Maven Red Queen Quotes

We've searched our database for all the quotes and captions related to Maven Red Queen. Here they are! All 100 of them:

Mare?" "Are you afraid, Maven?" "I am. I'm afraid of failing. I'm afraid of letting this opportunity pass us by. And I'm afraid of what happens if nothing in this world ever changes. That scares me more than dying.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Don’t lie to a liar, and Maven is the grandest liar of all.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
Fire and lightning raised Maven up, and fire and lightning will bring him down.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
Not all crowns are worn where people can see.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
Cal is built from his father’s dreams, and Maven from his mother’s nightmares.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen #4))
I thought I knew what heartbreak was. I thought that was what Maven did to me. When he stood and left me kneeling. When he told me everything I ever thought him to be was a lie. But then, I believed I loved him. I know now, I didn't know what love was. Or what even the echo of heartbreak felt like. To stand in front of a person who is your whole world and be told you are not enough. You are not the choice. You are a shadow to the person who is your sun.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
Our paths may be horrible, but they're the paths we made for ourselves.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
And his eyes are worst of all. Her eyes, Elara's eyes. Once I thought them cold, made of living ice. Now I know better. The hottest fires burn blue, and his eyes are no exception.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
Maven lies as easily as he breathes, and his mother holds his leash but not his heart.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
I love your brother, Maven. You were right. You are only a shadow, and who looks at shadows when they have flame? Who would ever choose a monster over a god?
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
I could set this world on fire and call it rain"- Maven
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen/Glass Sword (Red Queen, #1-2))
I can't let the mistakes I've made bury me.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
You could have been my red queen.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
And somehow everyone calls me a monster.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
I am well accustomed to darkness by now. What's a few more miles? Nothing at all. I've always felt darkness all over me, stubborn as a stain. It follows wherever I go.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
Maven Calore is not his own self. He told me as much. He is a construct, a creation of his mother's additions and subtractions. A mechanical, a machine, soulless and lost. What a horror, to know that someone like this holds our fates in the palm of his quivering hand.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
Those who know what it's like in the dark will do anything to stay in the light
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
I am the king and you could've been my Red Queen. Now you are nothing.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
In the palace, during my imprisonment, I learned that Maven had been made by his mother, formed into the monster he became. There is nothing on earth that can change him or what she did. But Cal was made too. All of us were made by someone else, and all of us have some thread of steel that nothing and no one can cut.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
I ache for my ability the way I ache for Mare, for Thomas, for who I was supposed to be.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
Maven stares after his fleeing brother. “He does not like to lose. And”—he lowers his voice, now so close to me I can see the tiny flecks of silver in his eyes—“neither do I. I won’t lose you, Mare. I won’t.” "You'll never lose me.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
I have no illusions where Maven is concerned. I know his twisted heart, and that it feels something for me. Something he wants to get rid of, but can never part with.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
I’m not leaving this place unless I leave behind his corpse—or mine.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
You better hide that heart of yours. It won't lead you anywhere you want to go.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Yesterday he was a prince; today he is king. I thought he was my friend, my bethrothed, but now I know better.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
I was never yours, and you were never mine, Maven. And not because of him, either. I thought you were perfect, I thought you were strong and brave and good. I thought you were better than him." Better than Cal. Those are words Maven thought no one would ever say. He flinches, and for a second, I can see the boy I used to know. A boy that doesn't exist anymore.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
The hottest fires burn blue, and his eyes are no exception
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
Cal and Maven are deadly creatures, soldiers. But their battle isn't just on the lines. It's here, in a palace, on the broadcasts, in the heart of every person they rule. They will rule, not just by right of a crown, but by might. Strength and power. It's all the Silvers respect, and it's all it takes to keep the rest of us slaves.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
I still had sting my eyes, prickling at Maven’s memory. It’s hard to forget him as he was. No. As he pretended to be. The kind, forgotten boy. The shadow of the flame.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
Cal stares at the floor, silent for a long, stoic moment. "I never thought Maven would do that to her," he mutters finally. "She probably didn't either." Then you're both stupid, my brain screams. How many times doe one wicked boy have to betray you people before you learn?
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
Anyone can betray anyone!
