Alix E. Harrow

The Six Deaths of the Saint

yaya

Gwynne's voice cut through yours, his brow stll resting heavily on your forehead. "I would rather love a coward than mourn a legend."

Then he whispered, so gently you barely heard it— but I did, oh, I did— “You are not his."

The Saint came to you at dawn, and you took the Gray City before dusk.

You grew strong over those years, and fast, until your body was no longer something you wore but something you wielded, and Lord, what a weapon it became.

And you found you did not mind being a devil, so long as you were his.

Naomi J.

I look at him: the many chains of gold looped around his throat, the heavy hem of his robes, the stained silk of his slippers. In my mind I see, quite clearly, a great golden scale. On one side there is a vast pile of corpses. Some of them I know well—the False King, the Holly Knight, the boy in the Gray City, my own beloved Gwynne—but most of them are men whose names I never knew. And on the other side of the scale, there is a pair of silk slippers. I ask, “Was it worth it?”

And you understood, finally, that there had never truly been a she or a you but only a terrible, lonely I.

She was an unmerciful master, your Saint. Under her eye you took no prisoners and spared no innocent, no matter how young or old.

Sherany

You saw yourself as a sickly child, and you understood once again who you were, and would be, and are now: a woman following her own footprints, a snake eating her own tail, forever.

Panda Ä

“I could have killed you,” you said, and he had answered, obscurely, “You never do.”

That I have lived and killed and lived again in the name of a man who does not deserve it because I wanted so badly to be beloved. 

But only one person in all my lives has ever loved me, and he does not wear a crown.

You couldn’t name the emotion you felt, in that last second before you fell into your squire’s arms, but I can: relief.

Whitley

And you understood, finally, that there had never truly been a 

arwen

Marz 

What a wonderful short story, beautifully written but so brief. I think in a way it's the perfect length for the story itself.

brie

i kept seeing this everywhere so i took that as a sign to read it. after finishing it, i don’t know how i feel about it. i’m very conflicted. i was surprised that by the end, i cried just a little bit but idk if it’s the book or if i’ve just had a long ass week. 

if i figure it out i’ll come back to this review.

karo

Krys C.

The way I randomly decided to start this book because I was stuck in horrible traffic with this infernal heat and humid weather... now I'm sitting in a jeepney waiting for the traffic light to turn green while the trajectory of my life has been changed, my brain chemistry has been altered, and I have been remade as a person.

james

this book kworded itself in front of me and changed the trajectory of my life

Safeya Wilson

aleksandra

4/5

Only thirty pages, but I still cried. I wish it was longer. I need more, despite the ending. 


  
    "I know him, and in knowing him I love him, and in loving him I cannot do as he wishes."

“Well, she is my Devil now.” And you found you did not mind being a devil, so long as you were his."

this altered me in ways i cant properly describe rn

Djasri.

andrea valentina 

Más allá que esta sea una historia romántica hermosa, la manera como está escrito este cuento es bellísimo. Amé cada parte y el desenlace.

allison chen

interesting but confusing? immersive to say the least

"i could've killed you" "you never do". thank you, miss caricanread, for recommending this book. i definitely see myself re-reading the story, again, one day!

lea.

Catarina Lopes 

Who knew a 30 page book would make me feel more than a lot of other 400 page books

Tatiana

THE AUDIOBOOK IS SO PHENOMENAL & THE WRITING IS BEAUTIFUL!!!! I want more like this!!! Incredible short story you can read in less than an hour!

nina 

“But only one person in all my lives has ever loved me, and he does not wear a crown” 

sometimes 2nd person POV really is a serve. 3.75 stars

fatru tamzil

Yes, booktwt brought me here. 

No, I didn't regret anything I read, not a single paragraph of this story I didn't devour with tears in my eyes. This was written so magically and so beautifully, and it makes me wept to know a knight might make fate her own and end so tragically. I cannot, and will not, actually say what the plot of this story is, for that itself would be a spoiler, and also most of the story itself is something that you need to experience for yourself in order to feel it. 

You are the girl. You are the knight. You are the Saint. You are everything you make yourself to be. You want to devout yourself to the King. You want to be yourself, you long to be validated, you wanted to be with the one you love. And honestly, isn't this us all? 

"You saw yourself as an unholy triptych, three into one, one into three: she the girl, you the Devil, and I the Saint. And you understood, finally, that there had never truly been a she or a you but only a terrible, lonely I."

Mabel Yankuba

This was so so beautiful, I can’t believe it’s less than 100 pages.

maddie

One hell of a short story. I thought I’d guessed the twist, but there was so much more heartbreak to come. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.

Adeline

makenna!!! 

“But only one person in all my lives has ever loved me, and he does not wear a crown.”

mourning the fact this wasn’t a full length novel.

”This time, when I push my face into the pool, when the water fills my mouth and floods my lungs, I am smiling. They will never sing my name.”

What a beautiful short story. It is a very effective - and creative - narrative about the perpetual circle of greed and violence and bloodshed that breeds only more greed and violence and bloodshed. And amidst all the horror, the only way to break the circle is genuine human connection.

The Six Deaths of the Saint

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