Quotes from One Dark Throne

Kendare Blake ·  464 pages

Rating: (13.1K votes)


“No matter how far I go, I'm still your person. We stand together now.”
― Kendare Blake, quote from One Dark Throne


“But everyone knows that the Breccia Domain is more than an empty hole in the earth. Who knows what happened to the queens who were thrown down into the dark? Into the heart of the island, where the Goddess’s eye is always open. Who knows how she kept those queens or what she turned them into”
― Kendare Blake, quote from One Dark Throne


“Outside in the yard, Arsinoe follows Jules past the chicken coops as she and Camden stretch their sore limbs in the sun. Then she darts off into the woodpile.

“What are you digging for?” Jules asks.

“Nothing.” But Arsinoe returns with a book, brushing bits of bark off the soft green cover. She holds it up and Jules frowns. It is a book of poison plants, lifted discreetly from one of the shelves in Luke’s bookshop.

“You shouldn’t be messing about with that,” Jules says. “And what if someone sees you with it?”

“Then they’ll think I’m trying to get revenge, for what was done to you.”

“That won’t work. Reading a book to out-poison the poisoners? You can’t even poison a poisoner, can you?”

“Say ‘poison’ one more time, Jules.”
― Kendare Blake, quote from One Dark Throne


“The cloth overlay of Billy’s cart clucks, and a brown chicken pokes her head out from under the covering, stepping out of the basket she was riding in.

“There is a chicken in your cart.”

“I know,” Billy snaps, and slaps his napkin across his lap.

“Why is there a chicken in your cart?”

“Because this was supposed to be chicken stew,” he says. “I’ve been hand-feeding this bird for days to be sure it was not poisoned before the fact. And now . . .” He pours Mirabella some water and drinks from her cup. The hen clucks, and Billy tosses down a chunk of bread.

“Now her name is Harriet,” he says quietly.

Mirabella laughs.”
― Kendare Blake, quote from One Dark Throne


“Tommy Stratford and Michael . . . something or other,” she says. “Are you worried I’ll like them better than I like you?”

“That’s just not possible.”

“Why? Because you’re so irresistible?”

“No. Because you don’t like anyone.”

Arsinoe snorts.

“I do like you, Junior.”

“Oh?”

“But I have more important things to think about right now.”
― Kendare Blake, quote from One Dark Throne



“Mirabella’s eyes fill with tears, and Billy quickly wipes his mouth. He scoops strawberry tart onto his fork and holds it out.

“Here,” he says. “You must try this.” As she takes the bite, he uses his thumb to discreetly wipe the tear that falls down her cheek.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly. “I suppose I haven’t even tried to consider your point of view. It was thoughtless of me.”

“It is all right,” Mirabella says. “Does she know that you love her?”

Billy raises his eyebrows.

“Why would she when I didn’t? It wasn’t like I read in books. A thunderclap. Eyes meeting. Tortured glances. With Arsinoe it was more like . . . having cold water poured down your back and learning to enjoy it.”

“And does she love you?”

“I don’t know. I think she might.” He smiles. “I hope she does.”

“I hope so too.” Another tear slides down her cheek, and Billy darts forward to discreetly hide it.

“It is all right,” she says. “They will think I am only crying because of how terrible this strawberry tart is.”

Billy sets down his fork, insulted. Then they both begin to laugh.”
― Kendare Blake, quote from One Dark Throne


“She jogs until she reaches Billy, and falls in step beside him. He glances at her, then back at the ground.

“Is this how it is, then?” she asks after several moments. “One visit to my sister and we are no longer friends?”

He stops at the crest of a hill and squints out at the sun sparkling off the ripples in Sealhead Cove.

“I wish we weren’t. When my father sent me to Rolanth, I swore that I would hate you. That I wouldn’t be a fool like Joseph and get myself stuck in between.” He smiles at her sadly. “Why couldn’t you be wretched? Don’t you have any manners? You should’ve had the courtesy to be terrible. So I could despise you.”

“I am sorry. Shall I start now? Spit in your eye and kick you?”

