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“Why won’t you leave me alone?â€� I whispered one night as he hovered behind me while I tried to work at my desk.

Long minutes passed. I didn’t think he would answer. I even had time to hope he might have gone, until I felt his hand on my shoulder.

“Then I’d be alone, too," he said, and he stayed the whole night through, till the lamps burned down to nothing.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I have loved you all my life, Mal,â€� I whispered through my tears. “There is no end to our story.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Mal snickered.
"What's so funny?"
"I just pictured the Darkling being cornered by a sweaty duchess trying to have her way with him.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“When people say impossible, they usually mean improbable.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I've seen what you truly are," said the Darkling, "and I've never turned away. I never will. Can he say the same?”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Watch yourself, Nikolai,â€� Mal said softly. “Princes bleed just like other men.â€�
Nikolai plucked an invisible piece of dust from his sleeve. “Yes,â€� he said. “They just do it in better clothes.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Oh, and the easiest way to make someone furious is to tell her to calm down.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“He tapped the sun over his heart. "I came here for you. You're my flag. You're my nation.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“And there’s no way I’m leaving you alone with Prince Perfect.â€�
“So you don’t trust me to resist his charms?�
“I don’t even trust myself. I’ve never seen anyone work a crowd the way he does. I’m pretty sure the rocks and trees are getting ready to swear fealty to him.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“You’re mad,â€� I said. “You know what he can do. No prize is worth that.â€�
Sturmhond grinned. “That remains to be seen.�
“The Darkling will hunt you for the rest of your days.�
“Then you and I will have something in common, won’t we? Besides, I like to have powerful enemies. Makes me feel important.�
Mal crossed his arms and considered the privateer. “I can’t decide if you’re crazy or stupid.�
“I have so many good qualities,â€� Sturmhond said. “It can be hard to choose.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“You know the problem with heroes and saints, Nikolai?â€� I asked as I closed the book’s cover and headed for the door. “They always end up dead.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Of course not," said Sturmhond. "Anything worth doing always starts as a bad idea.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Sturmhond had a way of talking that made me want to shoot someone. Preferably him.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I took a breath. “Your highness—â€�
“Nikolai,â€� he corrected. “But I’ve also been known to answer to ‘sweetheartâ€� or ‘handsome.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Do you answer a question directly?"
"Hard to say. Ah, there, I've done it again”
― leigh bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Promise not to kick me again, and I'll promise not to kiss you again," he said.
"I only kicked you because you kissed me!”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“You heard Prince Perfect," Mal said, and joined us at the table. Nikolai grinned. "I've had a lot of nicknames, but that one is easily the most accurate.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Can we get to the cuddling later? I want us ashore before dawn."
Mal sighed. "Eventually, I'm going to punch him."
"I will support you in that endeavor.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“They do love their pretty colors," grumbled Tolya. "Don't give me any ideas," I whispered. "Maybe I'll decide my personal guard should wear bright yellow pantaloons." For the first time, I saw an expression very much like fear cross his face.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“You must marry ugly man," I said. "Very fet." I held my arms out in front of me, indicating a giant belly. "He weeel make you heppy." I heard Mal snort beneath his mask.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Don’t worry, tracker. You’ll know when our deal is up...I’ll be certain you hear it when I make her scream.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“The ox feels the yoke, but does the bird feel the weight of its wings?”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I'm perfectly capable of being stupid on my own.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?"
"I think you do that enough for the both of us.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I got used to seeing him waiting for me at the end of corridors, or sitting at the edge of my bed when I fell asleep at night. When he didn’t appear, I sometimes found myself looking for him or wondering why he hadn’t come, and that frightened me most of all.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“So you told him I had a goiter?" I whispered incredulously.
"I had to say something. And it makes you quite a tragic figure. Pretty girl, giant growth, you know."
I punched him hard in the arm.
"Ow! Hey, in some countries, goiters are considered very fashionable."
"Do they like eunuchs, too? Because I can arrange that."
"So bloodthirsty!"
"My goiter makes me cranky.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“You sound just like the Darkling."
"If you ever have trouble telling us apart, look for the person who isn't torturing you or trying to kill Mal. That will be me.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“We are alike,â€� he said, “as no one else is, as no one else will ever be.â€�

The truth of it rang through me. Like calls to like.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“So what did Jes say?' I asked again, when my brain felt a bit less scrambled.
'He said I should take good care of you.'
'That's all?'
Mal cleared his throat. 'And . . . he said he would pray to the God of Work to heal your affliction.'
'My what?'
'I many have told him that you have a goiter.'
I stumbled. 'I beg your pardon?'
'Well, I had to explain why you were always clinging to that scarf.'
I dropped my hand. I'd been doing it again without even realizing.
'So you told him I had a goiter?' I whispered incredulously.
'I had to say something. And it makes you quite a tragic figure. Pretty girl, giant growth, you know.'
I punched him hard in the arm.
'Ow! Hey, in some countries, goiters are considered very fashionable.'
'Do they like eunuchs, too? Because I can arrange that.'
'So bloodthirsty!'
'My goiter makes me cranky.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“That's a good fellow,' Sturmhond said to Ivan. 'Now, I'll take the prisoner back to her quarters, and you can run off and do . . . whatever it is you do when everyone else is working.'
Ivan scowled. 'I don't think�'
'Clearly. Why start now?”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“We're giving them hope. That's better than nothing.'

