The Bone Season

Knowledge is dangerous. Once you know something, you can't get rid of it. You have to carry it. Always.

There was no normal. There never had been. "Normal" and "natural" were the biggest lies we'd ever created.

No, Paige. I am trying to help you.” “Go to hell.” “I already exist on a level of hell.” “Exist on one that isn't near mine.

I would never see him again. But as I watched the tunnel race before my eyes, I was certain of one thing: I did trust him. Now I had only to trust in myself.

They'd branded me like some kind of animal. Lower than an animal. A number.

You cannot kill death. What fire can scald the sun? Who can drown the ocean?

I looked at him and he looked at me. A moment. A choice. My choice. His choice.

There are certain things in life that you never forget. Things that dig deep, things that nest in the hadal zone.

I don't know. I just want you with me. I had never said those words aloud. Now that I could taste my freedom I wanted him to share it with me. But he couldn't change his life for me. And I couldn't sacrifice my life to be with him.

I do not know what I can do for this world but I will not let any harm come to you.

His thumbs ran over my cheeks. Our foreheads touched. My dreamscape scorched. He set fire to the poppies.

Not all of us know what we are. Some of us die without ever knowing. Some of us know, and never get caught. But we're out there. Trust me.

My father thought I would lead a simple life; that I was bright but unambitious, complacant with whatever work life threw at me. My father, as usual, was wrong.

I like to imagine there were more of us in the beginning. Not many, I suppose. But more than there are now.

Because I don’t know whether honesty is better than happiness. Do we sacrifice honesty in order to be happy?

This was what my spirit longed to do, to wander in strange lands. It couldn't stand being trapped in one body all the time. It had wanderlust.

if I never returned-if you never see me again-it will mean that everything is alright. That I have ended her. But if I return, it will mean I have failed. That there is still danger. And then I will find you

I do.” He was clearly amused by my disdain. “We have only been speaking for two minutes, Paige. Try not to waste all your sarcasm in one breath.

I thought of all the years I had spent thinking about him, wondering if he would ever come back to me. And I thought of him now, pictured his smile, how he looked after me, and it was useless: I just wanted him. I put my head in my arms and cried.

But if there was a heaven this is what it would have felt like. Touching the aether with my bare hands I could never have anticipated this, not from him.

You saved me, Nick. Sooner or later I would have lost my mind. I had to know, or I would have always felt like an outsider. You made me feel like I was part of something, part of a lot of things actually. I'll never be able to repay you for that.

I brought you back because I could not find the strength to fight her without you but for that same reason I will do everything in my power to see you safely to the Citadel.

You may not believe it, but it is what I desire the most in the world. This place has afflicted me with a terrible wanderlust. I long for the fire, for the sights you have seen. Yet here I am, two hundred years after I arrived. Still a prisoner, though I masquerade as a king.

He wouldn't have understood if I'd told him why I spend my time with criminals. He didn't know that I belonged with them. More than I belonged with him.

Perhaps I feel safest when I think of nothing.

Paige, you will have two tasks tonight,” he said, turning to face me. “Both will test the limits of your sanity. Will you believe me if I tell you that they will help you?” “Not likely,” I said, “but let's get on with it.

It was raining that day. My last day at work.