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“I will find you.
In the farthest corner, I will find you.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Kiss of Deception

“Too young to party, just odd enough to participate in federal investigations of serial murder. Story of my life.”
― Jennifer Lynn Barnes, All In

“I want to go to sleep and not wake up, but I don’t want to die.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Wintergirls

“I beg your forgiveness, Your Eminence. I would not truly feed your face to the hogs. It might make them sick.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Heart of Betrayal

“Lia let out a low growl and moved her arrow to the base of his fat throat. "What do you think, Gabi? Would you like to see these nuptials through?"

"Not this day," I said
"How about on the morrow?" Marcello asked, smiling and lifting my hand to his lips. "If I am your groom?"
"Hold that eHarmony thought," Lia whispered in English. "We gotta get out of here.”
― Lisa Tawn Bergren, Cascade

“I felt something wet trickle down the side of my face. I reached up and swiped the salty wetness away.
How quaint.
How very quaint.
Like believing some things last forever.
A tear. As if that could make a difference.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Heart of Betrayal

“It made me think how different everything might have been if we had both been born in Terravin.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Kiss of Deception

“If ever there were three mismatched riders, it was us- the crown prince of Dalbreck, the Assassin of Venda, and the fugitive princess of Morrighan. Sons and daughter of three kingdoms, each bent on domination of the other two.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Beauty of Darkness

“Whats it like, to be in love? The servants speak of it when they think I can't hear. I only wonder."

Lia turned around and tossed the cushion back to the chaise lounge. She found she didn't have an answer to Mari's question. She couldn't say what she'd heard her sisters always say, It's thrilling, or It's bliss, or He makes me so happy. She raised her head and swallowed the strangeness in her throat, walking to the fireplace, to the pianoforte, pressing a finger against the honey-buffed wood.

"It is," she said at last, "the most terrible feeling in the entire world."
And she meant it.

"Yes," the girl agreed, examining her face. "I think it must be.”
― Shana Abé, The Dream Thief

“Of course you did." I took a step closer. "You have strengths, Tavish, that I greatly admire. You're skills helped saved Rafe's and my lives, for which I'll always be indebted to you. But there are other kinds of strength too. Quiet, gentle ones that are just as valuable, even if you don't entirely understand them.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Beauty of Darkness

“She did what she could for him. She kissed him in return. She lost her breath and both her hearts, and finally Turned to smoke and back.”
― Shana Abé, The Dream Thief

“Lia, all that I am is what I do. I'm not meant for a tame sort of life, to dwell in bucolic splendor. I'm a city rat. I ache for it. I was made for it. And I wouldn't expect you to live as I do. I wouldn't want that for you. But its all I have to offer."
"Then--I accept."
He brought a hand to his forehead and began to laugh. "Its like being snared in a sugartrap. You wont listen.”
― Shana Abé, The Dream Thief

“You have to make your peace with Kaden, and he with you. You are not on opposite sides anymore. Do you understand?”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Beauty of Darkness

“Somewhere beyond all that, on an unseeable horizon, was Morrighan and all the people who lived there, going about their lives, unaware. My brothers. Pauline. Berdi. Gwyneth. And more patrols like Walther's who would meet their deaths, as unaware as I had once been.
I want to go with you.
Where I was going was no place for Natiya. It was hardly a place for me.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Beauty of Darkness

“Sometimes the smallest animal inflicts the greatest pain.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Kiss of Deception

“If I had been shipped off to Dalbreck, there are valuable things I never would have learned.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Beauty of Darkness

“Stop cutting me off!" he yelled. The steel of his eyes sparkled with warning. "The least you can do is give me a chance to speak! We're gonna talk!”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Beauty of Darkness

“From the weakest will come strength. From the hunted will come freedom.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Kiss of Deception

“Because everything was flying out of control. Because she was right - I wanted to trust her but I didn't. Because when I left a week ago, she had kissed me.
Because I so stupidly loved her.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Beauty of Darkness

“A real kiss," he said. "That's what I needed, just one more time.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Heart of Betrayal

“Am I never to meet the backbone of Venda, or will I only be pointed at with your long, bony finger?" He looked down briefly at his gloved hands, and a sliver of satisfaction warmed me.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Heart of Betrayal

“I didn’t come here to be interrogated,â€� I snapped. “What of all your attentions toward Calantha?â€�

His shoulders pulled back. “I suppose we’re both putting on the performances of our lives.�

His accusatory tone made my anger spark into a fire. “Performance? Is that what you call it? You lied to me. Your life’s complicated. °Õ³ó²¹³Ù’s what you told me. Complicated?â€�

“What are you dredging up? Last night or Terravin?�

“You act as if it happened ten years ago! You have such an interesting way with words. Your life isn’t complicated. You’re the blazing crown prince of Dalbreck! You call that a complication? But you went on and on about growing melons and tending horses and how your parents were dead. You shamelessly told me you were a farmer!�

“You claimed you were a tavern maid!�

“I was! I served tables and washed dishes! Have you ever grown a melon in your life? Yet you piled on lie after lie, and it never occurred to you to tell me the truth.�

“What choice did I have? I heard you call me a princely papa’s boy behind my back! One you could never respect!�

My mouth fell open. “You spied on me?� I whirled around, shaking my head in disbelief, crossing the room, then whipping back to face him. �You spied? Your duplicities never end, do they?�

He took an intimidating step closer. “Maybe if a certain tavern maid had bothered to tell me the truth first, I wouldn’t have felt that I had to hide who I was!�

I matched him step for angry step. “Maybe if a self-important prince had bothered to come see me before the wedding as I had asked, we wouldn’t be here now at all!�

“Is that so? Well, maybe if someone had asked with an ounce of diplomacy instead of commanding like a spoiled royal bitch, I would have come!�

I shook with rage. “Maybe someone was too scared out of her wits to properly choose her words for His Royal Pompous Ass!”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Heart of Betrayal

“And now, General, I hope I can say this delicately enough for your tender ears. In spite of my utter disgust, instead of calling you an ignorant, delusional, pompous, self-absorbed buffoon, I am going to extend my hand and strongly suggest that you take it, because I will not let your patronizing insults nor my pride get in the way of saving Morrighan. As much as I may loathe the idea, I need whatever miserable expertise you will bring to the table, and so when we convene to plan our strategies at a time and place I shall designate, you will be there ready to serve your kingdom. Because, make no mistake about it, I am ruling Morrighan now as my father’s regent, and I will get worked up over silly little things like traitors and armies that seek to destroy us. Do you understand?â€�

His chest was a barrel heaving with anger and water dripped from his nose. I extended my hand, and he stared at it, looking at the other officers, who dared not rush to his aid. He reached out and took my hand and stepped from the fountain. He nodded as if complying with the order and walked away, the sucking sound of water sloshing in his boots. I didn’t think the word pretty was swimming in his thoughts anymore.

Gwyneth heaved out a generous whuf of air. “Well! I’m glad you didn’t call him a buffoon.�

“Or pompous,� Pauline added.
“Or ignorant,� Jeb chimed in.
“Or an ass,� Kaden said.
“I didn’t call him an ass.�
Rafe grunted. “You may as well have.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Beauty of Darkness

“He won't break his word."
Exasperation flashed across Rafe's face. "And how would you know that?"
"Because I commanded it, and he believes that I'm his queen.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Beauty of Darkness