Yi1ian

“Do you know what happened the last time I loved someone?”

Growled against my skin with such tempered violence that my shiver turned into a shudder. I nodded.

“No you don’t.” Another lethal growl. “You only know how she died. Let me tell you how she lived— in fear. My actions horrified her, as they horrify you. My enemies exploited her, as they exploit you, so it was more than an advancing army that made her throw herself from our roof. It was me.”
― Jeaniene Frost, Twice Tempted

“He was impolite while making a point? This is Vlad the Impaler. His points usually come at the end of a long pole.”
― Jeaniene Frost, Twice Tempted

“When we entered the first chamber of the dungeon, the stench made me recoil. It smelled like someone had mixed together kerosene, rotten fruit, stale blood, urine, and dog shit, then blown it up. How had I not noticed this before? I wasn't even breathing, but the rancid odor found its way into my nose anyway.

"This place stink."

"Did the guards forget to spray Febreze?" Vlad asked in mock indignation. Then he gave me a jaded look. "It s a dungeon, Leila. They re supposed to smell."

Mission accomplished. The stench might have actually killed my new appetite. If Hell could fart, it would smell like this.”
― Jeaniene Frost, Twice Tempted

“No one feels like you do, so every brush of your skin is a cruel reminder of what I’ve lost. I can barely stand the sight of you because you’re more beautiful than I’ve allowed myself to remember, and when I cut that wire off Maximus and smelled you all over him, I wanted to kill him more than I’ve wanted to kill anyone in my life, yet I couldn’t because of my promise to you.”

Slow tears continued to trickle down my cheeks, but for a different reason this time.

“You care.”

The words were whispered with a despairing sort of wonder. He wasn’t willing to rescind his loveless vow, clearly, but I was wrong about the apathy I’d thought he felt. That he admitted all the above was surprising enough; the fact he’d done it within earshot of his pilots was no less than shocking.

Vlad grunted. “Don’t worry. I intend to kill them as soon as we land.”
― Jeaniene Frost, Twice Tempted