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
She wasn’t enough for me either. Enough to make me change, to pull me back from what I’ve willingly become. I wonder if Thomas would have been enough.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
Cal's touch has not erased Maven's. My memories are still there, still just as painful as they were yesterday. And as much as I try, I have not forgotten the canyon that will always stretch between us. No kind of love can erase his faults, just like none can erase mine.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
Come forward, Mare." That is Maven's voice. Not Maven, but Maven. The boy I thought I knew. Gentle, tender. He keeps that voice stored away, ready to be used against me like a sword. It strikes me to my core, as he knows it will. In spite of myself, I feel the familiar longing for a boy who does not exist.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
Maven is dead.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
Now I am king and you could have been my Red Queen. Now, you are nothing.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
I live in a shrinking world where the only thing I can trust is Maven's obsession. Like the manacles, it is a shield and a slow, smothering death.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
It sets something off in Maven. He jumps out of reach, keeping his distance from all of us. The twitching returns in force, but his eyes blaze, all fire. No fear. "You think I can't lie through pain," he snarls, his voice thundering through the room. "You think I haven't done it a thousand times?" ... For a brief, empty moment I see nothing but darkness, and I try not to think of Maven. His words. What his life was and continues to be.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
I can't help but remember that my lips, now smiling for Maven, were kissing his brother last night.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
He must be blessed, by someone or something. My only consolation is knowing I'm right about him, and always will be.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
Maven is a talented liar, and I don't trust a single word he speaks. Even if he was telling the truth. Even if he is a product of his mother's meddling, a thorned flower forced to grow a certain way. That doesn't change things. I can't forget everything he's done to me and so many others. When I first met him, I was seduced by his pain. He was the boy in shadow, a forgotten son. I saw myself in him. Second always to Gisa, the bright star in my parents' world. I know now that was by design. He caught me back then, ensnaring me in a prince's trap. Now I'm in a king's cage. But so is he. My chains are Silent Stone. His is the crown.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
For all his clever ideas, Maven has nothing to say to this. He just stares, his breath coming in tiny, scared puffs. I know the look on his face; I wear it every time I’m forced to say good-bye to someone. “It’s too bad we didn’t stay longer,” I murmur, looking out at the river. “I would have liked to die close to home.” Another breeze sends a curtain of my hair across my face but Maven brushes it away and pulls me close with startling ferocity. Oh. His kiss is not at all like his brother’s. Maven is more desperate, surprising himself as much as me. He knows I’m sinking fast, a stone dropping through the river. And he wants to drown with me. “I will fix this,” he murmurs against my lips. I have never seen his eyes so bright and sharp. “I won’t let them hurt you. You have my word.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
You want to thank me, Barrow?" she mutters, kicking away the last of my bindings. "Then keep your word. And let this fucking place burn.
Victoria Aveyard
My heart leaps in my chest when her feet slide. Moving sideways. Not closer, not farther. Now it's her turn to prowl. Even though she's only walking, it feels like a dance. I mirror her movements, stepping with her. She's more graceful than I am, a lithe thief born of many years and many twists of fate. ... The sparks reflect in her eyes. They shudder from brown to purple, giving her an unearthly look, like her gaze might run me through. Part of me wishes she would.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
I hope Maven will see what we are, what we can do, and know he cannot win. Even he is not a fool. Even he knows when he is beaten. At least, I hope he does. Because as far as I can tell, Maven has never been defeated. Not when it really counts. Cal won their father, his soldiers, but Maven won the crown. Maven won every battle that truly mattered. And given time... he would’ve won me too.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
I could set the world on fire and call it rain
Victoria Aveyard
Maven has miscalculated. He believes enough corpses will make me come back. But I will not.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
Wish him a happy birthday for me. And assure him it will be his last. But yours is coming, isn’t it? I don’t doubt we’ll spend it together. Until we meet again, Maven
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
But Maven shut me out of a place that was rightfully mine. He didn't know to look for Elane. My lovely, invisible shadow. Her reports came later, under the cover of the night. They were very thorough. I feel them still, whispered against my skin with only the moon to listen. Elane Haven is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in any capacity, but she looks best in moonlight
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
I know my brother. It comes down to it, to saving your life or saving his crown, we both know what he will choose.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Her grip is strong as she shakes my hand; for once someone isn’t afraid I’ll break like glass. “Every happiness to you, Lady Mareena. I can see this one suits you.” She jerks her head toward Maven. “Not like fancy Samos,” she adds in a playful whisper. “She’ll make a sad queen, and you a happy princess, mark my words.” “Marked,
