Kristin Cashore

“Lloró como alguien con el corazón roto, y se preguntó por qué, si dos personas se amaban, podía experimentarse tanto desconsuelo.”

“When you're a monster, you are thanked and praised for not being a monster.”

“I wanted you to go away, because it hurts to be with you when I can't see you.”

“I love you," he said. "You're more dear to my heart than I ever knew anyone else can be. And I've made you cry; and there I'll stop."She was crying, but not because of his words. It was because of a certainty she refused to consider while she sat before him.”

“Everyone wants a bit of something beautiful.”

“Could you attempt, at least, to make yourself presentable? I know this is a war, but the rest of us are trying to pretend it's a party.”

“If we knew a person was going to die, we'd hold harder to the memories."Fire corrected him, in a whisper. "The good memories.”

“He never tried to own me, Brigan. Roen said that Cansrel could never see a beautiful thing without wanting to possess it. But he did not try to possess me. He let me be my own.”

“And," he continued, his strange smile gleaming, "as I see it, our hearts are not so different in size. I murdered my father. You murdered yours. Is that something you did with a large heart?”

“There is nothing unnatural in this world," he said. "An unnatural thing is a thing that could never happen in nature. I happened. I am natural, and the things I want are natural. The power of your mind, and your beauty, even when you've been drugged in the bottom of a boat for two weeks, covered in grime and your face purple and green - your unnatural beauty is natural. Nature is horrifying.”

“And is it the way, in these kingdoms you fell from, for a woman to join forces with an unnatural child who's murdered her friend? Or is that expectation unique to you, and your infinitesimal heart?”

“What a horrifying notion," he said. "A creature with the power to take over one's mind.”

“His last thought was that it hadn't been stupidity that had allowed his son to enchant him so easily with words. It had been love.”

“It's right that you should do so, Fire. It's right and it's your right, because you're my beautiful child, and beauty has rights that plainness never will.”

“Have you ridden over anyone you shouldn't?”

“You have a wound too, Papa." Hanna took Brigan's left hand, which was wrapped in a bandage, and inspected it. "Did you throw the first punch?”

“Garan snorted. "Now that we know about his indigestion, we can torture him with cake.”

“When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?”

“As he left to answer the call, she heard him exclaiming in wonderment on the rise. "Rocks, Nash. Is that a river mare out there? Do you see her? Have you ever laid eyes on a more gorgeous creature?”

“Dear Brigan, she thought to herself. People want incongruous, impossible things. Horses do, too.”

“All right," Clara said. "We have our swordsman, so let's get moving. Brigan, could you attempt, at least, to make yourself presentable? I know this is a war, but the rest of us are trying to pretend it's a party.”

“Wonderful," Garan grumbled when he'd gone. "We'll grow a reputation for our kindness to lawbreakers.”

“Well then," Roen said briskly, "are you sleeping?""Yes.""Come now. A mother can tell when her son lies. Are you eating?""No," Brigan said gravely. "I've not eaten in two months. It's a hunger strike to protest the spring flooding in the south.""Gracious," Roen said, reaching for the fruit bowl. "Have an apple, dear.”

“Your eyes are beautiful," he said, and she felt warm suddenly, warm in the sun that dappled through the treetops and rested on them in patches.”

“While I was looking the other way your fire went outLeft me with cinders to kick into dustWhat a waste of the wonder you wereIn my living fire I will keep your scorn and mineIn my living fire I will keep your heartache and mineAt the disgrace of a waste of a life”

“I don't want to love you if you're only going to die.”

“Are you determined to leave me in this world to live without my heart?”

“Location: Amsterdam, Where Fire Is Called "Vlam”

“—No te avergüences —susurró Po—. Tu tristeza es preciada para mí, pero no tengas miedo. No moriré, Katsa. No moriré y volveremos a estar juntos.”

“Sit, Your High Majestic Lord Princes," she said. She yanked a chair from the table and sat herself down."You're in fine temper," Raffin said."Your hair is blue," Katsa snapped back.”

“Then come here," he said, a bit redundantly, as he had already pulled her with him into an armchair and curled her up in his arms. "Tell me what I can do to help you feel better."Fire looked into his quiet eyes, touched his dear, familiar face, and considered the question. Well. I always like when you kiss me."Do you?"You're good at it."Well," he said. "That's lucky, because I'll always be kissing you.”

