6
" When she is crowned in jasmine, in needle-flower, in smoke and in fire, he will kneel before he and name her," repeated Rao, in common Zaban. And suddenly Malini was shivering, every inch of her afire with a mad elation that rose up, up in her blood. "He will give the princess of Parijat her fate: He will say..." He swallowed. Raised his eyes, which were fierce and wet. "Name who shall sit upon the throne, princess. Name the flower of empire. Name the head that shall reign beneath a crown of poison. Name the hand that lit the pyre." The silence was deep; a drumming tense silence, drawn taut as a bowstring. "He will name her thus," finished Rao. "And she will know. "
― Tasha Suri , The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms, #1)
8
" Oh, vows could be broken. Of course they could. And yet Priya was… not entirely a safe person to lie to. And worse still, Malini did not want to break a promise to her.
There was a sound, somewhere below them. Priya’s jaw hardened.
“Promise me this, or one way or another, you die here.”
“You’ll kill me after all, Priya?”
“No, you fool woman,” Priya said, eyes blazing. “No. Never me. "
― Tasha Suri , The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms, #1)
15
" It would be foolish to try to take what was not hers to take. Royal sons were the ones who wore the crown. Royal women were...
Well.
She thought of her fellow princess Alori, and of highborn Narina, and how they had screamed when the flames had touched them. How they smelled as they burned, as their crowns of stars splintered around their skulls, as even the sweetness of perfume and flowers could not block out the acrid scent of burnt hair and silk, or the smell of flesh, fat, marrow burning and burning and burning.
Royal women are only crowned in death, Malini thought furiously. "
― Tasha Suri , The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms, #1)
20
" The moment I saw you, I felt a tug. You are the feeling of falling, the tidal waters, the way a living thing will always turn, seeking light. It isn’t that I think you are good or kind, or even that I love you. It is only that, the moment I saw you, I knew I would seek you out. Just as I sought the deathless waters. Just as I sought my brother. Just as I seek all things—without thought, with nothing but want. "
― Tasha Suri , The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms, #1)
