Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

“He chuckled, leaning his brow against hers. Nesta closed her eyes, breathing in his scent. "You are my mate, Cassian," she said against his lips, and kissed him softly.
"And you're mine," he said, kissing her in turn.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A ​Court of Silver Flames

“He said after a while, "You traded your resting place in the Bone Quarter for Danika's."
"Given what happens to everyone over there, I feel kind of relieved about that now."
"Yeah." He took one of her hands in his and laid their interlaced fingers atop his heart. "But wherever you're headed when this life is over, Quinlan, that's where I want to be, too.”
― Sarah J. Maas, House of Sky and Breath

“It'd be safer not to go at all, but here we are, going," Hunt said. Ruhn wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself as the angel crossed the room and knelt before Bryce, grabbing her hands. "I want a future with you. That's why I'm going. I'm going to fight for that future." His sister's eyes softened. Hunt kissed her hands. "And to do so, we can't play by other people's rules.”
― Sarah J. Maas, House of Sky and Breath

“Slowly, I turned around, to where the soup was now boiling, and ladled it into a bowl.

He watched every step I took to the table, the steaming bowl in my hands.

I stopped before him, staring down.

And I said, 'You love me?'

Rhys nodded.

And I wondered if love was too weak a word for what he felt, what he'd done for me. For what I felt for him.

I set the bowl down before him. 'Then eat.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“Rhys shut the door and went to a small box on the desk- then silently handed it to me.

My heart thundered as I opened the lid. The star sapphire gleamed in the candlelight, as if it were one of the Starfall spirits trapped in stone. 'Your mother's ring?'

'My mother gave me that ring to remind me she was always with me, even during the worst of my training. And when I reached my majority, she took it away. It was an heirloom of her family- had been handed down from female to female over many, many years. My sister wasn't yet born, so she wouldn't have known to give it to her, but... My mother gave it to the Weaver. And then she told me that if I were to marry or mate, then the female would either have to be smart or strong enough to get it back. And if the female wasn't either of those things, then she wouldn't survive the marriage. I promised my mother that any potential bride or mate would have the test... And so it sat there for centuries.'

My face heated. 'You said this was something of value-'

'It is. To me, and my family.'

'So my trip to the Weaver-'

'It was vital that we learn if you could detect those objects. But... I picked the object out of pure selfishness.'

'So I won my wedding ring without even being asked if I wanted to marry you.'

'Perhaps.'

I cocked my head. 'Do- do you want me to wear it?'

'Only if you want to.'

'When we go to Hybern... Let's say things go badly. Will anyone be able to tell that we're mated? Could they use that against you?'

Rage flickered in his eyes. 'If they see us together and can scent us both, they'll know.'

'And if I show up alone, wearing a Night Court wedding ring-'

He snarled softly.

I closed the box, leaving the ring inside. 'After we nullify the Cauldron, I want to do it all. Get the bond declared, get married, throw a stupid party and invite everyone in Velaris- all of it.'

Rhys took the box from my hands and set it down on the nightstand before herding me toward the bed. 'And if I wanted to go one step beyond that?'

'I'm listening,' I purred as he laid me on the sheets.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“As they walked along the tide line in late afternoon, he took her hand and looked at her. "Will you marry me, Kya?"
"We are married. Like the geese," She said.
"Okay. I can live with that.”
― Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing

“I search his eyes. He searches mine. I guess he found what he was looking for. His face lit up like a candle in the darkness.”
― Luna. J, God Bless You Devil Kiss You

“His eyes met mine.

The bond between us went taut. I flashed between my body and his, seeing myself through his eyes, bleeding and broken and sobbing.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses

“I avoided his stare, turning for the kitchen. 'You must be hungry, I'll heat something up.'

Rhys straightened. 'You'd- make me food?'

'Heat,' I said. 'I can't cook.'

It didn't seem to make a difference. But whatever it was, the act of offering him food... I dumped some cold soup into a pan and lit the burner. 'I don't know the rules,' I said, my back to him. 'So you need to explain them to me.'

He lingered in the centre of the cabin, watching my every move. He said hoarsely. 'It's an... important moment when a female offers her mate food. It goes back to whatever beasts we were a long, long time ago. But it still matters. The first time matters. Some mated pairs will make an occasion of it- throwing a party just so the female can formally offer her mate food... That's usually done amongst the wealthy. But it means that the female... accepts the bond.'

