"My name is Toma Nicolescu and I was a warrior, a servant of Her Majesty, the empress of Russia, Catherine the Great, …"

"“Stay clear of the sisters, please. At least one of you ought to have a clear mind.”"

"I had never aspired to be a king, and I had no mortal enemies save myself. My vice was honor: chivalry when it was ap…"

"Four years had passed, and Lucine longed to be romanced by a true man who would win her for only one kiss if that’s a…"

"Looking back now, I can say the series of incredible events that forever changed my understanding of this ordered wor…"

"She could have been the plainest of creatures and I would have felt the same because her spirit was that of an angel’…"

"An invitation for a man—no matter how appealing—to bite through your lip? It’s absurd!"

"I don’t like the way this Vlad van Valerik acted. He was eyeing you like a vulture eyes a dead horse."

"“Beauty,” he said. “Beauty like this is absolutely maddening.”"

"Look at me, Toma. I will show you pleasures that you could never know with her."