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
I won’t let him hurt you again.” His breath makes me shiver. A strange sensation, when surrounded with such blazing warmth. “I believe you,” I tell him, lying. Because I am weak, I turn in his arms. Because I am weak, I press my lips to his, searching for something to make me stop running, to make me forget. We are both weak, it seems. As his hands run over my skin, I feel a different sort of pain. Worse than Maven’s machine, deeper than my nerves. It aches like a hollow, like an empty weight. I am a sword, born of lightning, of this fire — and of Maven’s. One already betrayed me, and the other might leave at any moment. But I do not fear a broken heart. I do not fear pain.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
I am the King and you could've been my Red Queen . Now you are nothing" Maven Calore
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
When tears spring to his eyes, I know the king's heart, no matter how small or cold, has been broken. He loves Maven, in his own way. But it's too late for that.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
E temos uma aliança – instável, forjada em sangue e traição. Estamos conectados, unidos contra Maven, contra todos que nos enaganaram, contra o mundo prestes a se despedaçar.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
But Maven isn't finished. He takes a step, not forward but to the side. In my direction. The full force of his gaze almost knocks me out of my seat. "And I want to die the way my mother did," he says plainly, as if asking for an extra blanket. Again I feel too stunned to think. All I can do is keep my jaw locked in place so my mouth won't gape open in shock. "Ripped apart by your fury," he pushes on, his eyes horrible, unforgettable, searing into me. The brand on my collarboen seems to burn. "And your hatred.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
He's hunting newbloods not to protect his throne but to hurt you. To find you. To make you come back to him." His fist clenches on his thigh. "Maven wants you more than anything else on this earth." Would that Maven were here now, so I could rip out his horrible, haunting eyes. "Well, he can't have me." I realize the consequences of this, and so does Cal. "Not even if it stops the killing? Not for the newbloods?" Tears bite my eyes. "I won't go back. For anyone." I expect his judgment, but instead he smiles and ducks his head. Ashamed of his own reaction, as I am of mine.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
Good-bye, Maven,' Cal says, his voice broken. He isn't really speaking to me. The farewell is for another boy, lost years ago, before he became what I am now. Cal lets go of him, the Maven I was. The Maven I still am, somewhere inside, unable or unwilling to step into the light. Despite all our difference between us, we have this in common. We use our pain to destroy. 'Good-bye Cal,' I say to no one. Weakness, my mother answers.
Victoria Aveyard (Broken Throne (Red Queen, #4.5))
In the palace, during my imprisonment, I learned that Maven had been made by his mother, formed into the monster he became. There is nothing on earth that can change him or what she did. But Cal was made too. All of us were made by someone else, and all of us have some thread of steel that nothing and no one can cut. I thought Cal was immune to the corruptive temptation of power. How wrong I was. He was born to be a king. It’s what he was made for. It’s what he was made to want.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
I can feel him slipping down not just the hall but a dark and twisted path. It makes me afraid for the boy who taught me how to dance
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
The only person Maven has to save me from is himself.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
I expect him to take my arm, to envelop me in his warmth, but there’s nothing but cold dripping off him. He’s afraid, I realize.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Look through people,” I tell her, my voice muffled by the helmet. “Smile without kindness. No small talk, no court talk. Act as if you have a million secrets, and you’re the only one important enough to know them all.” She nods, taking this all in stride. After all, Cal and I have both instructed her on how to pass as Maven. This is merely a reminder, a last glance at the book before the test. “I’m not a fool,” she replies coldly, and I almost punch her in the jaw. She is not Maven rings in my head, louder than a bell. “I think you’ve got it,” Kilorn says as he stands. He grabs my arm, pulling me slightly away. “Mare nearly killed you.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
Cal stares at the floor, silent for a long, stoic moment. "I never thought Maven would do that to her," he mutters finally. "She probably didn't either." Then you're both stupid, my brain screams. How many times does one wicked boy have to betray you people before you learn?” ― Victoria Aveyard, King's Cage
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
In the palace, during my imprisonment, I learned that Maven had been made by his mother, formed into the monster he became. There is nothing on earth that can change him or what she did. But Cal was made too. All of us were made by someone else, and all of us have some thread of steel that nothing and no one can cut. I thought Cal was immune to the corruptive temptation of power. How wrong I was. He was born to be a king. It's what he was made for. It's what he was made to want.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
The guard won't stop. And while they are certainly to blame, you are as well. There is blood on your hards, Prince. And Maven's. And mine.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Cal might be born to rule, but Maven was meant for it. And Maven is willing to change the world for us, for the Reds he was raised to spit on.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Your hands are no cleaner than mine, Maven.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Dimly, I hear Maven yelling somewhere, the prince charging in to save his princess. But I'm not a princess. I'm not the girl who gets saved.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