I stared into the soup. 'Tell me the story- tell me everything.'

He understood my offer: tell me while I cooked, and I'd decide at the end whether or not to offer him that food.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“I saw you through your dreams- and I hoarded the images, sorting through them over and over again, trying to place where you you were, who you were. But you had such horrible nightmares, and the creatures belonged to all courts. I'd wake up with your scent in my nose, and it would haunt me all day, every step. But then one night, you dreamed of standing amongst green hills, seeing unlit bonfires for Calanmai.'

There was such silence in my head.

'I knew there was only one celebration that large; I knew those hills- and I knew you'd probably be there. So I told Amarantha...' Rhys swallowed. 'I told her that I wanted to go to the Spring Court for the celebration, to spy on Tamlin and see if anyone showed up wishing to conspire with him. We were so close to the deadline for the curse that she was paranoid- restless. She told me to bring back traitors. I promised her I would.'

His eyes lifted to mine again.

'I got there, and I could smell you. So I tracked that scent, and... And there you were. Human- utterly human, and being dragged away by those piece-of-shit picts, who wanted to...' He shook his head. 'I debated slaughtering them then and there, but then they shoved you, and I just... moved. I started speaking without knowing what I was saying, only that you were there, and I was touching you, and...' He loosed a shuddering breath.

There you are. I've been looking for you.

His first words to me- not a lie at all, not a threat to keep those faeries away.

Thank you for finding her for me.

I had the vague feeling of the world slipping out from under my feet like sand washing away from the shore.

'You looked at me,' Rhys said, 'and I knew you had no idea who I was. That I might have seen your dreams, but you hadn't seen mine. And you were just... human. You were so young, and breakable, and had no interest in me whatsoever, and I knew that if I stayed too long, someone would see and report back, and she'd find you. So I started walking away, thinking you'd be glad to get rid of me. But then you called after me, like you couldn't let go of me just yet, whether you knew it or not. And I knew... I knew we were on dangerous ground, somehow. I knew that I could never speak to you, or see you, or think of you again.

'I didn't want to know why you were in Prythian; I didn't even want to know your name. Because seeing you in my dreams had been one thing, but in person... Right then, deep down, I think I knew what you were. And I didn't let myself admit it, because it there was the slightest chance that you were my mate... They would have done such unspeakable things to you, Feyre.

'So I let you walk away. I told myself after you were gone that maybe... maybe the Cauldron had been kind, and not cruel, for letting me see you. Just once. A gift for what I was enduring. And when you were gone, I found those three picts. I broke into their minds, reshaping their lives, their histories, and dragged them before Amarantha. I made them confess to conspiring to find other rebels that night. I made them lie and claim that they hated her. I watched her carve them up while they were still alive, protesting their innocence. I enjoyed it- because I knew what they had wanted to do to you. And knew that it would have paled in comparison to what Amarantha would have done if she'd found you.'

I wrapped a hand around my throat. I had my reasons to be out there, he'd once said to me Under the Mountain. Do not think, Feyre, that it did not cost me.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“Knelt on those stars and mountains inked on his knees. He would bow for no one and nothing-

But his mate. His equal.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“Language lets us learn about potential mates much more efficiently and interactively than any other species can.”
― Geoffrey Miller, The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature

“With his eyes closed and face slightly upturned, he lay there on his knees, waiting. Waiting. For me. This realization makes me growl "Mine", the wolf part inside me, screaming to claim him for myself.”
― Luna. J, God Bless You Devil Kiss You

“You don't get to ask questions,' I said, and he looked up at me, exhaustion and pain lining his face, my blood shining on his lips. Part of me hated the words, for acting like this while he was wounded, but I didn't care. 'You only get to answer them. And nothing more.'

Wariness flooded his eyes, but he nodded, biting off another mouthful of the weed and chewing.

I stared down at him, the half-Illyrian warrior who was my soul-bonded partner.

'How long have you know that I'm your mate?'

Rhys stilled. The entire world stilled.

He swallowed. 'Feyre.'

'How long have you know that I'm your mate.'

'You... You ensnared the Suriel?' How he'd pieced it together, I didn't give a shit.

'I said you don't get to ask questions.'

