I don’t care if you danced naked on the roof of the Little Palace with him. I love you, Alina, even the part of you that loved him.
I have loved you all my life, Mal,” I whispered through my tears. “There is no end to our story.
The moment our lips met, I knew with pure and piercing certainty that I would have waited for him forever.
They are orphans again, with no true home but each other and whatever life they can make together on the other side of the sea.
They had an ordinary life, full of ordinary things-if love can ever be called that.
Do you answer a question directly?””Hard to say. Ah, there, I’ve done it again
Greed is your god, Kaz.”He almost laughed at that. “No, Inej. Greed bows to me. It is my servant and my lever.
You have your own problems right now, Zenik, said a voice in her head. Stop worrying about saving the world and save your own ass. Sometimes her inner voice could be very wise.
The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.
Hope was tricky like water. Somehow it always found a way in.
Sometimes when we find love we pretend it away, or ignore it, or tell ourselves we’re imagining it. Because it’s the most painful kind of hope there is. By indifference . By death.
There is something more powerful than any army. Something strong enough to topple kings, and even Darklings. Do you know what that thing is?”I shook my head, inching away from him.“Faith,” he breathed, his black eyes wild. “Faith.
And what god do you serve, then?”“Whichever will grant me good fortune.” “I don’t think gods work that way.” “I don’t think I care.
We can’t help the way we’re born. We can’t help what we are, only what life we choose to make for ourselves.
We can’t help the way we’re born. We can’t help what we are, only what life we choose to make for ourselves
Mal snickered. “What’s so funny?””I just pictured the Darkling being cornered by a sweaty duchess trying to have her way with him.
You just punched a prince, Alina. I guess we can add one more act of treason to our list.”I shook out my sore hand. My knuckles smarted. “First of all, are we so sure he really is a prince? And second, you’re just jealo
I may not have been completely honest about that.””You? Less than truthful? I’m shocked, Nikolai. Shocked and horrified.
If it works, it will be plenty dramatic. And I suppose that if it doesn’t work, it will be even more dramatic, what with the blast.””David, I think you just made a joke.”He frowned, utterly perplexed. “Did I?
Close your eyes!””You can’t kiss me from down there, Wylan.” “Just do it!
Sometimes scientific discoveries are like that […]. Once people know something is possible, the pace of new findings increases. (Wylan)
I need someone who can be invisible, who can become a ghost. Do you think you can do that?”I’m already a ghost, she thought. I died in the hold of a slaver ship.”i think so.
Fear is a phoenix. You can watch it burn a thousand times and still it will return.
This goes to show you that sometimes the unseen is not to be feared and that those meant to love us most are not always ones who do.
Nina would never let Kaz abandon her. She’d fight with everything she had to free Inej even if she was still in the grips of Parem. Matthias would stand by her with that great heart full of honor.
Sisters in battle, I am shield and blade to you. As I breathe, your enemies will know no sanctuary. While I live, your cause is mine.
Nina was about to snap that she didn’t appreciate the sarcasm when she saw the expression on his face. He looked like someone had just given him a tuba full of puppies.
She lived in happy solitude, and grew old, and never worried when her beauty faded, for in her reflection she always saw a free woman.
I just know there’s no way to live without pain – no matter how long or short your life is. People let you down. You get hurt and do damage in return.
He doesn’t need a donkey,” says Ana Kuya. “He has a wife.
I opened my mouth, but the same words came to me again and again.I will not scream. I will not scream. I will not scream.
If you don’t care about money, Nina dear, call it by its other names.””Kruge? Scrub? Kaz’s one true love?””Freedom, security, retribution.
He looked down at his boots. “That berth belongs to you too. It will always be there when―if you want to come back.”Inej could not speak. Her heart felt too full, a dry creek bed ill-prepared for such rain. “I don’t know what to say.
Her heart felt too full, a dry creek bed ill-prepared for such rain.
Where are you going?” she called after me, her voice mocking. “What’s waiting for you out there?” “Nothing!” I shouted at her. “No one!
Van Eck raised a brow. “How old are you, girl? Sixteen? Seventeen? Nations rise and fall. Markets are made and unmade. When power shifts, someone always suffers.
I was just a girl again, but this girl didn’t owe her strength to fate or chance or a grand destiny. I’d been born with my power; the rest I’d earned.
Nina, you taught me to be something better. They could be taught, too.
The ox feels the yoke, but does the bird feel the weight of its wings?
Despise your heart. I wanted to. I didn’t want to grieve anymore, to feel loss or guilt, or worry. I wanted to be hard, calculating. I wanted to be fearless.
I’d learned to avoid mirrors. They never seemed to show me what I wanted to see.
I think the hard work of writing is just how long a book is terrible before it’s good.
Because I am a doll, and a servant. Because I am a pretty thing and a soldier all the same.
Of course I’m jealous. I thought I was going to get to punch him. That isn’t the point.
They fear as I once feared you,” he said. “As you once feared me. We are all someone’s monster, Nina
David looked at me, then, the regret plain on his face. No matter what I said, we both knew the hard truth. We do our best. We try. And usually, it makes no difference at all
I will tell you a story, one I used to tell to a little boy with dark hair. A silent boy who rarely laughs, who listened more closely than I realized. A boy who had a name and not a title
The person she liked best didn’t like her enough to want more of her, and she didn’t want to pretend that wasn’t awful.
She’d hurt him, but she’d attempted everything in her power to make things right. She’d shown him in a thousand ways that she was honorable and strong and generous and very human, maybe even more vividly human than anyone he’d ever known.
She knew she should say something profound, something beautiful in response. Instead, she spoke the truth. “If we make it out of here alive, I’m going to kiss you unconscious.
She rested her head on his shoulder. “You’re better than waffles, Matthias Helvar.” A small smile curled the Fjerdan’s lips. “Let’s not say things we don’t mean, my love.
Sometimes, the only way to get justice is to take it for yourself.
I promise, Matthias. I’ll take you home.””Nina,” he said, pressing her hand to his heart. “I am already home.
Survival wasn’t nearly as hard as he’d thought once he left decency behind.
i prefer to think of the good times. Like when you held my hair as I was vomiting into a bucket.
Abruptly, Adrik snarled, ‘I’m glad Sergei’s dead. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to wring his neck myself.”You’d need two hands for that,’ said
Kaz had always kept himself at a remove from everyone. They’d wanted camaraderie, friendship, but he had never agreed to play their game, only his own.
The names they gave were false ones, though the vows they made were true.
What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary.
and the look they exchanged could have melted miles of northern ice.
Why can a Grisha possess but one amplifier? I will answer this question instead: What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men.
At that moment, the creature’s back breached the waves, its body cutting through the water in a sinuous arch, rainbows sparking off the iridescent scales on its back. Rusalye.
I miss a good cup of tea, dancing, boys- definitely not rain.””We dance,” Diana protested.Maeve had just laughed. “You dance differently when you know you won’t live forever.
I think… sometimes when we find love we pretend it away, or ignore it, or tell ourselves we are imagining it. Because it’s the most painful kind of hope there is. It can be ripped away so easily. By indifference. By death.
It’s good to feel foolish sometimes, Fjerdan.”“You only say that because you have no shame.
You’re weak because you’re afraid of people seeing your weakness. You’re letting shame decide who you are.
Do you think I could have come to you again and again, if you had been less alone?You called me and I answered
When we get our money, you can burn kruge to keep you warm.””I’m going to pay someone to burn my kruge for me.””Why don’t you pay someone else to pay someone to burn your kruge for you? That’s what the big players do.
He has served countless kings, faked countless deaths, bided his time, waiting for you.