Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

“Catelyn wanted to run to him, to kiss his sweet brow, to wrap him in her arms so tightly that he would never come to harm....”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“I can’t lie, you insufferable Ironblood,â€� he chided. “I’m apologizing because I can’t forgive you right now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to kiss you, ma’alor. And it doesn’t mean I don’t like you. I do. I like you, but do you really want me? Someone who can’t touch other people? That’s my reality. I’ll never kiss you without seeing your fate. I’ll never touch you without seeing how you’ll die. Am I someone you could be happy with?â€� Robb’s brow furrowed. “Screw fate. I’ll tear down the stars for you.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“Di looked annoyed. “No, I am here to tour the palace.â€� “Sarcasm, not the time.â€� “Sorry, the literary device is still new to me.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“I promise you on iron and stars.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“Robb glanced over the side of the crate to see for himself.
The headless android twitched and began to rise. If he believed in the Moon Goddess, he'd be praying right now. He'd be praying really, really hard.
And he'd be praying something like, Merciful Goddess, if you exist, please hand my ass to me some other day. I don't want to die, I haven't kissed Jax yet.
That last revelation sent a cold chill down his spine.
He wanted to KISS JAX. He wanted to taste the starlight on his skin and press his lips against the cool curve of his collarbone--”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“The Solani have a saying," he said, his voice soft. "Al gat ha astri ke'eto. It means something like 'Until the next star shines on you'--until we meet again. So, Al gat ha astri ke'eto, ma'alor.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“Chivalry looks good on you, ma'alor," he said, brushing a dark curl out of Robb's face. "And I hate that I like it."
"Your flattery will only get you so far," Robb joked, trying to grin, but it turned sour and bitter. "I like you, but I have no right to say that. For what my mother did--for what I did. But...if there was a way for you to forgive me, no matter how long it takes, would you let me? Will you let me try to be worthy of you?"
The question took Jax by surprise.
He sat back, quite unable to find a response.
I've seen you stars, he wanted to say, and this is impossible.
All his life he'd thought that all fates flowed in a continuous, never-ending river, but now the current was disrupted, the path unsettled. They had changed the stars, and he was falling in love with a boy who should have died.
Robb shifted, uncomfortable. "Or--or if you don't feel the same way--"
"I'm sorry," Jax began, but when he looked into Robb's eyes, there were tears there. Alarmed, he quickly added, "No, no! That's not what I meant! I don't mean--"
"I knew you wouldn't. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Tears curved down Robb's cheeks, and almost exasperated, Jax wiped them away.
"I can't LIE, you insufferable Ironblood," he chided. "I'm apologizing because I can't forgive you right now, but that doesn't mean I don't want to kiss you, ma'alor. And it doesn't mean I don't like you. I do. I like you, but do you really want ME? Someone who can't touch other people? That's my reality. I'll never kiss you without seeing your fate. I'll never touch you without seeing how you'll die. Am I someone you could be happy with?"
Robb's brow furrowed. "Screw fate. I'll tear down the stars for you."
For HIM? Even though Jax had to wear gloves, and could never brush his lips against Robb's jawline without seeing the stars, never kiss Robb's ears, or traced the lines of his body, or feel the heat that pulsed just beneath his skin, hot and red and wanting. Jax felt his throat tighten as tears pooled at the edges of his eyes. He didn't cry. He never cried.
Robb took Jax's hand, and kissed his gloved knuckles. "And lucky for you," Robb added, "I'm not planning to ever die, so you don't have to worry about my stars."
He laughed. "You make being mad at you hard, ma'alor."
"I plan on making it impossible," replied Robb, and raised an eyebrow. "What does ma'alor mean?"
Jax chewed on his bottom lip. 'It means..." But he couldn't bear that sort of embarrassment, so he simply leaned into the Ironblood and kissed him. Savoring the moment, the unknowingness of it all.
Until new images came flooding across his senses like a wave of darkness across the stars.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“Robb's brow furrowed. "Screw fate. I'll tear down the stars for you.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“Love's not always wise, I've learned. It can lead us to great folly, but we follow our hearts wherever they take us. - Robb Stark”
― George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

