Trilogy Quotes

The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.

Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real.

It is better, I think, to grab at the stars than to sit flustered because you know you cannot reach them.

When people say impossible, they usually mean improbable.

The Darkling slumped back in his chair. “Fine,” he said with a weary shrug. “Make me your villain.

Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere.

Love is or it ain't. Thin love ain't love at all.

The problem with wanting," he whispered, his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips, "is that it makes us weak.

Na razrusha'ya. I am not ruined. E'ya razrushost. I am ruination.

A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world.

Oh no. Don't smile. You'll kill me. I stop breathing when you smile.

The less you say, the more weight your words will carry.

What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men.

She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.

Home's where you go when you run out of homes.

What we think to be our greatest weakness can sometimes be our biggest strength.

Of course not," said Sturmhond. "Anything worth doing always starts as a bad idea.

Watch yourself, Nikolai,” Mal said softly. “Princes bleed just like other men.” Nikolai plucked an invisible piece of dust from his sleeve. “Yes,” he said. “They just do it in better clothes.

Sweet, crazy conversations full of half sentences, daydreams and misunderstandings more thrilling than understanding could ever be.

I took a breath. “Your highness—” “Nikolai,” he corrected. “But I’ve also been known to answer to ‘sweetheart’ or ‘handsome.

Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.

To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.

I don't care if you danced naked on the roof of the Little Palace with him. I love you, Alina, even the part of you that loved him.

Nature didn't need an operation to be beautiful. It just was.

No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.

I've seen what you truly are," said the Darkling, "and I've never turned away. I never will. Can he say the same?

I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina" He said. "You and I are going to change the world.

Don't ever think I fell for you, or fell over you. I didn't fall in love, I rose in it.

I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no shelter but mine.

The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.

Beauty was your armor. Fragile stuff, all show. But what's inside you? That's steel. It's brave and unbreakable. And it doesn't need fixing.

You are my heart, my life, my entire existence." -Ash

They had an ordinary life, full of ordinary things—if love can ever be called that.

I hope you weren’t looking to me to be the voice of reason. I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret.

And there's nothing wrong with being a lizard either. Unless you were born to be a hawk.

Isn't that what stories do, make real things fake, and fake things real?

When you cut pieces out of the truth to avoid looking like a fool you end up looking like a moron instead.

You are your best thing

I'm sorry it took me so long to see you, Alina. But I see you now.

In this moment he was just a boy -brilliant, blessed with too much power, burdened by eternity.

I want to kiss you,” Nikolai said. “But I won’t. Not until you’re thinking of me instead of trying to forget him.

I'm not like you, Mal. I never really fit in the way you did. I never really belonged anywhere." "You belonged with me.

Aleksander," I whispered. A boy's name, given up. Almost forgotten.

Weakness is a guise. Wear it when they need to know you're human, but never when you feel it.

All knowledge is worth having.

Mal,” I whispered into the night. “What?” “Thanks for finding me.” I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming, but somewhere in the dark, I thought I heard him whisper, “Always.

Why is there ever this perverse cruelty in humankind, that makes us hurt most those we love best?

Don’t do what you can’t undo, until you’ve considered what you can’t do once you’ve done it.

I'm the Sun Summoner. It gets dark when I say it does.

Joy multiplies when it is shared among friends, but grief diminishes with every division. That is life.

The moment our lips met, I knew with pure and piercing certainty that I would have waited for him forever.

The world was a terrible place, cruel, pitiless, dark as a bad dream. Not a good place to live. Only in books could you find pity, comfort, happiness - and love. Books loved anyone who opened them, they gave you security and friendship and didn't ask anything in return; they never went away, never, not even when you treated them badly.

You’re shaking,” he said. “I’m not used to people trying to kill me.” “Really? I hardly notice anymore.

That which yields is not always weak.

You know the problem with heroes and saints, Nikolai?” I asked as I closed the book’s cover and headed for the door. “They always end up dead.

Maybe love was superstition, a prayer we said to keep the truth of loneliness at bay.

The opposite of love is not hate. Hate is just love gone bad. The actual opposite of love is apathy. When you don't care a damn as to what happens to the other person.

Between the wish and the thing the world lies waiting.

Yuyeh sesh. Despise your heart. Ni weh sesh. I have no heart.

Oh, and the easiest way to make someone furious is to tell her to calm down.

