Lila Bard Quotes

I apologize for anything I might have done. I was not myself.” “I apologize for shooting you in the leg.” said Lila. “I was myself entirely.

Lila Bard knew in her bones that she was meant to be a pirate.

Lila Bard lived by a simple rule: if a thing was worth having, it was worth taking.

Looking for trouble, he'd say. You're gonna look til you find it. Trouble is the looker, she'd answer. It keeps looking till it finds you. Might as well find it first. Why do you want to die? I don't, she'd say. I just want to live.

Don't get yourself killed." "I'll do my best," said Kell, and then he was going. "And come back," added Rhy. Kell paused. "Don't worry," he said. "I will. Once I've seen it." "Seen what?" asked Rhy. Kell smiled. "Everything.

And then the door burst open, and Lila Bard stormed in (...) and Rhy watched his brother move toward her as naturally as if the world had simply tipped. For Kell, apparently, it had.

Delilah Bard,” she said. “We’ve met before. And you looked worse.” Rhy laughed silently. “I apologize for anything I might have done. I was not myself.” “I apologize for shooting you in the leg,” said Lila. “I was myself entirely.” Rhy broke into his perfect smile. “I like this one,” he said to Kell. “Can I borrow her?” “You can try,” said Lila, raising a brow. “But you’ll be a prince without his fingers.

Walking away had been easy. Not looking back was harder.

Are you as famous in your world as Kell is here?” Lila thought of the wanted posters lining her London. “Not for the same reasons.

We can't all turn blood and whispers into weapons.

What are you?” she asked. “A monster,” said Kell hoarsely. “You’d better let me go.” The girl gave a small, mocking laugh. “Monsters don’t faint in the presence of ladies.” “Ladies don’t dress like men and pick pockets,” retorted Kell. Her smile only sharpened. “What are you really?” “Tied to your bed,” said Kell matter-of-factly.” “And?” His brow furrowed. “And in trouble.

Lila Bard knew in her bones that she was meant to be a pirate. All she needed was a working ship.

Mysteries are always more exciting than truths

Delilah Bard never read many books. The few she did had pirates and thieves, and always ended with freedom and the promise of more stories. Characters sailed away. They lived on. Lila always imagined people that way, a series of intersections and adventures. It was easy when you moved through life--through worlds--the way she did. Easy when you didn't care, when people came onto the page and walked away again, back to their own stories, and you could imagine whatever you wanted for them, if you cared enough to write it in your head.

She used to think that if she stole enough, the want would fade, the hunger would go away, but maybe it wasn’t that simple. Maybe it wasn’t a matter of what she didn’t have, of what she wasn’t, but what she was.

Delilah Bard—always a thief, recently a magician, and one day, hopefully, a pirate—was running as fast as she could.

Names are important,” she said, twirling the cord. “Mine is Ojka, and I have orders to keep you out.” Beyond the doors, Kell let out a scream of frustration, a sob of pain. “My name is Lila Bard,” she answered, drawing her favorite knife, “and I don’t give a damn.

We're all here for a reason, Bard. Some reasons are just bigger than others. So I guess I'm not scared of who you are, or even what you are. I'm scared of why you are.

There are many shadows in the night.

Lila. A soft name but she used it like a knife, slashing out the first syllable, the second barely a whisper of metal through air.

Kell looked down at Delilah Bard, a cutthroat and a thief, a valiant partner and a strange, terrifying girl. He would see her again. He knew he would. Magic bent the world. Pulled it into shape. There were fixed points. Most of the time those points were places. But sometimes, rarely, they were people. For someone who never stood still, Lila still felt like a pin in Kell’s world. One he was sure to snag on.

It´s a race, then. May the best Antari win.

She was determined to master it, not just because fire was useful or dangerous, but because it was warm, and no matter what happened, Lila Bard never wanted to be cold again.

Lila Bard might have been a thief but she wasn’t a beggar.

Are you ready ?" she asked, spinning the chamber. Kell gazed through the gate at the waiting castle. "No." At that, she offered him the sharpest edge of a grin. "Good," she said. "The ones who think they're ready always end up dead.