“That sounds like something Arsinoe would do, actually. So I would find it endearing”
― Kendare Blake, quote from One Dark Throne


“Mirabella is still upright amid everything, and Arsinoe smiles. She does not know how anyone ever expected that she or Katharine could stand against that.”
― Kendare Blake, quote from One Dark Throne


“Jules!” Arsinoe hisses. “Jules, are you down here?”

“Arsinoe!” Jules and Camden scramble up to the bars as Arsinoe runs to them. They embrace her as well as they can with hands and paws. Camden purrs and licks her face.

“Camden, blegh.” Arsinoe grins and wipes her cheek.

“I might have licked you as well, I’m so happy to see you.” Jules gasps.”
― Kendare Blake, quote from One Dark Throne


“Willa walks past Arsinoe on the way to the kitchen.

“Goose and onion pie tonight.” Willa holds up a small yellow onion and chucks Arsinoe beneath the chin with it.

“Mmm,” Arsinoe replies uncertainly. “Was that . . . one of my favorites?”

“You do not remember?”

“I don’t.” Arsinoe follows her through the sitting room, looking at the paintings and the furniture. It would not have changed much, but nothing feels familiar. “Mirabella remembers everything. If she were here, the sentimental goof would be hugging that chair.”

“Even when she was a girl, Mirabella had far too much dignity to go about hugging chairs. Unlike you.”
― Kendare Blake, quote from One Dark Throne



About the author

Kendare Blake
Born place: Seoul
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Court life for a queen of France at that time was, however, stultifyingly routine. Eleanor found that she was expected to be no more than a decorative asset to her husband, the mother of his heirs and the arbiter of good taste and modesty.”
― Alison Weir, quote from Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life


“Why aren't you married?"
"Why aren't you?" she parried.
"I like my independence too well to relinquish any part of it."
"That's my reason, too," she said. "Besides, anyone acquainted with me will confirm that I'm uncompromising and obstinate."
He smiled lazily. "You just require the proper handling."
"Handling," she repeated tartly. "Perhaps you'd care to explain what you mean."
"I mean that a man who knows anything about women could have you purring like a kitten."
Annoyance and laughter billowed together in her chest... what a rogue he was! But she would not be deceived by his facade. Although his manner was playful, there was something underneath- a quality of patient watchfulness, a sense of restrained power- that made her nerves thrill in warning. He was no callow boy, but a fully mature man. And although she was not a worldly woman, she knew from the way he looked at her that he wanted something from her, whether it was her submission, her sexual favors, or simply her money.”
― Lisa Kleypas, quote from Suddenly You


“satisfy me, and it is purposeless involving him in mine. I want—”
― Patricia A. McKillip, quote from The Forgotten Beasts of Eld


“The little girl in the red cloak who had taken her parents was Little Red Riding Hood!”
― Michael Buckley, quote from The Problem Child


“Newsflash: it's not the guy who determines whether you're a sports fisher or a keeper-it's you. (Don't hate the player, hate the game.) When a man approaches you you're the one with total control over the situation-whether he can talk to you, buy you a drink, dance with you, get your number, take you home, see you again, all of that. We certainly want these things from you; that's why we talked to you in the first place. But it's you who decides if you're going to give us any of the things we want, and how, exactly, we're going to get them. Where you stand in our eyes is dictated by YOUR control over the situation. Every word you say, every move you make, every signal you give to a man will help him determine whether he should try to play you, be straight with you, or move on to the next woman to do a little more sport fishing.”
― Steve Harvey, quote from Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment


Interesting books

The Sot-Weed Factor
(6.2K)
The Sot-Weed Factor
by John Barth
Mortal Coil
(13.1K)
Mortal Coil
by Derek Landy
Winter Garden
(84K)
Winter Garden
by Kristin Hannah
The A.B.C. Murders
(64K)
The A.B.C. Murders
by Agatha Christie
Pawn in Frankincense
(3K)
Pawn in Frankincense
by Dorothy Dunnett
Fate
(19.9K)
Fate
by Amanda Hocking

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.