Plated Prisoner Goldfinch Quotes

I’ve wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you, Goldfinch. I was just waiting for you to catch up.

No, Goldfinch,” he interrupts. “I’m good to you. But I am every bit the villain that I warned you I was.

Oh, Goldfinch, I’d follow you to the end of the world and tip right off the edge, all because of a crook of your finger.

I’m glad you’re choosing you,” he says quietly, and my lips part, like I want to swallow the rumble of his cadence. “You are?” I go completely still as he moves his hand and grips my chin, like he wants to make sure I’m paying attention. I am. “Yes, Goldfinch. Because I’m choosing you, too.

There it is, Goldfinch,” he purrs, and that dark caress is back in his voice. “You’ve finally found your fight.

I’ll find you, Goldfinch. I swear to you. Now fly.

Remember, you are stronger than the dark, and you have the wings to fly.

There is no growth without rot. There is no sun without the dark sky. And there is no me without her.

I told her I’d be the villain for her, and I was. Now, I need to also be the hero she would want me to be.

Oh, Goldfinch. I would’ve found you in whatever world you were in. In whatever life.” My lips tip up in a soft smile, because I believe him. “You would’ve found me in them all.

Perhaps it just takes sitting at the edge of your world to find a little bit of hope.

My name is Auren Turley. And I am stronger than the dark.

Come back to me, Goldfinch.

Then, the bridge is no more. And neither… are we.

Their answering voices are solemn but resolute. “For Fourth.

How was your one day today, Goldfinch?” he asks, and I smile, because he asks me this every day. My answer is always the same. “It was the best, because I’m with you.

I think you’ve had enough orders, Goldfinch,

Your anger is misplaced, but I like it,” he says with a feral grin, sharp canines gleaming. “Every time you let it leak out just a little bit more, I can see you better, Goldfinch.

Because hope, however false, does something for a trodden soul. Sometimes false hope is all you have, so you cling to it for as long as you can.

Lyäri Nōhcra. No longer the golden one gone, but… The golden one who rules.

I’ll always find you,

Goldfinch. I would’ve found you in whatever world you were in. In whatever life.

Every day the sun rises, it rises for you,” he says quietly as he brushes a finger gently down my brow, over my cheek, before settling his hand against my own heart. “Every day I wake, I wake for you. And every time my heart beats, it beats with yours.

Can you hear it?” she whispers. I pause, ears straining, but all I hear are faint sounds from the city below and the constant draw of the waterfall at the base of the mountain. “Hear what?” And she smiles, through the tears dried on her cheeks, through the glassiness of her eyes. The sight is so damn beautiful that it’s hard to breathe. “The sun,” Auren answers quietly, tone filled with a tentative, innocent joy. One that you’re afraid of saying too loud in case it breaks. “She’s singing to me.” Emotion clogs in my throat as I watch her tip her head back again. Watch her eyes close. I draw a knuckle down her soft cheek. “And what does she sing, Goldfinch?” I murmur. Her smile breaks through like the sunlight above us. “The song of home,” she says. “The sun is singing the song of home.” My chest swells, and when she reaches a hand up and tugs at my arm, I lie back with her, situating until we’re arm to arm, leg to leg. “Listen,” she whispers. So I do. I thread my fingers through her own, and I listen. But my song of home doesn’t come from the sun. Mine comes from her.

Yes, Goldfinch. Because I’m choosing you, too.

Beast, you crazy fucker, I told you to go back to Fourth!

Oh, Goldfinch,” he murmurs. “If ever there was a person for whom love was created, it was for you.

The reality that I exist in a world where she does not.

There was a ripple in the ether. It made the stars turn to look.

The king thought he could burn down this city? Burn her? She burns brighter than anything else ever could.

You perfect creature.

She’s not only survived, but overcome. And now she burns brighter than ever.

Oh, Goldfinch. I would've found you in a whatever world you were in. In whatever life.

Maybe sometimes, time doesn’t help. It just…stretches. Widens the gap between the loss and the after.

Are you going to start listening to me?” “Yes. Sometimes. When it seems like the right thing to do. And if it suits me.

Auren…” I choke out. “Your ribbons.

My name is Auren Turley and I am the Lyäri Ulvêre," I call out. "I am not gone, and I do not bow.

My heart didn’t work without you,

You want me to go fuck him up?

She burns brighter than anything else ever could.

You threatening me, Yellow Bell?” Gods, I fucking hope so.

He’s going to be insufferable.” “When is he not?

I’m good, Rissa. I have you.

Though I know they grieve, it will never be the same for them as it is for me. Carrying her is the last gift I’ll ever get. The last chance I’ll ever have to feel her. I’m not ready to give that up. How can I?

Lady Rissa,” Cran says quietly, “Captain Osrik will not like you being in the same room as Manu…” “Then Captain Osrik should’ve put me in a house with a tower so I could adequately see what the hell is going on.

