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“You are everything to me, my sun, my moon, the air I breathe. Nothing exists except you. I love you.”
― Rachel Higginson

“Love is dangerous, blinding,’â€� he quoted, voice soft against her cheeks in an empty semblance of amusement. He pulled back slightly, just enough that she could see the gentleness, the raw warmth in his gaze. The clean lack of regret. “And yet, I see you so clearly.”
― Varsha Ravi, The Heartless Divine

“Who do gods pray to?â€� she asked aloud, a dream with open eyes.

The line of his mouth was sharp enough to draw blood. But when he spoke, his voice was snow soft, death soft. “This is not prayer, Suri. It is atonement.”
― Varsha Ravi, The Heartless Divine

“DEEN: What about you?
KIRAN: Hmm . . . seeing the future!
KIRAN: I want to be able to see the future.
DEEN: Feeling anxious about the future?
KIRAN: Yeah. Always.
KIRAN: Especially lately.
DEEN: How’s your mom, btw?
KIRAN: To be determined.
KIRAN: It’s just a waiting game now.
DEEN: OKAY I know my real answer now!!!
DEEN: Healing powers.
DEEN: Definitely healing powers.
KIRAN: Heh
KIRAN: You’re a good guy, Deen.
DEEN: Only for you.”
― Farah Naz Rishi, It All Comes Back to You

“Even though I didn’t originally buy it for you, because like an idiot I avoided your feelings like the plague, I hadn’t noticed until now that it wasn’t the lucky price that had drawn me to it, but the colour of it.â€� I heaved a deep breath, preparing myself. I remembered the last time I had said something so cheesy, and how he had laughed but I continued anyway, before my shyness could take over.

“Hurry up, before you start regretting.� The taxi man had said. And I did.

I looked him square in the eyes, blushing so furiously I was sure even my dark skin wouldn’t hide it. He met my gaze, somewhat shyly, which was a rare sight. “So I’ve decided to give this necklace to you as a symbol for what I realised today. The colour is green, like yourâ€� uh, like your eyesâ€� and your eyes are my kryptonite.â€� I mumbled, looking at him into the eyes right until the end, until his face turned completely red and his jaw dropping so low I was sure it almost hit the counter, his eyes sparkling, wide with shock.”
― Anja Owona Okoa, What if we're faeries?

“Gods are not kind. They have never been kind, and they never will be. Humanity would do well to remember that.”
― Varsha Ravi, The Heartless Divine

“And, as it is clear that no one has taken the time to inform you, the gods favor no one.â€�

“Then what are you?�

He smiled, lovely but hard. “An accident.”
― Varsha Ravi, The Heartless Divine

“I have always wanted a brother. I have a sister, instead, and I love her very much, but I also wanted a brother. Have you ever felt like that?â€� At the other boy’s resounding, bemused silence, he continued, “Do you want to be brothers, then? We can be family.”
― Varsha Ravi, The Heartless Divine

“I’m not afraid of you,â€� she said, and the words came out surprisingly steady. His eyebrows arched, slightly, in a silent question.  She hesitated, reaching for the words and continued, “I know you said I should be afraid of you. Because the gods aren’t kind.â€� She tilted her head, and her headband unsteadied in her hair. “Can’t you be the exception?â€�

“You misunderstood me.â€� His voice was low, empty; mountains carved into shells. “I’m not unkind because  the gods are unkind. It is true enough that they are not kind, not a single one of them, but you must understand that I am the worst of them all.”
― Varsha Ravi, The Heartless Divine

“But he was still human; even if the flames wrapped him in their warmth and kept him awake, he weakened as any other mortal weakened when kept from sleep. And, eventually, he grew weak enough that the darkness grew closer and closer, and the quiet of the city stole into his blood and silenced it entirely.  ”
― Varsha Ravi, The Heartless Divine

“Who you have feelings for—that is not a choice. Feelings happen
whether you want them to or not. But love isn’t a feeling; it’s the act of planting
a seed and putting in the time and care it needs to grow. It demands hard work
and renewal to survive. It demands commitment. By necessity, it cannot be taken
lightly.”
― Farah Naz Rishi, It All Comes Back to You

“In the shadowed corridor, he looked incandescent and young. All the right components of a boy slotted into all the right places, but not quite a boy. Build A Boy’s singular business failure, she thought hysterically, and then rubbed at her eyes until the smile passed.”
― Varsha Ravi, The Heartless Divine

“So this is the power of a god, she had thought, a little unsteady, a little fearful. If that was him fully bound—if even a slight release in the sankhili meant he burned like the sun—then she could not fathom what he would be like once unbound.

If you lock away a god’s power, she thought, do they become human?”
― Varsha Ravi, The Heartless Divine

“There is an old rumor that the gods reside in the stars.â€�

She looked over at him. “Is it true?�

His expression turned strained. “I wanted it to be, when I was younger. But I think I was wrong. They are here with us, in every word and every breath.”
― Varsha Ravi, The Heartless Divine