Xaden Quotes

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

And when others are quick to stand in front of me, Xaden always stands at my side, trusting me to hold my own.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
The right way isn’t the only way.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
There is no me without you.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Xaden tilts his head, studying the king. “Violet.” My heart skips into double time. “My loyalty is to Violet first above everything, everyone else,
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
I am annoyingly aware of everything you do.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
I am completely, utterly obsessed with Xaden.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
So then why are you here, Xaden?' 'Because I can't seem to stay away.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
I think I liked you better before you decided that feelings were something we need to discuss.” “Sorry to inconvenience you, but this year the role of Violet Sorrengail”—he points to me—“ will be played by Xaden Riorson”—he taps his chest—“ who will drag her, kicking and screaming if he has to, into a real relationship with real discussions, because he refuses to lose her again. If I have to evolve, you do, too.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
And he’s not my boyfriend.” Rhi snorts and Ridoc offers me a sarcastic thumbs-up. “Agreed,” Xaden says. “That’s far too casual a term for what we are.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
You have to fight, Vi,' Xaden whispers against my forehead as we move. 'You can hate me all you want when you wake up. You can scream, hit, throw your fucking daggers at me for all I care, but you have to live. You can't make me fall for you and then die. None of this is worth it without you.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
You turned oranges into a weapon, Violence?
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
She can't die, and not just because there's a chance I won't survive. She can't die because I know I can't live without her even if I do.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
With trembling hands, I unfold the paper—and smile. Xaden Riorson wrote me a letter.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
You’re not going to handle me?” I call after him, shock raising my brows. “Not tonight!” he tosses over his shoulder. I scoff. “What are you waiting for?” “It’s no fun if you expect it,” he answers, striding into the darkness. “Now, get back to bed before your wingleader realizes you’re out after curfew.” “What?” I gawk after him. “You’re my wingleader!
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Xaden is mine. My heart, my soul, my everything.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
Remember it's only your body thats fragile. You are unbreakable. - Xaden Riorson
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
I'm just as reckless for you as you are for me.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
Beautiful. Fucking. Asshole.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Killing you wouldn’t be any trouble, Violence. It’s leaving you alive that seems to cause the majority of my trouble.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
My house. My chair. My woman.’ - Xaden Riorson
Rebecca Yarros
If I asked you to stay behind, would you?' His eyes bore into mine. 'No.' 'Exactly. I try not to pick fights I know I can't win.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Well, this is awkward,” Xaden calls out. And every head in the courtyard turns our direction.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
We hadn't even kissed, and I fell.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
You take a step toward this Sorrengail and you'll be dead before you can even shift your weight,' Xaden says, his voice dropping lethally. 'She's not up for discussion.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Stay the hell away from Xaden Riorson.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Oh gods.' 'Which one are you calling out for?' he asks against my flesh. 'Because it's just you and me in this room, Vi, and I don't share.' 'You.' My fingers tangle in his hair. 'I'm calling out for you.' 'I appreciate the elevation to deity, but my name will do.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
You should take her at her word. In fact…” Xaden doesn’t bother to lower his voice. “If you don’t, I’ll take personal offense. She made her choice, and it wasn’t you. It will never be you. I know it. She knows it. The whole quadrant knows it.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
And you're going to teach us how to defeat you?" Aaric asks from behind us. A corner of Xaden's mouth slowly curves upward. "I can teach you to try, but there's only one person capable of taking me down one day, and it isn't you, Graycastle.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
Me? Argue with you about books? I only pick fights I can win.
Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
My gaze finds Xaden’s in under a second, and it’s not because he’s seated at the center of the table, or because he’s one of only two men dressed in black, or even because he’s turned around as if he sensed me coming—which he probably did. I locate him within a heartbeat because he’s the center of my gravity.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
Have you always been this tall?' I blurt the first thing that comes to mind. 'No, I was a child at some point.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
He yanks me close and kisses my forehead. 'There is no me without you,' he says against my skin.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Who did you kill?" She directs the question at Xaden. "Everyone" he responds unapologetically. She nods, then drops her blade.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
Garrick Tavis. Xaden Riorson.” Captain Fitzgibbons’s voice carries over the formation as he reads from the death roll. “Well, this is awkward,” Xaden calls out. And every head in the courtyard turns our direction.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
My house. My chair. My woman - Xaden
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
No snide remarks,” I say to Ridoc with a quick smile. “I’m proud of you.” “I kept the inside thoughts inside,” he replies with a flash of a grin as Xaden approaches.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
That you’re an asshole? Absolutely.” Xaden holds up his finger. “And insulting you isn’t against the Code of Conduct. I checked.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
You're still looking.' ... 'You make it hard to look away.' ... 'I'm over here keeping my hands and memories to myself because you asked me to, and you're fucking me with your eyes. That's not playing fair.' ... 'Told you to stop staring.' ... 'If you'd just man up and admit there's something between us, I would strip down to my skin so you could see every single inch of me. And once I had you begging, I'd drop down to my knees, undo those flight leathers you're wearing, and wrap my lips around-' Xaden chokes. Every head in the dining hall turns his way, and Garrick pounds on his back until Xaden waves him off, taking a drink of his water. I grin, which earns me about six looks of confusion from our table and one set of rolled eyes from Liam. 'You're going to be the death of me.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
You love me, and-' 'Loved,' I correct him, sidestepping so I can get some fucking space and then taking it. 'Love!' he shouts, stopping me in my tracks and earning us a glance from every rider within hearing distance. 'You love me.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Both,” Xaden replies. “I don’t want to be different people to you. Anyone else? Fine. Just not you. You’re stuck with all of me, and all of me is quite capable of keeping your confidence.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
I love you, the world does not exist for me beyond you. Xaden to Violet.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
Violet Sorrengail,' she whispers, moving closer. 'Are you wearing Riorson's flight jacket?' Liam's head snaps in my direction, curse his stupidly good hearing. 'Why would you say that?' I do a shitty job of feigning shock and shove the sheaths into every available pocket in this thing. All three of them, which are considerably deeper than the ones in my own jacket. 'Oh, I don't know. Because it's huge on you and there are three stars right here?' She taps where there's only one star on her uniform. Well, shit. Just goes to show that neither of us was thinking clearly. 'It could be any third-year's.' I shrug. 'With a Fourth Wing shield on the shoulder?' She cocks an eyebrow. 'That does limit it a bit,' I agree. 'And a wingleader emblem beneath those stars?' she teases. 'Fine, it's his.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Xaden loves me. He chose me. I will be the most powerful rider of my generation.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
Gets-you-into-trouble-and-you-like-it level of hot.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?' HIs voice lowers. 'If not, I'm a fool, because you are magnificently beautiful.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Even the most effective poisons come in pretty packages, and Xaden’s exactly that—as beautiful as he is lethal.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
By Malek, I fucking love you,” Xaden says.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
Try not to die.' 'Working on it.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
You take a step toward that Sorrengail and you’ll be dead before you can even shift your weight,” Xaden says
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Live up to your nickname and fight this, Violence,' Xaden whispers against my ear.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
What the fuck are we going to do with that thing for the rest of the trip?” Xaden questions. “Keep Andarna from eating it.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