I have loved you all my life, Mal,” I whispered through my tears. “There is no end to our story.

I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I'd catch myself just walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I'd seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice. And then I'd realize that you weren't there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I've risked my life for you. I've walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I'd do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don't tell me why we don't belong together," he said fiercely.

Aleksander." His eyes fluttered shut. "Don't let me be alone," he murmured. And then he was gone.

Remind me to to make you smile like that again, when you aren't dying, and I have all the time in the world to memorise it.

You were talking to that niche in the wall again, Gwyneth. I saw you." "Yes, but it's my favorite bit of wall, Gordon. I'd hurt its feelings if I didn't stop and talk to it.

They are orphans again, with no true home but each other and whatever life they can make together on the other side of the sea.

Thanks for the rescue." "Everyone needs a hobby." "I thought yours was preening." "Two hobbies.

Sturmhond had a way of talking that made me want to shoot someone. Preferably him.

If we were in a film, the villain would turn out to be the least-expected person. But as we aren’t in a film, I’d go for the character who tried to strangle you.

I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am.

Do you answer a question directly?" "Hard to say. Ah, there, I've done it again

Happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.

I'm perfectly capable of being stupid on my own.

I like to have powerful enemies. Makes me feel important.

Me and you, we got more yesterday than anybody. We need some kind of tomorrow.

She is the embodiment of a bad decision. The twin of danger and desire. The fine line between deadly and divine. And I can feel myself drowning.

Why can a Grisha possess but one amplifier? I will answer this question instead: What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men.

We are alike,” he said, “as no one else is, as no one else will ever be.” The truth of it rang through me. Like calls to like.

Why won’t you leave me alone?” I whispered one night as he hovered behind me while I tried to work at my desk. Long minutes passed. I didn’t think he would answer. I even had time to hope he might have gone, until I felt his hand on my shoulder. “Then I’d be alone, too," he said, and he stayed the whole night through, till the lamps burned down to nothing.

He leaned against the window, and the gilded frame came into sharp focus. “Do you think it would be any different with your tracker beside you? With that Lantsov pup?” “Yes,” I said simply. “Because you would be the strong one?” “Because they’re better men than you.” “You might make me a better man.” “And you might make me a monster.

He knew the law of such things: people in brightly lit places cannot see into the dark.

He watches her the way Harshaw watches fire. Like he’ll never have enough of her. Like he’s trying to capture what he can before she’s gone.

You never know," said Nikolai. "I've been busy. I might have some surprises in store for the Darkling yet." "Please tell me you plan to dress up as a volcra and jump out of a cake." "Well, now you've ruined the surprise.

He stood at the window of the empty cafe and watched the activites in the square and he said that it was good that God kept the truths of life from the young as they were starting out or else they'd have no heart to start at all.

She was bored. She loved, had capacity to love, for love, to give and accept love. Only she tried twice and failed twice to find somebody not just strong enough to deserve it, earn it, match it, but even brave enough to accept it.

We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe.

According to some, heroic deaths are admirable things. I've never been convinced by this argument, mainly because, no matter how cool, stylish, composed, unflappable, manly, or defiant you are, at the end of the day you're also dead. Which is a little too permanent for my liking.

I'll be looking for you, Will, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we'll cling together so tight that nothing and no one'll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you... We'll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams... And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they wont' just be able to take one, they'll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we'll be joined so tight...

The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.

This was his soul made flesh, the truth of him laid bare in the blazing sun, shorn of mystery and shadow. This was the truth behind the handsome face and the miraculous powers, the truth that was the dead and empty space between the stars, a wasteland peopled by frightened monsters.

Maybe love was superstition, a prayer we said to keep the truth of loneliness at bay. I tilted my head back. The stars looked like they were close together, when really they were millions of miles apart. In the end, maybe love just meant longing for something impossibly bright and forever out of reach.

You’re mad,” I said. “You know what he can do. No prize is worth that.” Sturmhond grinned. “That remains to be seen.” “The Darkling will hunt you for the rest of your days.” “Then you and I will have something in common, won’t we? Besides, I like to have powerful enemies. Makes me feel important.” Mal crossed his arms and considered the privateer. “I can’t decide if you’re crazy or stupid.” “I have so many good qualities,” Sturmhond said. “It can be hard to choose.

