Ice Like Fire

The most powerful magic of all is choice.

No one should be forced to be something they aren't.

That’s how relationships work – when one person is blind, the other must see for them. When one person struggles, the other must remain strong.

Horrible things have happened to us, are still happening to us, will happen every day for the rest of our lives, probably. What defines us is not our ability to never let them break us--what defines us is not letting them own us. We are the Thaw, and we will not be defeated by memories or evil men.

Aren't you affected by Simon's magic?"... "Took you this long to ask me that?" She clucks her tongue. "You're not the brightest flame in the fire, are you?" "Don't make me hit you in a library.

If stubborness were all that was needed to be a good queen, I'd rule the world.

He leaves. Just like that. No final good-bye, no last, lingering glance. Like we never loved each other at all.

Horrible things don’t happen in crowded places; they happen in the hollows of the world, where it’s just a victim and an attacker and no one to hear any screams. “Hang

The Winter we know has always been one of our own creation, a kingdom built on dreams. So you’re right, Feige. We’re all Children of the Thaw. Our own hybrid of the past and the future.

Horrible things have happened to us, are still happening to us, will happen every day for the rest of our lives, probably. What defines us is not our ability to never let them break us— what defines us is not letting them own us.

Lay your head upon the snow," he sings, uncertain at first, but with more confidence as he loses himself in the lyrics. "Lay sorrow in the ice. For all that once was calm, sweet child, will belong to you tonight. Lay your heart upon the snow. Lay your tears in the ice. For all that once was still, sweet child, will belong to you tonight.

I close my eyes, back straight, face impassive. When I look, I will see someone capable and composed, a warrior and a leader all in one.

LIke we had never loved each other at all.

He couldn't stand being around her when she had...Theron. He wasn't king anymore. He wasn't an orphan anymore. He wasn't in Meira's life anymore. None of this was the freedom he thought he'd wanted.

Dendera silences me with a hand on my cheek. "You listen to me, Meira Dynam. Yes, you have made mistakes, but I have watched you succumb to this role over the past few months, and that, I believe, is the biggest mistake you have made. The biggest mistake we all made. We've all been afraid, and Meira, you look at me. You saved us. You, this beautiful, wild girl before me - you saved us. So be you again, and whoever that is will be exactly what we need.

Isn't this a little... morbid?"... "Morbid?" I mange half a smile. "Or cathartic?" "Most cathartic things are morbid," he amends. "Healing through melancholy." I roll my eyes. "Leave it to you to find something poetic about slicing off the heads of snowmen.

It's a weapon we have, and we need all the weapons we can get

Mather lifts a white eyebrow. "You don't have to actually yell, if you don't want to. Slightly elevated whispering would be fine.

Loving her was easy, a skill he had picked up methodically until one day he did it without thought.

The most powerful magic of all is choice...

Rares claps his hands. “When you’re finished, dear heart, feel free to leave the books on the table, as disorganized as you possibly can.” He motions to a table behind me, situated in a break in the rows of books. “The librarian in residence in charge of the Library of Clarisse is an offensively irritable man, and I would like nothing better than to make unnecessary work for him.

We need to face what we are. All of what we are, especially the parts that hurt.

Anything that lives here has to be just as harsh and determined as the sun, born of a fiery stubbornness that is either extremely brave or extremely stupid.

That's part of freedom too— getting to dream, and knowing it could happen if I want it to.

You've fought for Winter so spectacularly, and I am more proud than I have ever been to call you my son. But don't forget to fight for yourself as well--there is no shame in that

My bare arms are only a relief for the first few minutes before the unobstructed sun finds my fair skin, and I swear I can hear the rays chuckle with delight at such a tasty meal.

That's what makes me the most upset about the world - how magic shoves people into lives they might not want. No one should have to beseech higher people for permission to be who they are, only to find their pleas ignored. No one should be forced to be something they aren't.

traditional Winterian clothing for women consists of pleated, ivory, floor-length dresses, most of the men wear blue tunics and pants under lengths of white fabric that wrap in an X around their torsos.

I’m tired of fighting myself—I have far too many enemies, far too many obstacles, to spend so much energy wrestling myself into submission. I have far too few friends to alienate those closest to me. I need to start trusting them. And if they break . . . We’ll just have to pick up the pieces together. I

Permanent peace and balance is an impossible goal. Far better would be to strive for a general state of equality, so that no matter what evils one kingdom might conjure, they would never be undefeatable. And