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“I feel Sel’s gaze on the back of my neck, on my cheek, before I hear his voice.
“Mae hi’n brydferth.�
“What?� I ask. Nick turns when I do, just as confused. Arthur’s memories don’t recognize modern Welsh, and I only know a little. I do recognize the words for “she� and “beautiful� though.
Or maybe Nick isn’t just as confused as me, because a slow, laughing smile spreads across his face, like he understands Sel’s game already. He leans a hip against the wall to watch me beside his Kingsmage, eyes teasing. “Ydi, mae hi. Yn dragwyddol.�
Maybe that last word was “forever.�
“Beautiful forever�? No, “always�? I flush, then pout.
“Because of Arthur, I’m only fluent in Old Welsh, not modern. You know this isn’t fair.�
“We know,â€� they respond together, and laugh.”
― Tracy Deonn, Bloodmarked

“Sel looks between us both. “I cannot believe I am stuck with you two.â€�
The tension lifts, and I smile. “You are, you know. Stuck with us.�
Nick makes a sound of disagreement. “Nah. I think you’re stuck with us, Bree.”
― Tracy Deonn, Bloodmarked

“You excel at so very many things, punishing yourself is a great example.”
― Tracy Deonn, Bloodmarked

“For a moment, the three of us stare at one another in wordless comprehension. I look between the two of them—a fallen angel and a king, the dark and the light, and feel a deep, churning thrill at what I’ve done. What we’ve done. This is how it will be now. Oaths between us. Bound to each other. Forever.”
― Tracy Deonn, Legendborn

“Lancelot grasps my face in both palms and holds it tight. “Come back, Bree. Come back to us.â€�
My root has left me. The only thing of my own here, the only thing that kept me safe in this hellscape. “No…� I shake my head.
“Please.â€� Merlin’s voice is nearly unrecognizable. “Come back to us.”
― Tracy Deonn, Bloodmarked

“We had faith,â€� he says quietly. “That you’d know how to get us all out safely.â€�
“And if I didn’t?�
We look at each other for a long moment, then to Sel, and back to each other. When he finally speaks, Nick’s voice is warm enough to wrap the three of us together, a bond of its own. “Then the world would be broken in more ways than one.”
― Tracy Deonn, Bloodmarked

“The two meet eyes over me. Something about that shared glance, the worry there, the careâ€� makes the dream feel too good to leave. Makes me want to stay there between them, even if it’s all a lie in the end.”
― Tracy Deonn, Bloodmarked

“No!â€� Lancelot’s helmet is gone now. I can see the scruff on his chin now, the dark blond hair matted in sweat against his forehead. “I can’t lose you; I won’t lose herâ€�.â€�
“You’ll lose us both if you don’t let me try,â€� Merlin says.”
― Tracy Deonn, Bloodmarked

“Dwi yn,â€� he murmurs, then translates. “I do trust you.â€�
It gives me the push to answer Sel for myself, because he is many things, but he is also my friend. And right now, in this world that is just for us, our own sort of protective dome in time, away from danger, he needs to hear it from both of us. “I do, too.�
Their heads turn to me. Nick’s gaze goes soft and fond. Sel flushes, but doesn’t say a word.
And that’s okay”
― Tracy Deonn, Bloodmarked

“Come back, Bree. Come back to us.”
― Tracy Deonn, Bloodmarked

“No other Merlin can protect you like I can, because no other Merlin feels about you the way I do. I want you to be happy. Not because of a spell, but because so very many things would break and go dark if you weren’t in the world. Myself included.”
― Tracy Deonn

“Nick steps toward me; so does Sel. To catch me, I think, before I fall.
Now that it’s over, maybe I’ll let them.”
― Tracy Deonn, Legendborn

“It’s hard to be mad, watching the rare humor shared between them. When was the last time I saw them joke with each other? When was the last time their smiles echoed each other’s? Something unclenches in my heart to witness it: the familiarity of long cohabitation, the bonds forged outside of Oaths and despite of them, the wavelength of understanding tuned to the frequency of Sel and Nick.”
― Tracy Deonn, Bloodmarked