I thought something like panic might have flashed over his features. He chewed again on the plant- as if it instantly helped, as if he knew that he wanted to be at his full strength to face this, face me. Colour was already blooming on his cheeks, perhaps from whatever healing was in my blood.

'I suspected for a while,' Rhys said, swallowing once more. 'I knew for certain when Amarantha was killing you. And when we stood on the balcony Under the Mountain- right after we were freed, I felt it snap into place between us. I think when you were Made, it... it heightened the smell of the bond. I looked at you then and the strength of it hit me like a blow.'

He'd gone wide-eyed, had stumbled back as if shocked- terrified. And had vanished.

That had been over half a year ago.

My blood pounded in my ears. 'When were you going to tell me?'

'Feyre.'

'When were you going to tell me?'

'I don't know. I wanted to yesterday. Or whenever you'd noticed that it wasn't just a bargain between us. I hoped you might realise when I took you to bed, and-'

'Do the others know?'

'Amren and Mor do. Azriel and Cassian suspect.'

My face burned. They knew- they- 'Why didn't you tell me?'

'You were in love with him; you were going to marry him. And then you... you were enduring everything and it didn't feel right to tell you.'

'I deserved to know.'

'The other night you told me you wanted a distraction, you wanted fun. Not a mating bond. And not to someone like me- a mess.' So the words I'd spat after the Court of Nightmares had haunted him.

'You promised- you promised no secrets, no games. You promised.'

Something in my chest was caving in on itself. Some part of me I'd thought long gone.

'I know I did,' Rhys said, the glow returning to his face. 'You think I didn't want to tell you? You think I liked hearing you wanted me only for amusement and release? You think it didn't drive me out of my mind so completely that those bastards shot me out of the sky because I was too busy wondering if I should just tell you, or wait- or maybe take whatever pieces that you offered me and be happy with it? Or that maybe I should let you go so you don't have a lifetime of assassins and High Lords hunting you down for being with me?'

'I don't want to hear this. I don't want to hear you explain how you assumed that you knew best, that I couldn't handle it-'

'I didn't do that-'

'I don't want to hear you tell me that you decided I was to be kept in the dark while you friends knew, while you all decided what was right for me-'

'Feyre-'

'Take me back to the Illyrian camp. Now.'

He was panting in great, rattling gulps. 'Please.'

But I stormed to him and grabbed his hand. 'Take me back now.'

And I saw the pain and sorrow in his eyes. Saw it and didn't care, not as that thing in my chest was twisting and breaking. Not as my heart- my heart- ached, so viciously that I realised it'd somehow been repaired in these past few months. Repaired by him.

And now it hurt.

Rhys saw all that and more on my face, and I saw nothing but agony in his as he rallied his strength, and, grunting in pain, winnowed us into the Illyrian camp.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“Mor said quietly, 'Is it so bad- to be his mate? To be a part of our court, our family, tangled history and all?'

I blended the paint in the small dish, the colours swirling together like so many entwined lives. 'No,' I breathed. 'No, it's not.'

I had my answer.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“Aren't you going to say anything?' he said at last.

'I was going to tell you what I'd decided the moment I saw you on the threshold.'

Rhys twisted in his seat toward me. 'And now?'

Aware of every breath, every movement, I sat in his lap. HIs hands gently braced my hips as I studied his face. 'And now I want you to know, Rhysand, that I love you. I want you to know...' His lips trembled, and I brushed away the tear that escaped down his cheek. 'I want you to know,' I whispered, 'that I am broken and healing, but every piece of my heart belongs to you. And I am honoured- honoured to be your mate.'

His arms wrapped around me and he pressed his forehead to my shoulder, his body shaking. I stroked a hand through his silken hair.

'I love you,' I said again. I hadn't dared say the words in my head. 'And I'd endure every second of it over again so I could find you. And if war comes, we'll face it. Together. I won't let them take me from you. And I won't let them take you from me, either.'

Rhys looked up, his face gleaming with tears. He went still as I leaned in, kissing away one tear. Then the other. As he had once kissed away mine.

When my lips were wet and salty with them, I pulled back far enough to see his eyes. 'You're mine,' I breathed.

His body shuddered with what might have been a sob, but his lips found my own.

It was gentle- soft. The kiss he might have given me if we'd been granted time and peace to meet across our two separate worlds. To court each other. I slid my arms around his shoulders, opening my mouth to him, and his tongue slipped in, caressing my own. Mate- my mate.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“You're mine,' I whispered, dragging my hands through his hair, down his back, across his wings.

