Quotes from Jacqueline Carey

I took a slice of melon and perched on the edge of a couch, watching them both, patently uncomfortable with the undefined nature of my role here.

mothers have wept less, bidding farewell to their children. At least, mine certainly did.

Orgoglio, desiderio, compassione, intelligenza, belligeranza, fecondità, lealtà... e colpa. Ma al di sopra di tutto c'è l'amore. E se desideriamo essere più che umani, è quella la stella che dobbiamo seguire. Non possiamo fare altro che tentare. È sufficiente.

Glielo spiegai; non a parole, ma nel linguaggio della carne, di labbra, lingua e mani, del respiro accelerato e del pulsare del sangue nelle vene, nell'umore salato del desiderio. È la stessa domanda che poniamo alla nostra esistenza, e anche la risposta è sempre la stessa. Il mistero non è nella domanda e neppure nella risposta, ma nel continuare a domandarsi e a rispondersi, perché la fine è generata dall'inizio.

My thanks, Master." He waved his hand. "It is what I do. If you wish to thank me, do a kindness for someone in need.

Okay, so I wasn't entirely sure what it was or what I'd do about it if she did, but it felt good to say it.

The fact that he might have other things to do with his time than spend it shepherding his master's head-strong, thousand-ducat-a-night anguisette through one of the most unsavory quarters of the City never crossed my mind.

Never before had I used my service to escape any woes that troubled me, but I did that day.

Poets in their chambers began to scribble notes.

Salvezza. Già, ma cosa significa? A quel tempo pensavo di saperlo, pensavo di averne bisogno, e che gli yeshuiti la offrissero. E che il solo prezzo da pagare fosse avere fede.» «Ma non l'hai accettato.» Joscelin scosse il capo. «No. Alla resa dei conti il prezzo era troppo alto. Non volevo lasciare l'amore sull'altare della fede. Ho imparato ad avere fede nell'amore.»

the gods answer our prayers sideways at best.

I settled back to sit on my heels, liking the mild discomfort of the hard marble. It had been a long time since I had been able to make obeisance to anyone with unadulterated pleasure; I led a strange life...

So you were good enough for the Cullach Gorrym, good enough to marry Dorelei mab Breidaia, good enough to beget Alba a successor, but not good enough for the Queen's daughter?" Urist's lips curled with scorn. The tip of his knife flicked upward. "Well, that's what I think of that, lad." The red yarn parted and fell.

The edge between love and hate is honed finer than the keenest fletchett. She told me something like that, once, but I dared not think on such things, with her name so close to my tongue. She told me too that it was not my acquiescence that interested her, but my rebellion. That was the thing that set her apart from the others, who failed to see where it lay. That was the thing that terrified me. -Chapter 67

Gli eroi mi davano la nausea. Una volta, avevo voluto essere uno di loro. Avevo covato sogni gloriosi di diventare un eroe dello stesso stampo di cui credevo Joscelin fosse fatto. Avevo perso quelle illusioni molto tempo fa, ma non avevo capito fino ad ora che eroismo significa vivere nel terrore di non essere in grado di proteggere coloro che ami.

couples. Their duties done, they had eyes only for each other, locking glances and smiling deeply; two realms, two rulers, united in love and a shared dream. It

suspended between the carefree child of the Sanctuary I had once been and the confident adult I wished to become.

Islands have their own rules, especially if they're blood-soaked.

That same feather of foreboding brushed along my spine, making me shiver.

I was not surprised. I wanted to be, but I wasn't.

There are those who are awkward in the face of sorrow, fearing to say the wrong thing; to them, I say, there is no wrong in comfort, ever. A kind word, a consoling arm … these things are ever welcome.

You should embrace your freedom, my lady. Lay down your long burden. You belong to the world of the living. Return to it.

There is something innately pitiful about a man in vambraces spewing up his breakfast.

I turned in his arms, and whispered, "Joscelin Verreuil, I would die without you." "Probably." He smiled again. "Of melodrama, if naught else.