Stop. Fucking. Coddling. Her.” Xaden bites out every word at Dain. “She is not a child. She’s a full-grown woman. A rider. Start treating her like one and at least have the decency to give her the truth.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Did I see her outnumbered and already wounded? Did I think her bravery was as admirable as it was fucking reckless?” He turns that stare on me, and I feel the impact all the way to my toes. “And I would do it again.” I raise my chin. “Well-the-fuck-aware,” Xaden roars, losing his temper for the first time since I met him on Parapet.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
There's nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn't find you, Violence.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
I love you. I’m in love with you. I have been since the night the snow fell in your hair and you kissed me for the first time. I’m grateful my life is tied to yours because it means I won’t have to face a day without you in it. My heart only beats as long as yours does, and when you die, I’ll meet Malek at your side.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
You can’t interfere!” Tynan shouts at Xaden, but I don’t dare look away from my opponent long enough to see how the wingleader reacts. “No, but I can narrate,” Xaden retorts.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Xaden Riorson.” I lift my chin as if I’m answering to my father for my choice. “And he’s mine, even when he’s being a possessive ass.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
My, the Continent does have some fine-looking men.” A corner of Xaden’s mouth quirks upward, and I can’t help but silently agree with her.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
I choose you. I choose whatever risk this brings. I see every part of you, Xaden: The good. The bad. The unforgivable. That’s what you promised, and that’s what I want—all of you. I can handle myself, even against you if I have to.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
Scream and you die,” he whispers, and my stomach plummets as the elbow is replaced by the sharp bite of a dagger at my throat. I freeze. I’d recognize the rough pitch of Xaden’s voice anywhere. “Fucking Sorrengail.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Gods, you are such a cliché, Xaden. You’re a villain hiding in plain fucking sight.” He winces. “Actually, they’re called fliers,” Xaden says softly, holding my gaze. “And I might be the villain to some, but not you.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
I hold up my middle finger and keep my eyes forward. Not that I don't like Liam, but I'm still pissed at Xaden for assigning him. Liam snorts and grins, flashing his dimple. 'And now he's glaring. Tell me, is it fun pissing off the most powerful rider in the quadrant?' 'You could try it yourself and find out,' I suggest, opening my notebook to the next empty page. I can't turn around. I won't. Wanting Xaden is fine. It has to be. Indulging the impulses it gives me? That's asinine. 'That's going to be a no from me.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
I'll take care of you. Just... just live. Please live.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Tell me something real.” It comes out as a plea, just like it did last year. He sighs and curls around me. “I know who you really are, Violet. Even when you keep things from me, I know you,” he promises.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
I'm going to keep you,' he promises, just like he did last night. Or was it this morning? 'You're mine, Violet.' I lift my chin. 'Only if you're mine.' 'I've been yours for longer than you could ever imagine.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
How many times has he read me? How many pre-thoughts has he eavesdropped on? Do I actually love him? Or did he just say what I wanted to hear? Do the things I needed in order to— “Less than a minute,” Xaden whispers as Sgaeyl moves toward him—toward us. “That’s how long it took for you to fall out of love with me.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
I know. I made it my business to know everything there was to know about you the second I saw you on the parapet.' 'Because that's not creepy.' I let the coffee warm my freezing hands. 'Can't know how to ruin someone without understanding them first,' he says quietly. I lift my gaze to find that his is already on me. 'And is that still your plan?' Mira's words have haunted me for two days. He flinches. 'No.' 'What changed?' Frustration tightens my grip on the mug. 'When exactly did you decide not to ruin me?' 'Maybe it was when I saw Oren holding a knife to your throat,' he says. 'Or maybe it was when I realised the bruises on your neck were fingerprints and wanted to kill them all over again just so I could do it slowly. Maybe it was the first time I recklessly kissed you or when I realised I'm fucked because I can't stop thinking about doing more than just kissing you.' My breath catches at his admission, but he just sighs, lets his head fall back against the wall. 'Does it even matter when, as long as it changed between us?' 'Don't do that,' I whisper, and he lifts his head again to hold my gaze. 'Do what? Tell you I can't get you out of my head? Or speak directly into yours?' 'Either.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Then he guides our hands back to my ribs and slides the ruby-hilted blade back into its sheath. The move is unnervingly…hot. “You’re not going to disarm me?” I challenge as he releases his grip and pushes up more, removing his weight from my body. My ribs expand as I take my first full breath. “Nope. Defenseless women have never been my type.