'Spoken like a man who's never had nothing,' I said, and wheeled my horse away.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I peered up at him. He was leaning against the table, arms crossed, the ghost of a smile playing over his lips.
'Mal, I put a hole in the ceiling.'
'A very dramatic hole.'
I let out a huff somewhere between a laugh and a sob. 'What are we going to do when it rains?'
'What we always do,' he said. 'Keep dry.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Try not to let the excitement overwhelm you, but I have more good news.'
I groaned. I knew that tone of voice. 'Don't say it.'
'Vasily is back from Caryeva.'
'You could do the kind thing and drown me now.'
'And suffer alone? I think not.'
'Maybe for your birthday you can ask that he be fitted with a royal muzzle,' I suggested.
'But then we'd miss all his exciting stories about the summer auctions. You're fascinated by the breeding superiority of the Ravkan racehorse, right?'
I let out a whimper.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“The boy held her tighter, murmured soft words to lull her to sleep.
"It's only a nightmare," he whispered. "The dreams will stop."
He didn't understand. The dreams were the only place it was safe to use her power now, and she longed for them.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I like to have powerful enemies. Makes me feel important.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Don't feel too bad, tracker," said the Darkling. "All men can be made fools.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Like calls to like. I'd sense it when the Hummingbird entered the Unsea, but I'd been too afraid to embrace it. This time, I didn't fight. I let go of my fear, my guilt, my shame. There was darkness inside me. He had put it there, and I would no longer deny it. The volcra, the nichevo'ya, they were my monsters, all of them. And he was my monster too.

"My power is yours", I repeated. His arms tightened around me. "And yours is mine," I whispered against his lips.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I may not have been completely honest about that."
"You? Less than truthful? I'm shocked, Nikolai. Shocked and horrified.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“My mother was an oyster,â€� he said with a wink. “And I’m the pearl.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“You two have a bad habit of acting like fools and calling it heroic.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“If it works, it will be plenty dramatic. And I suppose that if it doesn't work, it will be even more dramatic, what with the blast."
"David, I think you just made a joke."
He frowned, utterly perplexed. "Did I?”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I stood there, staring at the closed doors. I reached out and touched the bone handle.
You can fix this, I told myself. You can make this right. But I just stood there, frozen, Mal's words ringing in my ears. I bit down hard on my lip to silence the sob that shook my chest. That's good, I thought as the tears spilled over. That way the servants won't hear. An ache had started between my ribs, a hard, bright shard of pain that lodged beneath my sternum, pressing tight against my heart.
I didn't hear the Darkling move; I only knew when he was beside me. His long fingers brushed the hair back from my neck and rested on the collar. When he kissed my cheek, his lips were cold.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I'll get them out and come back. I promise."
"On your word as a cutthroat and a pirate?"
He touched my cheek once, briefly. "Privateer."
Another explosion rocked the grounds.
"Let's go!" shouted Mal.
As we sprinted into the tunnel, I glanced back and saw Nikolai silhouetted against the purple twilight. I wondered if I'd ever see him again.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Keep your elbows in!" Sturmhond berated Mal. "Stop flapping them like some kind of chicken."
Mal let out a disturbingly convincing cluck.
Tamar raised a brow. "Your friend seems to be enjoying himself."
I shrugged. "Mal's always been like that. You could drop him in a camp full of Fjerdan assassins, and he'd come out carried on their shoulders. He just blooms wherever he's planted."
"And you?"
"I'm more of a weed," I said drily.
Tamar grinned. In combat, she was cold and silent fire, but when she wasn't fighting, her smiles came easily. "I like weeds," said said, pushing herself off from the railing and gathering her scattered lengths of rope. "They're survivors."
I caught myself returning her smile and quickly went back to working on the knot that I was trying to tie. The problem was that I liked being aboard Sturmhond's ship. I liked Tolya and Tamar and the rest of the crew. I like sitting at meals with them, and the sound of Privyet's lilting tenor. I liked the afternoon when we took target practice, lining up empty wine bottles to shoot off the fantail and making harmless wagers.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“No, Tolya, your gifts lie elewhere," Sturmhond said soothingly. "Mostly in the celebrated fields of killing and maiming.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Again, the Darkling shook his head. “You two make it so easy. I prick him, you bleed.â€�
“And you can’t begin to understand that, can you?�
He reached out and tapped Morozova’s collar, letting his fingers graze the skin of my throat. Even that faint touch opened the connection between us, and a rush of power vibrated through me like a bell being struck.
“I understand enough,â€� he said softly.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Tell me, priest,' I ordered, 'or I'll cut you open right here, and your followers can try to pray you back together.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I want to kiss you,â€� Nikolai said. “But I won’t. Not until you’re thinking of me instead of trying to forget him.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“I thought you wanted to go."
"I wanted you to ask me to stay.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Weakness is a guise. Wear it when they need to know you're human, but never when you feel it.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm