A Thousand Beginnings and Endings

I am left with pieces of remembering though I loved him whole.

It was an ill-fated thing to claim that a heart is safe. Hearts are rebellious. The moment they feel trapped, they will strain against their bindings. And it was so with the Mountain.

The prince always said I belonged to him. I had thought this word protected me and kept me safe, but now I understood. Belonging meant he could place me wherever he liked, whether in his bed or in this dank tower. Belonging is not love. It never was.

It’s difficult to be honorable at your worst moment and to forgive those who do you wrong, to have to battle what comes naturally to you. But that’s what it takes to be a monster living among mortals.

Her arms went around herself, but no matter how tightly she pressed, it came nowhere near a hug.

A heart is only important to those who want to leave the place that tethers their souls and gives them form.

I know you would rather be buried alive than to be with anyone other than me. ... Whether you save my life, marry me, or send me into a brick grave while I still breathe, the choices are yours.

Boys or girls, friends or lovers[…] it wouldn’t matter. Don’t forget we’re only ever soldiers here in Shangyu.

She learned all manner of things this way, such as how to be loyal for the greater good, that the sky changed color because its attendants continually traded out the different silk saris it wore, and, best of all, how to sing.

His stare met hers, fitting together like a riddle and its answer.

A girl stood in the middle of the trail, long hair rippling in the dying wind. Her eyes flickered in the shadows of the forest, glowing like twin candles. As Hironobu straightened, ready to demand what she was doing, the branches of the trees began to shake. The sunlight disappeared, vanishing behind clouds, and the shadows of the forest began to lengthen, closing around men and horses like the talons of a monstrous beast.