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Have you been stationed with any riders of mated pairs?” I ask Mira as I close the door behind us. “One,” she answers, her eyes narrowing on the darkened path in front of the house. “Why?” “I’m just wondering how long they can be separated.” “Turns out, about three days is their max.” Xaden steps out of the shadows.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Good job remaining professional, Aetos.' Xaden scratches the relic on his neck I'm all but certain doesn't actually itch. 'Really shows those leadership qualities to their best advantage.' One of the riders down the table whistles. 'Do you boys just want to whip it out and measure? It would be faster.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Turns out, falling in love with someone only brings that blissful high all the poets talk about if they love you back. And if they keep secrets that jeopardize everyone and everything you hold dear? Love doesn't even have the decency to die. It just transforms into abject misery. That's what this ache in my chest is: misery. Because love, at its root, is hope. Hope for tomorrow. Hope for what could be. Hope that the someone you've entrusted your everything to will cradle and protect it. And hope? That shit is harder to kill than a dragon.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
Holy. Fucking. Hot.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
If I get my hands on you, really, honestly get my hands on you, I don't know if I'll be able to stop.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Let me guess, you could smell my perfume. Isn't that what always gives the heroine away in books?' He scoffs. 'I command shadows, but sure, it was your perfume that gave you away.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Fuck me, this hair,' he says, then hovers his mouth over mine. 'And this mouth. All I ever want to do is kiss you, even when you piss me off.' 'So kiss me.' I arch into him and claim his lips, kissing him like this might be the only time I'll get the chance.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Don't ever put your life at risk over something as trivial as talking to me again.' It's as low as a growl against my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. 'Next year is going to be so much fun,' I tease, walking forward and lacing my fingers with his so her follows. 'Liam will be here next year to make sure you're not doing asinine things,' he mutters. 'You're going to love getting his letters.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
At some point, you and I are going to have to start trusting each other, Sorrengail. The rest of our lives depend on it.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Now, earn your nickname and try your best to kill me.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Oh, Violence, you're going to have to learn to shield against Tairn or his escapades with Sgaeyl will drive you mad- or into someone's bed.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
His thumbs stroke over the soft skin under my ears, and his gaze drops before he suddenly lets go and retreats a full step. 'Damn it. Touching you was a bad idea.' 'The worst.' I agree, but my tongue skims my lower lip. He groans and my core melts at the sound. 'Kissing you would be a cataclysmic mistake.' 'Calamitous.' What would it take to hear that groan again? The inches between us feel like kindling, ready to burn at the first suggestion of hear, and I'm a living, breathing flame. This is everything I should run from, and yet denying the primal attraction I feel is completely, utterly impossible. 'We'll both regret it.' He shakes his head, but there's more than hunger in his eyes as he stares at my lips. 'Naturally,' I whisper. But knowing I'll regret it doesn't stop me from wanting it- wanting him. Regretting is a problem for future Violet. 'Fuck it.' One second he's out of reach and the next his mouth is on mine, hot and insistent. Gods, yes. This is exactly what I need.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Tell me what you're thinking.' I wind my arms around his neck. 'I was thinking you are exactly as I predicted the first time you took me in my room.' 'Oh yeah?' He draws back, curiosity sparking in his eyes. 'And what exactly was that?' 'A very dangerous addiction.' My gaze skims over the silver line of his scar, the thick lashes so many women would kill for, and over the bump in his nose to that perfectly sculped mouth. I've already told him that I love him, so it's not like I'm keeping secrets over here. Hell, compared to him, I'm an open book. 'Impossible to sate.' His eyes darken. 'I'm going to keep you,' he promises, just like he did last night. Or was it this morning? 'You're mine, Violet.' I lift my chin. 'Only if you're mine.' 'I've been yours for longer than you could ever imagine.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Sorry to inconvenience you, but this year the role of Violet Sorrengail”—he points to me—“will be played by Xaden Riorson”—he taps his chest—“who will drag her, kicking and screaming if he has to, into a real relationship with real discussions, because he refuses to lose her again. If I have to evolve, you do, too.” He folds his arms across his chest.