I’d know that light anywhere, whether in the depths of darkness or in a sea of stars. Her brightness, her soul, sings a song I’d follow anywhere. I know because she’s my other half, and her aura is leading me back to her.

She deserves to breathe in the air of home, to walk amongst fae who are in awe of her. She deserves to have the land sing just from her presence, and the sun stream down upon her gilded skin. Auren was always too bright for Orea.

They can’t touch us,” Dommik murmurs, gaze unwavering, touch calm and still. “Keep looking at me.” I nod, and then I let the terror exhale away. Let my mind go still. Because I am exactly where I need to be. Where I want to be. Willingness. “I’m ready.

Oh, Goldfinch. My love for you consumes every part of my soul. It’s in every word, every movement. With each morning that dawns and every night that falls. You are completely mine, and I am yours, and that is all I ever need in this life and all the others.

I’ve always known exactly who she is. Light and life. Love and warmth. A gleaming vibrancy that I never deserved but never would have given up. She is mine and I am hers, for all of eternity. In every life. But in this one, she has been taken from me. And it’s my fault.

When she comes stomping out, she’s got an armful of clothes that she shoves into my chest. “I need a bag.” I glance down at the huge pile and start counting all the pieces. “This is too much shit, woman.” She gives me a look so chilling it might actually make my balls shrivel. I clear my throat. “I meant, I’ll make this shit fit.

It’s disgusting, what he did to her,” Rissa says, her mouth pinched. “How she was treated…” I don’t think she’s only talking about Midas. “It’s alright. Gildy got the last laugh. Midas is in a nice little golden tomb for all of eternity,” Judd says jovially. “I’m going to make it my holiday trip to go see him every year and laugh my ass off.

When my heart nearly burst with poison and killed me, I thought that was the end. I thought that was the worst thing that could ever happen. I was wrong. This—this is the worst. For the breeze to still flow and for steps to still tread, and for the world to just keep on going after she’s ended. For me to still live, while she’s dead in my arms. I don’t want it. I don’t want this life if I can’t share it with her.

You knew,” I say, eyes flicking up to his face. “You knew we were a päyur the moment we met.” His head tips. There is no denial. “Yes.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” “You weren’t ready for that. You didn’t deserve to have such pressure put on you. You deserved a choice.” “But we’re fated.” “Yes, but fate shouldn’t be a noose. Bonds shouldn’t be a shackle. You needed your freedom. You needed to have the opportunity to stand on your own two feet and decide.

How do you want me? On my back so you can play with my breasts as you fuck me?” I demonstrate just that as I lie down. “Or do you prefer me like this?” I say, twisting over the mattress until my knees are beneath me, arms keeping me upright. “Taking me from behind as deep as you want, gripping my hair and watching my ass bounce with every thrust?” “You don’t have to do that,” he says. I pause. “Do what?” “You don’t have to play a part, or check with me, or gauge my wants like it’s your job to please me. I just want you.

Wait a minute, I’m not marrying you!” “Yes, you are.” “I most certainly am not. Marriage is a cheat.” “How so?” “It legally ties the woman to the man. Gives him all the rights and gives her none. Makes him seem respectable, affording him more freedom in the process, while the freedoms of the wife are limited even more.” “Okay, so we won’t marry.” “Just like that?” “I’ll get you a ring. To us, we’ll be married. Without any of the bullshit. It’s just for us—for me and you. Think you can handle that?” “Well. I suppose that would be fine.” His gaze flashes. “Yeah?” “I do adore jewelry, and rings look quite nice on my fingers.

I’m glad you’re choosing you,” he says quietly, and my lips part, like I want to swallow the rumble of his cadence. “You are?” I go completely still as he moves his hand and grips my chin, like he wants to make sure I’m paying attention. I am. “Yes, Goldfinch. Because I’m choosing you, too.” Like a ribbon caught on a wind-bent branch, he lowers, and I lift.

Why are you keeping him alive?” “Because I want to,” he replies, making something scrape down my gut. Slade watches me like he wants me to see every word he’s saying, to envision his every intention. “I want you to understand something, Goldfinch. I am not good. I will rot every person in my way, will bring a blight to every corner of the world if I have to.” I shake my head. “No, you wouldn’t. You’re good. You’re—” “No, Goldfinch,” he interrupts. “I’m good to you. But I am every bit the villain that I warned you I was.

Can you hear it?” she whispers. I pause, ears straining, but all I hear are faint sounds from the city below and the constant draw of the waterfall at the base of the mountain. “Hear what?” And she smiles, through the tears dried on her cheeks, through the glassiness or her eyes. The sight is so damn beautiful that it’s hard to breathe. “The sun,” Auren answers quietly, tone filled with a tentative, innocent joy. One that you’re afraid of saying too loud in case it breaks. “She’s singing to me.” Emotion clogs in my throat as I watch her tip her head back again. Watch her eyes close. I draw a knuckle down her soft cheek. “And what does she sing, Goldfinch?” I murmur. Her smile breaks through like the sunlight above us. “The song of home,” she says. “The sun is singing the song of home.” My chest swells, and when she reaches a hand up and tugs at my arm, I lie back with her, situating until we’re arm to arm, leg to leg. “Listen,” she whispers. So I do. I thread my fingers through her own, and I listen. But my song of home doesn’t come from the sun. Mine comes from her.