“Through an arrow loop in the wall she saw a familiar horse and rider tearing across the camp toward the healing rooms. Brigan pulled up at Nash's feet and dropped from the saddle. The two brothers threw their arms around each other and embraced hard.Shortly thereafter he stepped into the healing rooms and leaned in the doorway, looking across at her quietly. Brocker's son with the gentle gray eyes.She abandoned all pretense of decorum and ran at him.”

“Fire's tears were real now, and there was no helping them, for there was no time. Everything was moving too fast. She crossed the room to him, put her arms around him, clung to him, turning her face to the side, learning all at once that it was awkward to show a person all of one's love when one's nose was broken.His arms came around her tightly, his breath short and hard against her hair. He held on to the silk of her hair and she pressed herself against him until her panic calmed to something desperate, but bearable.Yes, she thought to him, understanding now what he'd been about to ask. If you die in the war, I'll keep Hanna in my heart. I promise I won't leave her.”

“Brigan was saying her name, and he was sending her a feeling. It was courage and strength, and something else too, as if he were standing with her, as if he'd taken her within himself, letting her rest her entire body for a moment on his backbone, her mind in his mind, her heart in the fire of his.The fire of Brigan's heart was astounding. Fire understood, and almost could not believe, that the feeling he was sending her was love.”

“He thinks we're made of money.”

“Brigan," she said, annoyed that he had not understood."I’ll always be beautiful. Look at me. I have one hundred and sixty two bug bites, and has it made me any less beautiful? I’m missing two fingers and I have scars all over, but does anyone care? No! It just makes me more interesting! I’ll always be like this, stuck in this beautiful form, and you’ll have to deal with it."He seemed to sense that she expected a grave response, but for the moment, he was incapable. "I suppose it’s a burden I must bear," he said, grinning.”

“It's not reasonable to love people who are only going to die," she said.Nash thought about that for a moment, stroking Small's neck with great deliberation, as if the fate of the Dells depended on that smooth, careful movement."I have two responses to that," he said finally. "First, everyone's going to die. Second, love is stupid. It has nothing to do with reason. You love whomever you love. Against all reasons I loved my father." He looked at her keenly. "Did you love yours?""Yes," she whispered.He stroked Small's nose. "I love you," he said, "even knowing you'll never have me. And I love my brother, more than I ever realized before you came along. You can't help whom you love, Lady. Nor can you know what it's liable to cause you to do."She made a connection then. Surprised she sat back from him and studied his face, soft with shadows and light. She saw a part of him she hadn't seen before."You came to me for lessons to guard your mind," she said, "and you stopped asking me to marry you, both at the same time. You did those things out of love for your brother.""Well" he said, looking a bit sheepishly at the floor. "I also took a few swings at him, but that's neither here nor there.""You're good at love," she said simply, because it seemed to her that it was true. "I'm not so good at love. I'm like a barbed creature. I push everyone I love away."He shrugged. "I don't mind you pushing me away if it means you love me, little sister.”

“How absurd it was that in all seven kingdoms, the weakest and most vulnerable of people - girls, women - went unarmed and were taught nothing of fighting, while the strong were trained to the highest reaches of their skill.”

“Alguien de tu talla no se puede permitirse el lujo de luchar limpiamente.”

“Si a veces pienso con más claridad que tú, se debe a que lo he practicado desde hace mucho más tiempo.”

“Pero lo haces mejor que yo (...) y eso no me humilla. Me da una lección de humildad, pero no es humillante.”

“Los amigos no te mienten. Los amigos intentan comprenderte.”

“...bajo la capa de crueldad que lo cubría, se asustaba y se horrorizaba ante su propia violencia (...). Un monstruo (...) que de vez en cuando se negaba a comportarse como tal. Y cuando una bestia dejaba de actuar como lo es ¿dejaba de serlo? (...) Esa noche (...) había demasiadas preguntas y muy pocas respuestas.”

“Le gustaría que refrenar la crueldad no le reportara la admiración de los demás.”

“Te asusta lo que serías capaz de hacer si montas en cólera.”

“No pienso resolver a golpes nuestras discrepancias. Lo que hacemos (...) es para ayudarnos el uno al otro, no para usarlo en contra del otro. Somos amigos.”

“Tu capacidad para no ver lo evidente es asombrosa.”

“No son conscientes de la fuerza que hay en las cosas hermosas”

“¿es que intentabas matarlo? Si lo hubiera intentado estaría muerto.”

“Algunas personas tenían demasiado poder y eran demasiado crueles para que siguieran vivas; ciertas personas eran demasiado terribles, por mucho que las amaras, y por eso no importaba si uno mismo tenía que volverse terrible también con tal de detener sus pasos. Había cosas que se debían hacer.”