" She didn't know what to do, and Yskandr didn't know what to do, and Three Seagrass was going to keep hurting her like she had yesterday, keep thinking of her as 'my clever barbarian' and not as Mahit Dzmare, no matter how many times they kissed, and there was no such thing as safety and no such thing as going home. "

― Arkady Martine , A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan #2)