A dark reverberation in the air around him coils, making the hairs on the back of my neck rise. “Oh, Goldfinch. You think I’m a monster now, but you haven’t seen anything yet.

You did it, Goldfinch.

His voice is a seductive grit of palpable hunger that has my ribbons twisting on the floor and my own want surging. My eyes flutter closed as his words stroke my ear and slip inside to settle beneath my ribs like they carry their own heart. “It’s fucking torture to have you stand there and tell me you want me, and not be able to do anything about it. But I’m a patient male, and as soon as I’m able, I’m going to touch and taste every inch of you. I’m going to have you writhing and begging, and I’ll give you every bit of pleasure I can wring from your delectable body,” he murmurs in a wicked promise. “The moment that sun dips, Goldfinch, you’re mine.

Oh, Goldfinch, I’d follow you to the end of the world and tip right off the edge,

Yes, Goldfinch, I am. But you can call me Slade.

I’ll do that anytime you need catching, Goldfinch.

Wake up and argue with me, Goldfinch.

You caught me,” I say, though my voice comes out in more of a whisper, the sound of an unsaid question drifting inside of it. He tips his chin down, eyes coating me like shade against a scorched day. “I’ll do that anytime you need catching, Goldfinch.

But Rip has always been unexpected. Like when he replies, “My intention is never to use you, Goldfinch.

His eyes soften. “Oh, Goldfinch. I would’ve found you in whatever world you were in. In whatever life.

He gives me that maddening smirk of his. “Mmm. I like your anger, Goldfinch. If only it weren’t always directed at me.

Oh, Goldfinch, I’d follow you to the end of the world and tip right off the edge, all because of a crook of your finger.” My stomach does a flip. “Oh.” “Oh, indeed.

But the true beast about to tear through this place is me.

There wouldn’t be enough forces in the entire realm for him to stop me.” Hare blinks. They all look at me as if the way I speak is rooted in nothing but arrogance. It’s not. It’s fact.

You’re mine now.” My heart squeezes at the fierceness in her words. “I was always yours, Goldfinch.” Even when she didn’t know it.

What are you?” she asks. My gaze stabs into her. “Really fucking pissed.

He looks masculine and broody, as if he’s just finished training some soldiers before riding a horse and then chopping down a tree. Every single one of those images of Osrik flits through my mind, making butterflies skitter through my stomach. I wonder if he does chop wood? Maybe I could be near a window to watch…

I’ve wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you, Goldfinch.

Rip’s mouth slowly pulls into a grin, and he speaks with the dark, sensual stroke of a villainous purr that matches the glint in his eye. “Yes, Goldfinch, I am. But you can call me Slade.

Te encontraré, Goldfinch. Te lo juro. Ahora vuela. Vuela

And then the dragon opens its mouth and spews out death. Instead of fire like the tales of old, flames of rot pour from its maw, lethal vines of rotted roots expelling from its throat.

You have your own light, little sun. So you must carry it with you when it grows dark.

If ever there was a person for whom love was created, it was for you.

Willingness.

Sometimes, that’s just how life is. Sacrifice in grace, loss within the victory, scar after the heal.

bereft

forward,

My love for you consumes every part of my soul. It’s in every word, every movement. With each morning that dawns and every night that falls. You are completely mine, and I am yours, and that is all I ever need in this life and all the others.

Auren looks as shocked as everyone else, because other than with Osrik, Rissa is pretty standoffish. Not the hugging type. But she’s certainly hugging now.

I knew we were friends.” “Yes, well…” Rissa pulls away with a sniff and tries to wave off her emotion. “I figured you needed me. None of these people know how to wear anything other than armor. It’s barbaric.

Hey, Fake Rip.” “Hi, Gildy.

Maybe sometimes, time doesn’t help. It just… stretches. Widens the gap between the loss and the after.

She sniffs as they pull away, and then her swollen eyes find me. She perks up with a bit of good old-fashioned smugness. “See?” she says with a smirk. “Told you.” She looks at Auren. “You got the better brother, I think, because this one is rude.

We’re definitely not in Orea anymore.

Lyäri,” I say to Slade. “Why do they call her that?” “Because… they love her.” I can see the truth of that in every face.

Did you find her?” “I found her.

How the hell did we find ourselves here?” “No clue. But… we’re together. That’s what matters.

I fucking miss him,” Lu confesses, her voice tortured. “Me too.” “He would’ve liked it here, I think.” He would’ve been ecstatic to see this place, no doubt about it.

But like Lu said, we’re together. And that’s what matters.

My stoic guard is blushing. I never thought I’d see the day.

Time tells a lot of secrets, passing off the words day by day.