Cinda Williams Chima

“You look like a boy who has eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge and doesn't like the taste.”

“But I don't want your throne.""Then what do you want?""You.”

“History,' Mari muttered, as if she'd overheard his thoughts. 'Why do we need to know what happened before we were born?' 'So hopefully we get smarter and don't make the same mistakes again.”

“I continueto believe in miracles. But i know that miracles come to thosewho work very hard”

“The answer is no, I would rather marry the Demon King himself than marry you. Isuggest you look elsewhere for a bride. And heaven help the one you choose.”

“Hope is a dangerous thing, Raisa thought. Once kindled, it's hard to put out. It makes wise people into fools.”

“There's something about a roof isn't there? It makes you feel like it doesn't matter what's going on below. All of those things that get in the way of your dreams - you're above them. Anything is possible.”

“But maybe it's better to go after something, and not get it, than to not even try.”

“She could Captain to his Your Majesty any time.”

“I live in the present because the future is always chancy. When it comes to being with you, I'm willing to take the risk.”

“Nobody's going to hand you anything. You don't get what you don't go after.”

“As for my family, my father was Danel; he died as a mercenary in the southern wars," Han went on. "My mother's name was Sarah, called Sali, and my sister was Mari. They died last summer. But then, you already knew that. Every time you forget, I'll remind you. That's the blood sacrifice I made to be here, and that's enough.”

“ It was a peculiar marriage of interests- Lord Averill and Captain Byrne and Lord Bayar and Han Alister agreeing on anything was as rare as gold in Ragmarket.”

“They were like two pieces of a failed star, drawn together by a shared history and a memory of illicit kisses.”

“Crow walked toward her, arms outstretched like a man in a dream, which he was, in a way. Sometimes a dream is enough.”

“He swept Raisa up into his arms and kissed her like it was his first, last, and only”

“She padded toward Han, barefoot, like a faerie startled out of a forest bower, bewitching mix of clan and flatland beauty.”

“Oh, I am getting married," Raisa said sleepily. "You promised me that if I agreed to marry you, that you would make it happen." She extended her hand, the one with the ring Han had given her, and waved it under his nose. "So. It's time to pay up.”

“His aster-blue eyes shown out from a face blackened by bruises and soot, his fair hair glittering in the firelight. Dressed all in black, silhouetted against flame, he looked rather like a demon, raised from the dead, trading for souls on the other side.”

“The next chamber is full of songbirds, if I remember right. Their music is like turtleweed. It will put you to sleep if you listen to it. They sleep most of the time, so the best thing is to pass through without waking them up. If they do awaken, then you must sing loud enough to drown out their music." "Great," Han said. "Whose idea was that?" "It seemed like a good idea at the time," Crow said. "I was an excellent singer.”

“Do notforget duty. But choose love when you can.”

“What kind of love would drive a man for miles through solid rock?”

“Crow paced back and forth, his form flickering like flame. “It’s been a thousand years, Alister. I never intended for anyone to find it, so it’s very well protected. One little misstep, and you and my line will be history.”“Since when are you so concerned about your line?” Han said.Crow stared at him for a long moment. “Since I found out I had one,”

“I've found it wise to enjoy any time of truce, while recognizing it for what it is. A truce.”

“The human mind had a remarkable ability both to discount what it sees and make reality conform to expectation.”

“(A)ny time you buy weapons, or build an army, you begin to look for an excuse to use them. Plus, you pose more of a threat to others.”

“You can't always pick where you fight, or who you fight...or even...how you fight. But do the picking...whenever you can.”

“So here's the truth - I love you. I love everything about you – the way you stick up for people even when it costs you. The way you keep trying to do the right thing even when you're not exactly sure what the right thing is. I love how you put words together. You're as skilled with words as any knife fighter with a blade. You can put an enemy down on his back, or you can raise people up so they find what's best in themselves. You've changed my life. You've given me the words I need to become whatever I want.I love how you talk to lytlings. You don't talk down to them. You respect them, and anybody can tell you're actually interested in what they have to say.I love the way you ride a horse – how you stick there like an upland thistle, whooping like a Demonai. I love the way you throw back your head and stomp your feet when you dance. I love how you go after what you want – whether it's kisses or a queendom.I love your skin, like copper dusted over with gold. And your eyes – they're the color of a forest lake shaded by evergreens. One of the secret places that only the Demonai know about.I love the scent of you – when you've been out in the fresh air, and that perfume you put behind your ears sometimes.Believe it or not, I even love your road smell – of sweat and horses and leather and wool.I want to breathe you in for the rest of my life.”