Rebecca Yarros (Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2))
I think I started falling for you that night in the tree when I watched you with the marked ones, but I began tumbling the day you gave me Tairn’s saddle. You’ll give some self-serving excuse, but the truth is you’re kinder than you want people to know. Maybe kinder than you know. —Recovered Correspondence of Cadet Violet Sorrengail to His Grace, Lieutenant Xaden Riorson, Sixteenth Duke of Tyrrendor
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
Bet it would be even more awkward if I kissed you now, huh?' Yes, please. 'The next time we kiss had better not be just to piss off Dain.' The next time had better only be because we want it. 'Next time, huh?' His gaze lowers to my mouth again.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Seriously, I can't think when you look at me like that.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
His allure is a warning not to get too close, and I am definitely too close.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
There are a dozen of these daggers strapped to my body, so start disarming me.” He lifts a sardonic brow. “Unless you don’t know how to handle an opponent on top of you, and if so, that’s a whole other issue.” “I know how to handle you on top of me,” I challenge quietly. He lowers his mouth to my ear. “You won’t like what happens if you push me.” “Or maybe I will.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
So fucking beautiful.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
I never lied when I said I can't live without you, Violence.' He backs away slowly, his lips curving in a sad smile. 'And defenseless women have never been my type, remember?
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Did you know that the first time I climbed these steps with Dain, I was horrified that there wasn't a handrail?' 'Did you know I can't stand to hear his name on your lips while you're leading the way to my room?
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Can't you just hide us in shadows or something?' 'Sure, because a giant black cloud moving down the hallway isn't going to look more suspicious than a couple sneaking around.' He shoots me a look that keeps me from countering. Point taken. Not that we're a couple. Not that I wouldn't climb the man like a tree if presented with the right set of circumstances.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
He’s tall, with windblown black hair and dark brows. The line of his jaw is strong and covered by warm tawny skin and dark stubble, and when he folds his arms across his torso, the muscles in his chest and arms ripple, moving in a way that makes me swallow. And his eyes… His eyes are the shade of gold-flecked onyx. The contrast is startling, jaw-dropping even—everything about him is. His features are so harsh that they look carved, and yet they’re astonishingly perfect, like an artist worked a lifetime sculpting him, and at least a year of that was spent on his mouth. He’s the most exquisite man I’ve ever seen.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
I know why you said you don't see a future for us.' My heart races like it's trying to take flight as I blurt out the words. 'Do you?' Of course he isn't going to make this easy. I'm not sure the man even knows what easy is. 'You want me,' I say, looking him in the eyes. 'And no, I'm not just talking about in bed. You. Want. Me, Xaden Riorson. You might not say it, but you do one better and show it. You show it every time you choose to trust me, every time your eyes linger on mine. You show it with every sparring lesson you don't have time for and every flight lesson that pulls you away from your own studies. You show it when you refuse to touch me because you're worried I don't really want you, then show it again when you take the time to hunt down violets before a leadership meeting so I don't wake up feeling alone. You show it in a million different ways. Please don't deny it.' His jaw flexes, but he doesn't deny it. 'You think we don't have a future because you're scared that I won't like who you really are behind all those walls you keep. And I@m scared, too. I can admit it. You're graduating. I'm not. You'll be gone in a matter of weeks, and we're probably setting ourselves up for heartbreak. But if we let fear kill whatever this is between us, then we don't deserve it.' I lift one hand to the back of his neck. 'I told you that I was the one who would decide when I'm ready to risk my heart, and I'm saying it.' The way he looks at me, with the same mix of hope and apprehension currently flooding my system, gives me absolute life. 'You don't mean that,' he says, shaking his head. And there he goes, sucking the life right out again. 'I mean it.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
And don't think that has anything to do with this." He points to his eye. "I'm aware in the moments I lack emotion. You and Garrick don't need to share little oh no glances. I already feel it. It's like sliding over a frozen lake while a shrinking part of me screams that I'm supposed to be swimming in those pieces I've bartered away, and those feelings are right beneath the surface, but fuck is skating faster and a hell of a lot less messy. This shit?" He swings his finger back toward the house. "It's messy and painful and infuriating, and if I could choose to give this portion of myself away, so help me, Malek, I would. I get it now. It's not just the power that's addicting; it's the freedom to not feel this." "Xaden," I whisper, all but bleeding out by the time he finishes. [...] "Don't barter it away." I beg as he stares at the sea and the words spill out of me faster and faster as his eyes harden and he resurrects the defences it took me a year to break past. "The pain. The mess. Give it to me. I'll hold it. I know that sounds ludicrous, but I'll find a way." I lace our fingers. "I will hold everything you don't want to feel because I love every part of you." "You already hold my soul and now you want my pain? Getting greedy, Violence." He brings my hand to his mouth and brushes a kiss over my knuckles before letting go.
