Vii

“It will be an incredible victory when Serpentissima turns from ev— from… her ways. But don’t make the mistake of believing yourself to be a pawn or a prize, Patrick. You’re not the means. You’re not the end, either. You are the reason.”
― Alex Gabriel, Love for the Cold-Blooded, or The Part-Time Evil Minion's Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero

“Torveld favoured Laurent with another of those long, admiring looks that were starting to come with grating frequency. Damen frowned. Laurent was a nest of scorpions in the body of one person. Torveld looked at him and saw a buttercup.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Laurent could inspire homicidal tendencies simply by breathing.”
― C.S. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Now that number was gone, covered up by the jet-black image of a chess piece. Neil's knowledge of chess was hazy at best, but he knew for sure that wasn't a king. "You did it," Neil said, too stunned to manage anything else. "Let Riko be King," Kevin said, with the exaggerated enunciation of the thoroughly sloshed. "Most coveted, most protected. He'll sacrifice every piece he has to protect his throne. Whatever. Me?" Kevin gestured again, meaning to indicate himself but too drunk to get his hand higher than his waist. "I'm going to be the deadliest piece on the board." "Queen," Andrew said somewhere behind Neil.”
― Nora Sakavic, The King's Men