They built it so quickly. It's only been a few days since the Bowl of Bones," I murmur back. Anything louder than a whisper might shatter this fragile peace. Cal's hand stills, his palm flat against my bare skin. "Maven turned against you long before the Bowl of Bones." I know that now. I know it with every bleeding breath.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
My skin burs under Maven's gaze, with the memory of one stolen kiss. It was him who saved me from Evangeline. Cal who saved me from escaping and bringing more pain upon myself. Cal who saved me from conscription. I've been too busy trying to save others to notice how much Cal saves me. How much he loves me.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
We’ve taken everything from her, brother,” Maven murmurs, drawing close. “Surely we can give her this?” And then slowly, reluctantly, Cal nods and waves me into his room. Dizzy with excitement, I hurry inside, almost hopping from foot to foot. I’m going home. Maven lingers at the door, his smile fading a little when I leave his side. “You’re not coming.” It isn’t a question. He shakes his head. “You’ll have enough to worry about without me tagging along.” I don’t have to be a genius to see the truth in his words. But just because he isn’t coming doesn’t mean I will forget what he’s done for me already. Without thinking, I throw my arms around Maven. He doesn’t respond for a second, but slowly lets an arm drop around my shoulders. When I pull back, a silver blush paints his cheeks. I can feel my own blood run hot beneath my skin, pounding in my ears.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
I thought I knew what heartbreak was. I thought that was what Maven did to me. When he stood and left me kneeling. When he told me everything I ever thought him to be was a lie. But then, I believed I loved him. I know now, I didn’t know what love was. Or what even the echo of heartbreak felt like. To stand in front of a person who is your whole world and be told you are not enough. You are not the choice. You are a shadow to the person who is your sun.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
He caught me back then, ensnaring me in a prince’s trap. Now I’m in a king’s cage. But so is he. My chains are Silent Stone. His is the crown.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
El es fuerte, talentoso, capaz,… y yo soy su sombra. La sombra de la llama.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
But Maven is not Cal, no matter how much his father might want him to be. He isn't a soldier, he won't be a king, but he's braver. And he's willing to do what's right.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Cal betrayed me, and I betrayed him. And you betrayed us both, in a thousand different ways." The words are heavy as stone but right. So right. "I chose no one." For once, I feel like I control fire and Maven has been burned by it. He stumbles back from my cell, somehow defeated by the little girl without her lightning, the prisoner in chains, the human before god.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
I was four years old the first time I came here, and Maven was barely two. He hid behind his mother's skirts, afraid of the darkness and empty cells. I guess he's not afraid of the dark anymore.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
For some reason, I think of Jon. The seer who told my fate - to rise, and rise alone. I wonder if that fate has already changed, or if this is how I change it. "I won't be your ending, Maven. And you won't be mine." Lightning has no mercy- I said once. But lightning is only one part of me.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
Maven’s voice will always be louder than mine.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
I can set this world on a fire and still can call it a rain.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
I hate the waves. They offend me. -Maven Calore
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
His face turns to stone again, his eyes narrowed and icy, doing all they can to ignore what his heart wants to feel.
Victoria Aveyard (War Storm (Red Queen, #4))
I love your brother, Maven. You were right. You are only a shadow, and who looks at shadows when they have flames. Who would ever choose a monster over a god?
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
King Maven of House Calore meets my gaze the moment he knows I'm here....The instant hangs, suspended on a thread of time. A canyon of distractions yawns between us, filled with so much noise and graceful chaos, but the room might as well be empty.
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
Are you afraid, Maven?" My words are weak, a whisper. "I am." His eyes harden, shifting into blue steel. "I'm afraid of failing. I'm afraid of letting this opportunity pass us by. And I'm afraid of what happens if nothing in this world ever changes." He turns hot under my touch, driven by an inner resolve. "That scares me more than dying.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
My skin burns under Maven's gaze, with the memory of one stolen kiss. It was him who saved me from Evangeline. Cal who saved me from escaping and bringing more pain upon myself. Cal who saved me from conscription. I've been too busy trying to save others to notice how much Cal saves me. How much he loves me. Suddenly it's very hard to breathe. Maven shakes his head. "He will always choose you." Farley scoffs. "You want me to pin my entire operation, the entire revolution, on some teenaged love story? I can't believe this." Across the table, a strange look crosses Kilorn's face. When Farley turns to him, looking for some kind of support, she fines none. "I can," he whispers, his eyes never leaving my face.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
