Quotes from Mary E. Pearson

A war raged inside her, one she held back, biting it off like a poisonous snake with disturbing self-control.

Yes, I could turn away and ignore everything in my heart. Leave it to someone else! Maybe hundreds have! But maybe I choose to step forward, instead of stepping back.

Who will write our story Jase? We will Kazi. You and I will write our own story. And side by side, every day, that is what we do.

Captain Azia," he said, introducing himself. "The entire Dalbreck army has been searching for you…" Something about his expression was all wrong. And then falling down on one knee, he added, "Your Majesty.

Taking a life, even a guilty one, should never be easy. If it were, we'd be little more than animals.

The room closed in, dark and black and far from everything I had ever known. I felt like a child again, wishing I could curl into my mother's arms on a stormy night and she could whisper away my fears. The wind punched and thrashed against the shutters, unforgiving, and 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.

He fell back against the door, his eyes closed, and he slid to the floor, still sitting upright. All I had to do was open the door and he'd tumble out backward, but with my luck, he'd break his neck going down the steps, and I'd be left with Malich to deal with. I

Convince him. I relaxed against his touch and didn't turn away when his mouth met mine.

The truth circled and gathered her into its arms.

I see Jenna, smiling, chattering. And failing. When you are perfect, is there anywhere else to go?

But last night—I swallowed, remembering how they looked together when I went to check on Lia during the night. I had seen his hand resting on her bed and her hand curled over his. Both of them were asleep, peaceful. I backed out of the room quietly so they wouldn't see me. Maybe that was what had given me the courage to tell her the truth.

We stood and watched as the clan ran ahead of us into the valley that would become our home. Jafir pressed his hand to the small mound growing in my belly and smiled. Our hope. "We have been blessed by the gods," he said. "The cruelties of the world are behind us now. Our child will never know them." I

I wondered at the way we all change, all the outside forces that press and mold and push us into people and things we hadn't planned to be. Maybe it happened so gradually that by the time we noticed, it was too late to be anything else.

It's just supposed to come, isn't it?" "Did your reading just come to you? Or did you have to devote effort to it? The seed of the gift may come, but a seedling that isn't nourished dies quickly.

Then we come from opposite but similar worlds, don't we?

Just so we know we have the story straight you too are posing as husband and wife? No, we're not posing.

Eyes don't breath. I know that much. But her eyes look breathless

What's your name?" I asked as he mounted his horse. "You are nothing!" he answered, as if he'd heard a different question from my lips. He settled into his saddle, then reluctantly looked my way again. "Jafir de Aldrid," he answered. "And I am --" "I know who you are. "You're Morrighan." He galloped off. It was another four years before I saw him again, and the whole of that time, I wondered how he knew my name.

I am choosing my own destiny now - not a book, nor a man or a kingdom.

The immensity of the death was numbing. But I knew at some point tears would come again. The pain would take hold of me unexpectedly and throw me to my knees. There were no rules to grief, but there were rules to life, and in those first few days, the requirements of the living demanded I keep going. - The Beauty of Darkness

I looked at her, unsure how to answer. Even after everything Mikael had done, every day I had to let go again. He was a habit in my thoughts, not any more welcome than a rash, but I'd find myself thinking of him before I even realized what I was doing. Banishing him from my thoughts was like learning to breathe in a new way. It was a conscious effort.

Killing in the name of war was one thing. Killing one's own kin was quite another.

Safe travels, my friend," Rafe said, smiling as he gently nudged the boy's shoulder. That was all it took. The boy lost his hold and fell like a rock into the mud. This time the spray flew higher, spattering Rafe's chest. He rubbed the drops of mud in with his sweat and grinned. The crowd went wild, and a few girls standing near me whispered among themselves. I thought it was time for him to put his shirt back on.

Ethan knows more about himself than he ever wanted to know, and I know less than I should.