“That's what happens when you love someone... you notice and notice and notice.”

“Raisa felt relieved, yet oddly disappointed. She was the blooded princess heir, yet in servants' clothes she was apparently unrecognizable. In the stories, rulers had a natural presence about them that identified them as such, even dressed in rags.What's the nature of royalty, she wondered. Is it like a gown you put on that disappears when you take it off? Does anyone look beyond the finery? Could anyone in the queendom take her place, given the right accessories? If so, it was contrary to everything she'd ever been taught about bloodlines.”

“Just a rat, she repeated to herself. After all, there were rats in the palace. Human and otherwise. Could be worse.”

“Which is a sad thing when you're only seventeen.”

“And it's not just a matter of you hurting me. I will hurt you too, even if I don't want to, I'm not the girl you think I am. And you will remember this conversation , and wish that you'd listened to me.”

“You touch me again, you arrogant Ardenine swine, and I swear on the blood of Hanalea the warrior, I will geld you. Do you understand?”

“Just tell me you don't love me, and I'll let the matter drop.""What?""What I said. Just say, 'Rai, I don't love you and I never will'. It's that simple.""Raisa, this is getting us nowhere.""Say it!”

“So you questioned him?" Raisa prompted. "What did he say for himself?""Well, the first thing Gillen does is steal his purse and beat him with a club." Amon said.”

“But it's not enough to know right from wrong. You need the strength to do what's right, even when what you want most in the world is the wrong thing.”

“He expects nothing, she thought, because he's never had anything. And nothing was expected of him. He was free in a way she never would be.”

“A vocation is not something you slap on, like a coat of paint, and change whenever you want. A vocation is built into you. You have no choice. If you try to do something else, you fail.”

“Her clothes still smoked from the wizard’s assault. But to him, she always smelled of flowers.”

“Sometimes you have to go somewhere else to appreciate what we have here.”

“It was one of the warm nights at the end of summer that makes promises that won't be kept.”

“If he even survives." She shivered, and Amon put his arm around her, drawing her into his steady warmth."It's that bad?"Raisa nodded. "He looked...he looked awful, Amon. Willo doesn't know if he'll...She's worried about him. My mother died, and I never got to tell her that I loved her, that I finally understood - just a little anyway. If Han dies too, I don't know what I'll do.”

“Tears stung her eyes. She sank her knees next to the sleeping bench and gently raked strands of golden hair from him forehead."Don't you die. don't you dare. I forbid it." As if Han Alister had ever listened to anything she said.”

“Will you give the girl to me?" she said. "Will you let me try?"He nodded, dizzy with relief. "Please, Willo. Please. Save her. It doesn't matter...what happens to me.”

“And, like a fool, she kissed him back. Kissed him a way that would leave no doubt about the way she felt about him. Kissed him because she knew the chances were slim she'd have very many kisses like that in her lifetime. Which is a sad thing when you're only seventeen.”

“You didn't have to go to the fireworks with him. Or - or let him fondle you.""Fondle?" Raisa raised her eyebrows, "When did I mention fondling?”

“Whoa, Rebecca," Talia said smiling even wider, "Walking on the wild side, are we?"Raisa seemed to think the situation needed more explaining. "He - uh - I'm tutoring him.""She is," Han said solemnly. "She's very good. I'm learning a lot."Pearlie snickered. "What's she teaching you?""Well," Han said, "we're jumping around a lot.”

“The time will come when you will be forced to make a choice,” Hanalea said. “When that time comes, choose love.”

“Like a stand of lodgepole pines in a gale Raisa's followers all went down leaving her standing alone....There's no shelter for me not from any of this. I'll stand alone the rest of my life. THE GRAY WOLF THRONE p. 163”