I will never make the mistake of loving you ever again." "So you choose him?" That's all it ever was. Jealousy. Rivalry. All so shadow could defeat the flame. "Cal betrayed me, and I betrayed him. And you betrayed us both, in a thousand different ways. I choose no one.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
I have three older brothers, so when I spit at Maven, my aim is perfect, hitting him square in the eye. He
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Don’t lie to a liar, and Maven is the grandest liar of all. Still,
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen #2))
You and your brother have everything, Prince Maven,’ I whisper in a voice so fervent it might be a prayer. 'You live in a palace, you have strength, you have power. You wouldn’t know hardship if it kicked you in the teeth, and believe me, it does that a lot. So excuse me if I don’t feel sorry for either of you.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Sou uma arma feita de carne, uma espada coberta de pele. Nasci para matar um rei, para acabar com um reino de terror antes mesmo de começar pra valer. Fogo e eletricidade elevaram Maven, e fogo e eletricidade vão derrubá-lo.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
If you're going to play in my head, I'm going to play in yours. -(Maven)
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Yes, long live the king!” she says, glaring at us. “Tiberias the Seventh! Long live the king!” Cal. Maven
Victoria Aveyard (King's Cage (Red Queen, #3))
But the person who joins us is no servant. He’s not even Red. “Maven.” I
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Something about my unease sets Cal on edge. “Is Maven the only thing you’re worried about?” Not
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
I don't understand at all. I don't belong here. Julian was right. This is a game I don't understand, a game I don't know how to play. I wish Julian were here now, to explain, to help, to save me. But no one is coming. "Maven, please," I plead, trying to make him look at me. But he turns his back, focusing on his mother and his betrayed blood. He is his mother's son.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
Every happiness to you, Lady Mareena. I can see this one suits you." She jerks her head towards Maven. "Not like fancy Samos," she adds in a playful whisper. "She'll make a sad queen, and you a happy princess, mark my words" "Marked," I breathe. I manage to smile, even though the colonel's life will soon be at an end. No matter how many kind words she says, her minutes are numbered.
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
And you still hold on to Maven, a person who doesn’t exist.” He might as well put a hand around my throat and squeeze. “You looked through my things?” “I’m not blind. I watched you take the notes off the bodies. I thought you’d rip them up. But when you didn’t - I suppose I wanted to see what you were going to do. Burn them, throw them away, send them back dipped in Silver blood - but not keep them. Not read them while I slept next to you.
Victoria Aveyard (Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2))
Cal stares at me, eyes full of accusation. And longing. This time he takes me by surprise when he steps closer, and I fall back on my heels. “Did your mother destroy you entirely? Is there anything left of you?” he asks, searching my face. “Anything that isn’t hers?” He won’t tell me what he’s looking for, but I know. Despite the walls my mother built around me, Cal always manages to weasel through. His hunting eyes fill me with sorrow. Even now, he thinks there’s something in me left to save—and to mourn. There is no escaping our fate, not for either of us. He must sentence me to die. And I must accept death. But Cal wants to know if he’s killing his brother along with the monster—or if the brother died long ago. Cut for cut, my mother whispers, louder now, taunting. The words slice like a razor. It would hurt him deeply, wound him forever, if I let him glimpse what little is left of me. That I’m still here, in some forgotten corner, just waiting to be found. I could ruin him with one glance, one echo of the brother he remembers. Or I could free him of me. Make the choice for him. Give my brother one last proof of the love I can no longer feel, even if he never knows it. I weigh the choice in my heart, each side heavy and impossible. For one terrifying moment, I don’t know what to do. Despite all my mother’s fine work, I can’t find it in myself to land that final blow. I drop my gaze, forcing a detached smirk to my lips. “I would do it all again, Cal,” I tell him, lying with such grace. It feels easy, after so many years behind a mask. “If given the choice to go back, I would let her change me. I would watch you kill him. I’d send you to the arena. And I’d get it right. I’d give you what you deserve. I’d kill you now if I could. I’d do it a thousand times.” My brother is simple, easy to manipulate. He sees only what lies in front of him, only what he can understand. The lie does its job well. His eyes harden, that undying ember in him almost extinguished entirely. One hand twitches, wanting to form a fist. But the Silent Stone affects him too, and even if he had the strength to make me burn, he could not. “Good-bye, Maven,” Cal says, his voice broken. He isn’t really speaking to me. The farewell is for another boy, lost years ago, before he became what I am now. Cal lets go of him, the Maven I was. The Maven I still am, somewhere inside, unable or unwilling to step into the light. This will be the last time we speak to each other alone. I can feel that in my marrow. If I see him again, it will be before the throne, or beneath the cold steel of the executioner’s blade. “I look forward to the sentencing,” I drawl in reply, watching him flee the room. The door slams behind him, shaking paintings in their frames. Despite all the difference between us, we have this in common. We use our pain to destroy. “Good-bye, Cal,” I say to no one. Weakness, my mother answers.
Victoria Aveyard (Broken Throne (Red Queen, #4.5))