a perfect predator. Yer agile and graceful, and ya do na walk anywhere, but glide, as if the ground gives way ta ya. Yer skin is as pale as fresh snow, and yer hair, it's like some metal I've never seen, white, shiny, and priceless. Yer eyes." He chuckled. "Ya dunno how many times I've thought it'd be worth it. Ya'd put me in the ground, but it'd be so worth it ta just get lost in yer eyes. They are na completely white, ya know? They're like clouds, hints of color reflected back ta me. And I love yer nose. Humans always look like someone hit them in the head with a pipe. Ya don't. Yer nose," he chuckled again. "Yer face is sleek and elegant, like a work of art, kitten. Ya look like someone sculpted ya."
"And didn't finish," Sal said. "And got it right," he corrected.”
― Auryn Hadley, Instinctual”
― Auryn Hadley, Instinctual

“Believe me yet, boy?" she asked, the large man frozen against her blade.
"Yes, ma'am." The first trace of respect could be heard in his voice.
"It's sir. I'm a soldier just like any of you." She smirked and looked down at her main hand. "Just a bit better.”
― Auryn Hadley, Defiance

“This is my army," Sal yelled loud enough for her soldiers to hear. "These are my men. This is my country! You know the histories as well as I do. We were here first, so you must not have heard me. Get your asses off my damned iliri soil. I will only say it one more time, and next, it will be to your Emperor as I stick my white iliri arm down his pathetic, divine throat. Is that clear enough for you to understand?"
The men didn't bother to reply. They simply turned their horses and raced back to their lines. Sal and Jase shoved their helms back on as they rode, allowing the mares to canter easily across the muddy field.
"Ayati, I love you when you're angry", Jase said in her head, and Sal laughed, glancing at him once more.
"Just wait, killer, because I'm about to get really pissed", she teased.”
― Auryn Hadley, Defiance

“But why me? Why na him?"
"Because I can't imagine living without you." She let her head rest on his shoulder. "I can without Blaec. I'd miss him, but I could live without him. Jase..." She looked into his deep blue eyes. "You're a part of me. I've never felt like this with anyone else. I don't have to apologize. I don't have to explain. I can play at being human or allow myself to be who I am, and you always just understand me. Ayati, Jase, it scares me a bit, but I need you so much.”
― Auryn Hadley, Defiance