My friend through many dangers.

My lover who had healed my broken and weary soul.

My mate who had waited for me against all hope, despite all odds.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“What now?' Wordlessly, he took the soap from my hands and turned me, rubbing down my back, scrubbing lightly with the cloth.

'It's up to you,' Rhys said. 'We can go back to Velaris and have the bond verified by a priestess- no one like Ianthe, I promise- and be declared officially Mated. We could have a small party to celebrate- dinner with our... cohorts. Unless you'd rather have a large party, though I think you and I are in agreement about our aversion for them.' His strong hands kneaded muscles that were tight and aching in my back, and I groaned. 'We could also go before a priestess and be declared husband and wife as well as mates, if you want a more human thing to call me.'

'What will you call me?'

'Mate,' he said. 'Though also calling you my wife sounds mighty appealing, too.' His thumbs massaged the column of my spine. 'Of if you want to wait, we can do none of those things. We're mated, whether it's shouted across the world or not. There's no rush to decide.'

I turned, 'I was asking about Jurian, the king, the queens, and the Cauldron, but I'm glad to know I have so many options where our relationship stands. And that you'll do whatever I want. I must have you wrapped completely around my finger.'

His eyes danced with feline amusement. 'Cruel, beautiful thing.'

I snorted. The idea that he found me beautiful at all-

'You are,' he said. 'You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I thought that from the first moment I saw you on Calanmai.''

And it was stupid, stupid for beauty to mean anything at all, but... My eyes burned.

'Which is good,' he added, 'because you thought I was the most beautiful make you'd ever seen. So it makes us even.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“The longest day of the year, I said into the bond, sending along flickers of all that had occurred atop that hill. I wish I could spend it with you.

He would have enjoyed my performance- would have laughed himself hoarse afterward at the expression on Ianthe's face.
...
Rhysand's voice filled my mind.

It'd be an honour, he said, laughter in every word, to spend even a moment in the company of Feyre Cauldron-blessed.
...
Rhysand's faint voice filled my head once more. I wish I could spend today with you, too.

The words wrapped a fist around my heart...”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin

“Lucien was having none of it. 'I knew. I knew you were lying the moment you unleashed that light in Hybern. My friend at the Dawn Court has the same power- her light is identical. And it does not do whatever horseshit you lied about it doing.'

I shoved my pack off my bedroll. 'Then why not tell him? You were his faithful dog in every other sense.'

His eye seemed to simmer. As if being in his own lands set that molten ore inside him rising to the surface, even with the damper on his power. 'Glad to see the mask is off, at least.'

Indeed, I let him see it all- didn't alter or shape my face into anything but coldness.

Lucien snorted. 'I didn't tell him for two reasons. One, it felt like kicking a male already down. I couldn't take that hope away from him.' I rolled my eyes. 'Two,' he snapped, 'I knew if I was correct and called you on it, you'd find a way to make sure I never saw her.'

My nails dug into my palms hard enough to hurt, but I remained seated on the bedroll as I bared my teeth at him. 'And that's why you're here. Not because it's right and he's always been wrong, but just so you can get what you think you're owed.'

'She is my mate and in my enemy's hands-'

'I've made no secret from the start that Elain is safe and cared for.'

'And I'm supposed to believe you?'

'Yes,' I hissed. 'You are. Because if I believed for one moment that my sisters were in danger, no High Lord or king would have kept me from going to save them.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin

“I want to see her. Just once. Just- to know.'

'To know what?'

He hitched my damp cloak higher around us. 'If she is worth fighting for.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin

“Lucien leaned his head back against the rock wall behind us. 'And then I'll ask your mate how he survived it- knowing you were engaged to someone else. Sharing another male's bed.'

I tucked my freezing hands under my arms, gazing toward the gloom ahead.

'Tell me when you knew,' he demanded, his knee pressing into mine. 'That Rhysand was your mate. Tell me when you stopped loving Tamlin and started loving him instead.'

I chose not to answer.

'Was it going on before you even left?'

I whipped my head to him, even if I could barely make out his features in the dark. 'I never touched Rhysand like that until months later.'

'You kissed Under the Mountain.'

'I had as little choice in that as I did in the dancing.'

'And yet this is the male you now love.'

