Home > Work > Ice Like Fire (Snow Like Ashes, #2)
61 " It makes sense in my head. But it doesn't make sense in my heart. "
― Sara Raasch , