War Storm

Love can be exploited, I guess, used to manipulate. It's leverage. But I would never call loving someone else a weakness. I think living without love at all, any kind of love, is weakness. And the worst kind of darkness.

I am different from what my world demands I be. And I am not worse for it.

Not all crowns are worn where people can see.

To rise. And rise alone.

But there's always something left to be broken.

Ignorance is a burden I do not intend to carry.

Cal is built from his father’s dreams, and Maven from his mother’s nightmares.

Never change, Evangeline.“ Her smile flashes, quick as a knife. „Of course not. Why change perfection?

Our paths may be horrible, but they're the paths we made for ourselves.

He loved the crown before he loved me, whether he knows it or not

But we all still have the ability to choose, in the end.

Change can be quick, or it can be slow. But the movement should always be forward

When she moves, I realize her hair is different too. The gray ends are gone, replaced by a beautiful, familiar purple. I love it.

I don't like being your chess piece." "Everyone is someone else's pawn, Mare. whether we know it or not.

„Mare?“ The radio is in my hand before I can even think to ask for it. „I‘m here,“ I say, locking eyes with him across a canyon. „Is it too late?

And somehow everyone calls me a monster.

I am well accustomed to darkness by now. What's a few more miles? Nothing at all. I've always felt darkness all over me, stubborn as a stain. It follows wherever I go.

You forged this crown yourself - now wear it. Or don't.

Strange that she is both the anchor against the storm and the storm itself.

I ache for my ability the way I ache for Mare, for Thomas, for who I was supposed to be.

It's possible the girl he thought he loved is gone. I know what that's like too, to love someone who doesn't really exist.

I walked away from his offer. From him. I was torn apart by another betrayal—Cal’s betrayal, but also mine. I love you is a promise we both made, and we both broke. It should mean I choose you above all else. I want you more. I need you always. I cannot live without you. I will do anything to keep our lives from parting. But he wouldn’t. And I won’t.

I will not be a red queen

It sets something off in Maven. He jumps out of reach, keeping his distance from all of us. The twitching returns in force, but his eyes blaze, all fire. No fear. "You think I can't lie through pain," he snarls, his voice thundering through the room. "You think I haven't done it a thousand times?" ... For a brief, empty moment I see nothing but darkness, and I try not to think of Maven. His words. What his life was and continues to be.

I can't," I bite out, looking anywhere but his face. He responds quickly, with force. "Neither can I." "But I also can't - " Stay away. Keep doing this. Denying ourselves in the face of always-looming death. Tiberias hisses out a breath. "Neither can I.

If there's one thing I should forget, it's him.

If. I hate that word.

My heart leaps in my chest when her feet slide. Moving sideways. Not closer, not farther. Now it's her turn to prowl. Even though she's only walking, it feels like a dance. I mirror her movements, stepping with her. She's more graceful than I am, a lithe thief born of many years and many twists of fate. ... The sparks reflect in her eyes. They shudder from brown to purple, giving her an unearthly look, like her gaze might run me through. Part of me wishes she would.

Mother had to be careful with him, but in the end, it wasn't she who severed the last thread between us. It was Mare Barrow. My brilliant fool of a brother couldn't keep sight on all that was his, and what little was mine.