Quotes from A Conjuring of Light

V.E. Schwab ·  624 pages

Rating: (35.2K votes)


“Love and loss,” he said, “are like a ship and the sea. They rise together. The more we love, the more we have to lose. But the only way to avoid loss is to avoid love. And what a sad world that would be.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“Anoshe was a word for strangers in the street, and lovers between meetings, for parents and children, friends and family. It softened the blow of leaving. Eased the strain of parting. A careful nod to the certainty of today, the mystery of tomorrow. When a friend left, with little chance of seeing home, they said anoshe. When a loved one was dying, they said anoshe. When corpses were burned, bodies given back to the earth and souls to the stream, those left grieving said anoshe.

Anoshe brought solace. And hope. And the strength to let go.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“Scars are not shameful, not unless you let them be. If you do not wear them, they will wear you.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“She was a thief, a runaway, a pirate, a magician.
She was fierce, and powerful, and terrifying.
She was still a mystery.
And he loved her.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“What are we drinking to?"
"The living," said Rhy.
"The dead," said Alucard and Lila at the same time.
"We're being thorough," added Rhy.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light



“Caring was a thing with claws. It sank them in, and didn’t let go. Caring hurt more than a knife to the leg, more than a few broken ribs, more than anything that bled or broke and healed again. Caring didn’t break you clean. It was a bone that didn’t set, a cut that wouldn’t close.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“Life isn't made of choices, it's made of trades. Some are good, some are bad, but they all have a cost.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“A low whistle behind him as Alucard appeared at the entrance.
'Picking out a gift?' asked the captain.
'No.'
'Good, then take this'. He dropped a ring into Kell's hand.
Kell frowned. 'I'm flattered, but I think you're asking the wrong brother.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“I told you to keep him safe, not cuddle."
Alucard spread his hands behind him on the sheets. "I'm more than capable of multitasking”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“I have never known what to make of you. Not since the day we met. And it terrifies me. You terrify me. And the idea of you walking away again, vanishing from my life, that terrifies me most of all.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light



“Myths do not happen all at once.
They do not spring forth whole into the world. They form slowly, rolled between the hands of time until their edges smooth, until the saying of the story gives enough weight to the words—to the memories—to keep them rolling on their own.
But all stories start somewhere, and that night, as Rhy Maresh walked through the streets of London, a new myth was taking shape.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“On vis och," he told himself.

Dawn to dusk. A phrase that meant two things in his native tongue.

A fresh start. A good end.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“In myths, the hero survives.
The evil is vanquished.
The world is set right.
Sometimes there are celebrations, and sometimes there are funerals.
The dead are buried. The living move on.
Nothing changes.
Everything changes.
This is a myth.
This is not a myth.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“There were a hundred shades between a truth and lie, and she knew them all.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“Lila smiled at that, one of those smiles that made Kell profoundly nervous. The kind of smile usually followed by a weapon.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light



“Kell swept Lila up into his arms, amazed at her lightness. She took up so much space in the world—in his world—it was hard to imagine her being so slight. In his mind, she was made of stone.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“Death comes for us all," said Holland evenly. "I would simply have mine mean something.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“A myth without a voice is like a dandelion without a breath of wind.
No way to spread the seeds.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“And strategy is just a fancy word for a special kind of common sense, the ability to see options, to make them where there were none. It’s not about knowing the rules. It’s about knowing how to break them.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“And then his arms were folding around her, and in that small gesture, she understood, felt it down to her bones, that draw, not the electric pulse of power but the thing beneath it, the weight she'd never understood. In a world where everything rocked and swayed and fell away, this was solid ground.

Safe.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light



“Rhy shook his head, exasperated. “Kell isn't the only one you fail to understand. My bond with him didn't start with this curse. You wanted him to kill for me, die for me, protect me at all costs. Well, Mother, you got your wish. You simple failed to realiza that that kind of love, that bond, it goes both ways. I would kill for him, and I would die for him, and I will protect him however I am able, from Faro and Vesk, from White London, and Black London, and f rom you.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“Then why are you smiling?” “Because,” she said, “bad ideas are my favorite kind.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“One day you will be old and wrinkled, and I will still love you.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“We don't choose what we are, but we choose what we do.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“Magic made everything feel so impermanent, it was easy to forget that some things, once changed, could never be undone. That not everything was either changeable or infinite. Some roads kept going, and others had an end.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light



“I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry. But I'm here now, so you can't die,” he said, his voice finally breaking. “Don't you see how rude that would be, when I've come so far?”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“A queen could leave her throne.
But a mother never leaves her son.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“Arnesians had a dozen ways to say hello, but no word for good-bye.
When it came to parting ways, they sometimes said vas ir, which meant in peace, but more often they chose to say anoshe–until another day. Anoshe was a word for strangers in the street, and lovers between meetings, for parents and children, friends and family. It softened the blow of leaving. Eased the strain of parting. A careful nod to the certainty of today, the mystery of tomorrow. When a friend left, with little chance of seeing home, they said anoshe. When a loved one was dying, they said anoshe. When corpses were burned, bodies given back to the earth and souls to the stream, those grieving said anoshe.
Anoshe brought solace. And hope. And the strength to let go.”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


“Well, the world is full of surprises. And shadow kings. And curses. Coffee?”
― V.E. Schwab, quote from A Conjuring of Light


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



About the author

V.E. Schwab
Born place: in The United States
Born date July 7, 1987
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