Go on," Kell told him without taking his eyes from Lila. " Get some rest." Hastra shifted. "I can't, sir," he said. "I'm to escort Miss Bard--" "I'll take that charge," cut in Kell. Hastra bit his lip and retreated several steps. Lila let her forehead come to rest against his, her face so close the features blurred. And yet, that fractured eye shone with frightening clarity. "You never told me," he whispered. "You never noticed," she answered. And then, "Alucard did." The blow landed, and Kell started to pull away when Lila's eyelids fluttered and she swayed dangerously. He braced her. "Come on," he said gently. "I have a room upstairs. Why don't we--" A sleepy flicker of amusement. "Trying to get me into bed?" Kell mustered a smile. "It's only fair. I've spent enough time in yours." "If I remember correctly," she said, her voice dreamy with fatigue, "you were on top of the bed the entire time." "And tied to it," observed Kell. Her words were soft at the edges. "Those were the days..." she said, right before she fell forward. It happened so fast Kell could do nothing but throw his arms around her. "Lila?" he asked, first gently, and then more urgently. "Lila?" She murmured against his front, something about sharp knives and soft corners, but didn't rouse, and Kell shot a glance at Hastra, who was still standing there, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "What have you done?" demanded Kell. "It was just a tonic, sir," he fumbled, "something for sleep." "You drugged her?" "It was Tieren's order," said Hastra, chastised. "He said she was mad and stubborn and no use to us dead." Hastra lowered his voice when he said this, mimicking Tieren's tone with startling accuracy. "And what do you plan to do when she wakes back up?" Hastra shrank back. "Apologize?" Kell made an exasperated sound as Lila nuzzled-- actually nuzzled-- his shoulder. "I suggest," he snapped at the young man, "you think of something better. Like an escape route." Hastra paled, and Kell swept Lila up into his arms, amazed at her lightness... Kell swept through the halls until he reached his room and lowered Lila onto the couch. Hastra handed him a blanket. "Shouldn't you take off her knives?" "There's not enough tonic in the world to risk it," said Kell.

Lila was nineteen. Nineteen, and every one of the years felt carved into her.

I know it’s mad, but for a second I thought it was …” “Saints, you’re seeing her in everyone and everything now, Kell? There’s a word for that.” “Hallucination?” “Infatuation.” Kell snorted. “I’m not infatuated,” he said. “I just …” He just wanted to see her. “Our paths crossed one time. Months ago. It happens.” “Oh yes, your relationship with Miss Bard is positively ordinary.” “Be quiet.” “Crossing worlds, killing royals, saving cities. The marks of every good courtship.” “We weren’t courting,” snapped Kell. “In case you forgot, she left.

Because it wasn't enough to be happy, not for Lila. She wanted more. Wanted an adventure . . . Maybe it wasn't a matter of what she didn't have, of what she wasn't, but what she was.

One adventure at a time

I know where you sleep, Bard." She smirked. "Then you know I sleep with knives.

Lila shrugged. "Everyone's immortal until they're not." Alucard shook his head. "What a delightfully morbid outlook, Bard.

So will you. Don’t pretend you won’t.” Silence settled over them. “You’re right,” said Kell at last, and to Holland’s surprise—though it shouldn’t have surprised him anymore—Lila Bard cracked a smile. It was hard and humorless.

Lila had an idea. It was a very stupid idea. But a stupid idea was better than no idea, at least in theory. So she dragged the words into shape and delivered them with her sharpest smile. “Nas,” she said, slowly. “An to eran gast.” No. I am your best thief. She held the captain’s gaze when she said it, her chin high and proud. The others grumbled and growled, but to her they didn’t matter, didn’t exist. The world narrowed to Lila and the captain of the ship. His smile was almost imperceptible. The barest quirk of his lips.

Their bodies crashed together, the last of the distance disappearing as hips met hips and ribs met ribs and hands searched for skin. Her body sang like a tuning fork against his, like finding like.

You do me too much honor,” she said, smile widening. “And if you were coming to see about that debt,” she went on, eyes bright, “you should know that it has recently been paid.” Kell’s chest tightened. “What? When?” “Indeed,” continued Calla. “Only a few minutes ago.” Kell didn’t even say good-bye. He lunged out of the tent and into the churning market, scanning the currents of people streaming past.

He almost smiled. A ghost. A trick of the light. “So you couldn’t run away again before I said hello.” “Hello,” said Lila. “Hello,” said Kell. “Where have you been?” Lila smirked. “Why, did you miss me?” Kell opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again before finally managing to answer, “Yes.” The word was low, and the sincerity caught her off guard. A blow beneath her ribs. “What,” she fumbled, “the life of a royal no longer to your tastes?” But the truth was, she’d missed him, too. Missed his stubbornness and his moods and his constant frown. Missed his eyes, one crisp blue, the other glossy black. “You look …” he started, then trailed off. “Ridiculous?” “Incredible.

She used to hate people like him, people who gave up something good, shucked warm meals and solid roofs as if they didn’t matter. But then Barron died and Lila realized that in a way she’d done the same thing. Run away from what could have been a good life. Or at least a happy one. Because it wasn’t enough to be happy, not for Lila. She wanted more. Wanted an adventure. She used to think that if she stole enough, the want would fade, the hunger would go away, but maybe it wasn’t that simple. Maybe it wasn’t a matter of what she didn’t have, of what she wasn’t, but what she was. Maybe she wasn’t the kind of person who stole to stay alive. Maybe she just did it for the thrill. And that scared her, because it meant she didn’t need to do it, couldn’t justify it, could have stayed at the Stone’s Throw, could have saved Barron’s life.... It was a slippery slope, that kind of thinking, one that ended in a cliff, so Lila backed away.