A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2)

“I’m not going to die,” she said. “Not till I’ve seen it.”
“Seen what?”
Her smile widened. “Everything.”

"Delilah Bard had a way of finding trouble.
She'd always thought it was better than letting trouble find her, but floating in the ocean in a two-person skiff with no oars, no view of land, and no real resources save the ropes binding her wrists, she was beginning to reconsider."

"You could at least pretend to be grateful."
"And you couldn't have picked something a little more...I don't know...imposing?"
"...A bloody handprint?" retorted Rhy. "Oh, what about a glowing black eye?"
Kell glowered.
"You're right," continued Rhy, "I should have just drawn a frowning face. But then everyone would know it's you."

"Alucard had shaken his head, exasperated. "The accent of a royal and the sensibilities of a thief."
But Lila had only smiled. She'd said something very similar once, to Kell. Before she knew he was a royal. And a thief, for that matter."

"There was a new restlessness to his motions, a taut energy that mirrored Kell's. And yet, Rhy's was different. Manic. Dangerous. His moods were darker and their turn sharper, cutting the span of a second."

“you can’t expect me to remain clothed all the time, Master Tieren.”
“i do suppose that would be too much to ask.” (duh)

....he might not have been able to summon fire, or draw rain, or make trees grow, but he still knew how to make an impact.

“Fix your crown, my prince,” he called back as he reached the door. “It’s crooked.”

"Run. Run home. Run. Run home. Run."

“Why am I the only one in this fucking world to be held accountable for my actions?”

"I am a thief and a pirate and a traveler. I have set foot in three different worlds, and lived. I have shed the blood of royals and held magic in my hands."

“Who needs magic when you look this good?”

"It was a chance for Rhy to shine, not only as a jewel, but as a sword. He had always been a symbol of wealth. He wanted to be a symbol of power. Magic was power, of course, but it wasn’t the only kind. Rhy told himself he could still be strong without it.

“He was immortal.
And he hated it.
And he hated that he hated it. Hated that he’d become the thing he never wanted to be, a burden to his brother, a source of pain and suffering, a prison. Hated that if he’d had a choice, he would have said no. Hated that he was grateful he hadn’t had a choice, because he wanted to live, even if he didn’t deserve to.”

“There’s no way I’m facing them on my own.”
“Which one are you afraid of? Lord Sol-in-Ar?”
“Cora.”
“The Veskan princess?” Kell laughed. “She’s just a child.”
“She was just a child—and a nightmarish one at that—but I’ve heard she’s grown into something truly fearsome.”
Kell shook his head. “Come on, then,” he said, slinging his arm around the prince’s shoulder. “I’ll defend you.”
“My hero.”

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, when it was clear she wouldn’t follow him down that path. “Spend the nights with me, and I’ll help improve your tongue.”

“What are you supposed to be?” she asked in Arnesian. “A fish?”
Alucard made a noise of mock affront. “Obviously,” he said, brandishing the helmet, “I’m a dragon.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense for you to be a fish?” challenged Lila. “After all, you do live on the sea, and you are rather slippery, and—”
“I’m a dragon,” he interjected. “You’re just not being very imaginative.”

Alucard snaked an arm possessively around his shoulders and brought his lips to the prince’s neck, just below his ear. Rhy actually shivered.
“You are far too familiar with your prince,” he warned.
“So you confess it, then?” His brushed his lips against Rhy’s throat. “That you are mine.”

“He came to me, after you were gone. Master Kell.”
Lila’s eyes widened. “What for?”
“To pay the debt for your clothes.”
Her mood darkened. “I can pay my own debts,” she snapped, “and Kell knows it.”
Calla smiled. “That is what I told him. And he went away. But a week later, he came back, and made the same offer. He comes every week.”
“Bastard,” mumbled Lila, but the merchant shook her head.
“Don’t you see?” said Calla. “He wasn’t coming to pay your debt. He was coming to see if you’d returned to pay it yourself.”

— A Darker Shade of Magic (Темный оттенок магии) #1/3
— A Gathering of Shadows (Шабаш теней) #2/3
— A Conjuring of Light (Магия света) #3/3

Buddy-read with my antari friends Katerina, Julia and Vera

Now I can say for sure that Victoria Schwab met all the requirements above and made a perfect cake of magic, love, friendship, sorrow, responsibility and choice.

Magic is tangled, so you must be smooth.
Magic is wild, so you must be tame.
Magic is chaos, so you must be calm.
Are you calm, Kell?

Buddy-read with my antari friends Katerina, Julia and Vera

Now I can say for sure that Victoria Schwab met all the requirements above and made a perfect cake of magic, love, friendship, sorrow, responsibility and choice.

Magic is tangled, so you must be smooth.
Magic is wild, so you must be tame.
Magic is chaos, so you must be calm.
Are you calm, Kell?

Alucard and Rhy, these two were probably the hottest and funniest couple in the book. They gave the story lightness it desperately needed, but at the same time, they are full of pain and regret too.

“You wanted strength.”
“I still want it,” Rhy whispered. “Every day. I wake up wanting to be a stronger person. A better prince. A worthy king. That want, it’s like a fire in my chest. And then, there are these moments, these horrible, icy moments when I remember what I did …” His hand drifted to his heart. “To myself. To you. To my kingdom. And it hurts….” His voice trembled. “More than dying ever did. There are days when I don’t feel like I deserve this.” He tapped the soul seal. “I deserve to be …” He trailed off, but Kell could feel his brother’s pain, as though it were a physical thing.

But even more than characters, I enjoyed the world-building and the plot. Victoria builds them brick by brick, letting us a glimpse into characters' lives and showing us a chain of events that will lead to consequences none of characters yet has any idea about, but we - spectators - already have a premonition of what to expect and dread. You can't stop reading, you need to know what awaits you on the next page and the next one and... She keeps us in suspense and we happily oblige and ask for more.

Victoria wrote in acknowledgments that this book is her first book ending with cliffhanger. Before she somehow managed to avoid them, but alas (?) there's always time for firsts. I wouldn't say that I was shocked with the ending, but it did manage to surprise me twice and make my brain over ventilate with speculation about the next book. Did I mention I need the next book?