He didn't know- he had no inkling of the personal history, the secrets, that had opened my heart to the High Lord of the Night Court. They were not my stories to tell.

'One would think, Lucien, that you'd be glad I fell in love with my mate, given that you were in the same situation Rhys was in six months ago.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin

“He leaned down, nuzzling my throat. 'Don't you want to comfort your mate, who has missed you terribly these weeks?'

I planted a hand on his face and pushed him back, scowling. 'I want my mate to tell me where the hell he was. Then he can get his comfort.'

Rhys nipped at my fingers, teeth snapping playfully. 'Cruel, beautiful female.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin

“Rhys pressed a kiss to my hair. 'You're home.'

A shuddering, small sound came out of me as I nodded, squeezing him tighter. Home. Not just Velaris, but wherever he was, our family was.

Ebony claws stroked along the barrier in my mind- in affection and request.

I lowed my shields for him, just as his own dropped. His mind curled around mine, as surely as his body now held me.

'I missed you every moment, ' Rhys said, leaning down to kiss the corner of my mouth. 'Your smile.' His lips grazed over the shell of my ear and my back arched slightly. 'Your laugh.' He pressed a kiss to my neck, right beneath my ear, and I titled my head to give him access, biting down the urge to beg him to take more, to take faster as he murmured, 'Your scent.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin

“Where the hell are you? I scanned around me, and found nothing but shadow and merry flame and books.

Two levels below.

And why are you two levels below? I shoved out of my chair, back aching in protest as I stormed for the walkway and rail beyond, then peered down into the gloom.

Sure enough, in a reading area two levels below, I could spy his dark hair and wings- could spy him leaning back in his chair before an identical desk, an ankle crossed over a knee. Smirking up at me. Because I can't work with you distracting me.

I scowled at him. I'm distracting you?

If you're sitting next to me, the last thing on my mind is reading dusty old books. Especially when you're in all that tight leather.

Pig.

His chuckle echoed up through the library amid the fluttering papers and scratching pens of the priestesses working throughout.
...
Two hours of work, he promised me, turning back to the table and flaring his wings- a veritable screen to block my view of him. And his view of me. Then we can play.

I gave him a vulgar gesture.

I saw that.

I did it again, and his laugh floated to me as I faced the books stacked before me and began to read.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin

“Well, being mated is like taking your first breath after drowning. It’s painfully beautiful because while your mate might drive you wild, life will never be the same after that breath. Life hadn’t really begun until you learned to appreciate breathing.”
― Rory Miles, Knot for Me

“Tonight, I’m going to take care of you, Syl. Because you always take care of me.”
― Raven Kennedy, Crimes of Cupidity

“Yeah, babe. A good surprise. What kind of boyfriends do you think we are?â€�

“Boyfriends,� I parrot.

“Not the word you’d pick?� Anakin asks, knowing me far too well.

“It’s too simple of a word.�

He nods and rests his chin on my shoulder. “How about husbands?�

“Too human.�

“M²¹³Ù±ð²õ?â€�

“What are we, werewolves?�

He chuckles. “Well then, what do you want to call us?�

I frown. “I don’t know, mine?”
― Rory Miles, Tainted Power - The Complete Series

“Elain was staring over Nesta's shoulder.

At Lucien- whose face she had finally taken in.

Dark brown eyes met one eye of russet and one of metal.

Nesta was still weeping, still raging, still inspecting Elain-

Lucien's hands slackened at his sides.

His voice broke as he whispered to Elain, 'You're my mate.'
...
Nesta, however, whirled on him. 'She is no such thing,' she said, and shoved him again.

Lucien didn't move an inch. His face was pale as death as he stared at Elain. My sister said nothing, the iron ring glinting dully on her finger.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury

“If you bring that male anywhere near her, I'll-'

'You'll what?' Cassian crooned, trailing her at a casual pace as she stopped perhaps five feet from me. He lifted a brow as she whirled on him. 'You won't join me for practice, so you sure as hell aren't going to hold your own in a fight. You won't talk about your powers, so you certainly aren't going to be able to wield them. And you-'

'Shut your mouth,' she snapped, every inch the conquering empress. 'I told you to stay the hell away from me, and if you-'

'You could between a male and his mate, Nesta Archeron, and you're going to learn about the consequences the hard way.'

Nesta's nostrils flared. Cassian only gave her a crooked grin.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin