There will be whys—people gossiping and speculating as to…

“That’s all Mother needs to say. Our estate and House Malker’s are built on the high cliffs along Pelim’s Tooth. The Tooth, like its…

— Cat Hellisen

“Dear Gris, if there's one thing I can't abide it's a bad poet.”

— Cat Hellisen

“I pull my mostly dry shawl tighter around my shoulders and dip my head so that I don’t have to look into their eyes…

— Cat Hellisen

“Someone here died, I realize. Someone these people loved and cared for. I’m not the only person in the world tangled up in grief.”

— Cat Hellisen

“None of them will believe me. I drop any attempt to explain myself and just gracefully accept that people are going to make assumptions…

— Cat Hellisen

“If her death wakes something in the deep, then she will bring more shame down on her House with that one act than she…

— Cat Hellisen

“No one I know has ever seen the matriarch of House Sandwalker, although she’s rumored to be an imposing sort. For a bat.”

— Cat Hellisen

“Before, I would have been powdered and perfumed, my hair done in an elaborate style by the patient fingers of servants. The household crake…

— Cat Hellisen

“I picture my mother’s face when she must go out in public with Owen, the cold arrogant look she wears, as if the whole…

— Cat Hellisen

“Whether I’m working a street corner or a market stall, well, that’s none of their business unless they’re buying. The anonymity is comfortable, like…

— Cat Hellisen

“I will never let myself be caught like that—any marriage I make will be my own. A choice. A free one.”

— Cat Hellisen

“There’s a distinct bitter aftertaste of Lady’s Gown in the tea, and I welcome it. Anything to sleep without dreaming.”

— Cat Hellisen

“It could be a true future that Ilven saw—she’s a Saint after all. Was . Was a Saint.”

— Cat Hellisen

“Then again, I’ve never been overly fond of rational thoughts.”

— Cat Hellisen

“Seeing into the future is not a straight line. You are given the choice of a hundred paths through a treacherous swamp. Some will…

— Cat Hellisen