Rebecca Yarros (Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3))
I’m not afraid of hard work, especially not when I know just how sweet the rewards are. I would rather lose this entire war than live without you, and if that means I have to prove myself over and over, then I’ll do it. You gave me your heart, and I’m keeping it.” She already owns mine, even if she doesn’t realize it.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Here's the thing, Sorrengail. Hope is a fickle, dangerous thing. It steals your focus and aims it toward the possibilities instead of keeping it where it belongs- on the probabilities.' 'So I'm supposed to what? Not hope that I live? Just plan for death?' 'You're supposed to focus on the things that can kill you so you find ways not to die.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Violence,' he says softly, 'did Aetos touch you after I told you about Athebyne?' 'What?' My brow furrows, and I shove an errant strand of hair out of my face as the wind swirls around us. 'Like this.' He lifts his hands to my cheek. 'His power requires touching someone's face. Did he touch you like this?' My lips part. 'Yes, but that's how he always touches me. He would n-never...' I sputter. 'I would know if he read my memories.' Xaden's face falls, and his hand slips downward, cradling the back of my neck. 'No, Violence. Trust me, you wouldn't.' There's no accusation in his tone, just a resignation that hurts what's left of my heart. 'He wouldn't.' I shake my head. Dain is a lot of things, but he would never violate me like that, never take something I hadn't offered. Except he tried once.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
I'm more dangerous than you think,' I flat-out bluster. 'So I see. I'm quaking in my boots.' The corner of his mouth rises in a mocking smile. Fucking. Asshole. I flip the daggers in my hand, pinching them at the tips, then flick my wrists and fire them past his head, one on each side. They land solidly in the trunk of the tree behind him. 'You missed.' He doesn't even flinch. 'Did I?' I reach for my last two blades. 'Why don't you back up a couple of steps and test that theory?' Curiosity flares in his eyes, but it's gone in the next second, masked by cold, mocking indifference. Every one of my senses is on high alert, but the shadows around me don't slide in as he moves backward, his eyes locked with mine. His back hits the tree, and the hilts of my daggers brush his ears. 'Tell me again that I missed,' I threaten, taking the dagger in my right hand by the tip. 'Fascinating. You look all frail and breakable, but you're really a violent little thing, aren't you?' An appreciative smile curves his perfect lips as shadows dance up the trunk of the oak, taking the form of fingers. They pluck the daggers from the tree and bring them to Xaden's waiting hands.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
Xaden's head snaps in my direction. 'Violence?' I take a step and then another, holding my frame upright with muscle memory I didn't have last year, and begin to cross. Xaden swings his legs up and then fucking jumps to his feet. 'Turn around right now!' he shouts. 'Come with me,' I call over the wind, bracing myself as gust whips my skirt against my legs. 'Should have gone with the pants,' I mutter and keep walking. He's already coming my way, his strides just as long and confident as if he was on solid ground, eating up the distance between us as I move forward slowly until we meet. 'What the fuck are you doing out here?' he asks, locking his hands on my waist. He's in riding leathers, not a dress uniform, and he's never looked better. What am I doing out here? I'm risking everything to reach him. And if he rejects me... No. There's no room for fear on the parapet. 'I could ask you the same thing.' His eyes widen. 'You could have fallen and died!' 'I could say the same thing.' I smile, but it's shaky. The look in his eyes is wild, like he's been driven past the point where he can contain himself in the neat, apathetic façade he usually wears in public. It doesn't scare me. I like him better when he's real with me, anyway. 'And did you stop to think that if you fall and die, then I can die?' He leans in and my pulse jumps. 