“So do I. I'll start nosing around to find some info on Rasovant and your father, and you figure out a way to free Jax." She outstretched her hand. He looked at it blankly. "Well? Are you with me or not, Valerio?"
"To the end." He took her hand, and they shook.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“I WILL get you out of here," he said with conviction. "I promise you. On iron and stars.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“Pardons for his friends on the Dossier.
FRIENDS.
A few days ago, he would've scoffed at the idea, because Robb Valerio didn't have FRIENDS. Or if he did, he had a use for them. But Ana was unlike anyone he'd ever met. She was kind, but kind in a way most people called BRASH. She was reckless, she followed her heart like it was a guiding star. She was insufferable, and yet she had suffered so much and it had never defined her.
Ana was different from anyone else in the entire cosmos, and a part of him wanted to be different, too.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“Stop making a fool of yourself--and stop bowing to me, stars above," Jax added exasperatedly, and waited for Robb to stand again. "I'm not worth THAT must groveling."
"But you are."
Jax sighed, and held out his hand. "Come on--Di and Ana are waiting."
Robb hesitated. "Well? Don't you want to take a dashing boy's hand?" Oh--oh did he.
And he wanted to win a Wicked Luck game against this dashing boy. And he wanted to know why he had left his home, what his favorite color was, what food he liked best--what FLAVOR.
Robb wanted to know him as intimately as a sailor knew the stars.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“Jax took Robb by the face, fingers spreading into his hair, dark curls wrapping around his fingers, snarling them, so Robb could look at no one else. He memorized the constellation of freckles crossing Robb's nose, peppering his sun-kissed cheeks. The way the human boy looked at him made a strange, burning feeling turn in his stomach. He wanted to kiss off the freckles and place them in the sky as guiding stars.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“Jax had realized, in the moments he though Robb would bleed out in the cargo bay, that he wanted to fly into those eyes. he wanted to get lost in them. Just once. If they just opened one more time.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron

“But then jJax said, "Yet don't we always go looking for danger?"
"And we have a Metal to save," Robb added.
Talle shook her head. "Who is now a brainwashed murdering robot who wants to KILL us."
"But he didn't," Ana argued, painfully aware of the wound in her stomach. If he had wanted to kill her, he could have. He knew how. She didn't tell them what Di had whispered before he plunged the blade into her, wishing to have let her burn. That was not Di. So, she kept it to herself, a secret between her and her new scars. And that means the HIVE didn't take everything. The HIVE WON'T take everything. The Iron Kingdom isn't mine--it's ours. We're the outcasts, the rebels, the refugees--"
"And the royalty," said Jax.
"And the royalty," she agreed. "We're part of the Iron Kingdom. We're the parts no one remembers, so they'll never see us coming. Who's with me?"
Jax and Robb raised their hands without hesitation, and then Lenda, and Talle. The captain pursed her lips, blinking the stray tears out of her eyes, and then she nodded because Ana knew she just wanted to keep her safe--but now it was Ana's turn to save people.
"To the ends of the universe, darling," Siege finally replied.
Ana's heart swelled. She held tightly to Di's memory core, a lifeline glowing with hope in the dark. Once, she had not known who she could be without Di, and once she couldn't have fathomed the thought. But now she knew she carried Di with her, and Barger, and Wick, and Riggs--and Siege, and Talle, and Lenda and Robb and Jax, and Machivalle and Wynn, and Viera, and her late parents and lost brothers, tucked within the steady thrum of her heart. They were the sum of her parts that made her whole.
She was Ananke Armorov. She was the heir to the Iron Kingdom. She was a girl born in fire and raised in the stars, and she would burn against the darkness--and drive it away.”
― Ashley Poston, Heart of Iron