Palace of the Damned

You didn't want to die. Most mortals don't, even if they find themselves in as desolate and soul-destroying a spot as you. Almost all of those who take their own lives wish at the last moment that they hadn't. They see at the end how much they've given up, how precious life is, even when it's treated them like dirt and crushed their dreams. Many think they've passed beyond hope, but they never really have, not until they pass beyond life itself. Alas, that knowledge comes too late for most would-be-suicides and they die with regret. Very few are offered the chance that you have been handed.

But I also slaughtered you real mother and father. In a moment of mad rage, I took their lives and left you an orphan. If you choose to take my life as a payment for theirs, you will be within your rights and no vampire will hold it against you. Pass judgment on me, Gavner Purl, and let your hand rise or fall as destiny decides it must." -Larten Crepsley

Humans elect leaders on the basis of the promises they make. We [vampires] try to elect ours based solely on the strength of their character.

This was selfish and wasteful. Cowardly. Nobody should voluntarily give up on life. If it was your time to die, death would calmly claim you. Otherwise it was your duty to press on and live. P29

Those who hate are doomed to become slaves to their hatred. It consumes them like a disease, but it is an illness they cannot–or do not want to–live without.

When Larten heard that Alicia had married, he felt both jealousy and delight. A selfish part of him had hoped she'd mourn for him the rest of her life. But mostly he was happy that she'd found someone who could give her all that he had failed to provide.