I saw the prince when I was in Os Alta,” said Ekaterina. “He’s not bad looking.” “Not bad looking?” said another voice. “He’s damnably handsome.” Luchenko scowled. “Since when—” “Brave in battle, smart as a whip.” Now the voice seemed to be coming from above us. Luchenko craned his neck, peering into the trees. “An excellent dancer,” said the voice. “Oh, and an even better shot.” “Who—” Luchenko never got to finish. A blast rang out, and a tiny black hole appeared between his eyes. I gasped. “Imposs—” “Don’t say it,” muttered Mal.

There is a loneliness that can be rocked. Arms crossed, knees drawn up, holding, holding on, this motion, unlike a ship's, smooths and contains the rocker. It's an inside kind--wrapped tight like skin. Then there is the loneliness that roams. No rocking can hold it down. It is alive. On its own. A dry and spreading thing that makes the sound of one's own feet going seem to come from a far-off place.

It's probably for the best, I told myself. How would I have said goodbye to Mal anyway? Thanks for being my best friend and making my life bearable. Oh, and sorry I fell in love with you for a while there. Make sure to write! 'What are you smiling at?' I whirled, peering into the gloom. The Darkling's voice seemed to float out of the shadows. He walked down to the stream, crouching on the bank to splash water on his face and through his dark hair. 'Well?' he asked, looking up at me. 'Myself,' I admitted. 'Are you that funny?' 'I'm hilarious.

I'd never thought about what my favorite color was before. It never seemed important. Not until I looked into a pair of ocean blue eyes and realized that perhaps drowning was a beautiful thing. Not until I looked into a pair of fiery blue eyes and realized that perhaps burning was a painless thing. Not until I looked into a pair of sky blue eyes and realized that perhaps falling was a peaceful thing. I'd never thought about what my favorite color was before because I hadn't seen one that was worthy of the title. Until now, that is. "Blue," I say, my voice low.

Why waste my anger on you when the fault is mine? I should have anticipated another betrayal from you, one more mad grasp at some kind of childish ideal. But I seem to be a victim of my own wishes where you are concerned.” His expression hardened. “What have you come here for, Alina?” I answered him honestly. “I wanted to see you.” I caught the briefest glimpse of surprise before his face shuttered again. “There are two thrones on that dais. You could see me any time you liked.

All my life,” she said, “I have been told ‘go’ and ‘come.’ I am told how I will live, and I am told how I must die. I must be a man’s servant and a mare for his pleasure, or I must hide myself behind walls and surrender my flesh to a cold, silent god. I would walk into the jaws of hell itself, if it were a path of my own choosing. I would rather die tomorrow in the forest than live a hundred years of the life appointed me. Please. Please let me help you.

Let me tell you about love, that silly word you believe is about whether you like somebody or whether somebody likes you or whether you can put up with somebody in order to get something or someplace you want or you believe it has to do with how your body responds to another body like robins or bison or maybe you believe love is how forces or nature or luck is benign to you in particular not maiming or killing you but if so doing it for your own good. Love is none of that. There is nothing in nature like it. Not in robins or bison or in the banging tails of your hunting dogs and not in blossoms or suckling foal. Love is divine only and difficult always. If you think it is easy you are a fool. If you think it is natural you are blind. It is a learned application without reason or motive except that it is God. You do not deserve love regardless of the suffering you have endured. You do not deserve love because somebody did you wrong. You do not deserve love just because you want it. You can only earn - by practice and careful contemplations - the right to express it and you have to learn how to accept it. Which is to say you have to earn God. You have to practice God. You have to think God-carefully. And if you are a good and diligent student you may secure the right to show love. Love is not a gift. It is a diploma. A diploma conferring certain privileges: the privilege of expressing love and the privilege of receiving it. How do you know you have graduated? You don't. What you do know is that you are human and therefore educable, and therefore capable of learning how to learn, and therefore interesting to God, who is interested only in Himself which is to say He is interested only in love. Do you understand me? God is not interested in you. He is interested in love and the bliss it brings to those who understand and share the interest. Couples that enter the sacrament of marriage and are not prepared to go the distance or are not willing to get right with the real love of God cannot thrive. They may cleave together like robins or gulls or anything else that mates for life. But if they eschew this mighty course, at the moment when all are judged for the disposition of their eternal lives, their cleaving won't mean a thing. God bless the pure and holy. Amen.