'Again,' I say softly, resting my hands on his firm chest, right above his heartbeat, 'I could say the same thing.' Even if Xaden's death wouldn't kill Sgaeyl, I'm not sure I could survive it.' Shadows rise, darker than the night that surrounds us. 'You're forgetting that I wield shadows, Violence. I'm just as safe out here as I am in the courtyard. Are you going to wield lightning to break your fall?' Fine. That's a good point. 'I... perhaps did not think that part through as thoroughly as you,' I admit. I wanted to be close to him, so I got close, parapet be damned.' 'You're seriously going to be the death of me.' His fingers flex at my waist. 'Go back.' It's not a rejection, not with the way he's looking at me. We've been sparring emotionally for the past month, hell, even longer than that, and one of us has to expose our jugular. I finally trust him enough to know he won't go for the kill. 'Only if you do. I want to be whereever you are.' And I mean it. Everyone else- everything else in the world can fall away and I won't care as long as I'm with him.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))
I reach for her. 'I'm so sorry I had to keep...' My words die on my tongue as she steps back, avoiding me. 'Not happening.' A world of hurt flashes in those hazel eyes, and I fucking wither. 'Just because I believe you and am willing to fight with you doesn't mean I'll trust you with my heart again. and I can't be with someone I don't trust.' Something in my chest crumples. 'I've never lied to you, Violet. Not once. I never will.' She walks over to the window and looks down, then slowly turns back to me. 'It's not even that you kept this from me. I get it. It's the ease with which you did it. The ease with which I let you into my hear and didn't get the same in return.' She shakes her head, and I see it there, the love, but it's masked behind defences I foolishly forced her to build. I love her. Of course I love her. But if I tell her now, she'll think I'm doing it for all the wrong reasons, and honestly, she'd be right. I'm not going to lose the only woman I've ever fallen for without a fight. 'You're right. I kept secrets,' I admit, pressing forward again, taking step after step until I'm less than a foot from her. I palm the glass on both sides of her head, loosely caging her in, but we both know she could walk away if she wanted. But she doesn't move. 'It took me a long time to trust you, a long time to realise I fell for you.' Someone knocks, I ignore it. 'Don't say that.' She lifts her chin, but I don't miss the way she glances at my mouth. 'I fell for you.' I lower my head and look straight into her gorgeous eyes. She might be rightfully pissed, but she sure as Malek isn't fickle. 'And you know what? You might not trust me anymore, but you still love me.' Her lips part, but she doesn't deny it. 'I gave you my trust for free once, and once is all you get.' She masks the hurt with a quick blink. Never again. Those eyes will never reflect hurt I've inflicted ever again. 'I fucked up by not telling you sooner, and I won't even try to justify my reasons. But now I'm trusting you with my life- with everyone's lives.' I've risked it all by just bringing her here instead of taking her body back to Basgiath. 'I'll tell you anything you want to know and everything you don't. I'll spend every single day of my life earning back your trust.' I'd forgotten what it felt like to be loved, really, truly, loved- it'd been so many years since Dad died. And mom... Not going there. But then Violet gave me those words, gave me her trust, her heart, and I remembered. I'll be damned if I don't fight to keep them. 'And if it's not possible?' 'You still love me. It's possible.' Gods, do I ache to kiss her, to remind her exactly what we are together, but I won't, not until she asks. 'I'm not afraid of hard work, especially not when I know just how sweet the rewards are.. I would rather lose this entire war than live without you, and if that means I have to prove myself, over and over, then I'll do it. You gave me your heart, and I'm keeping it.' She already owns mine, even if she doesn't realise it.
Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1))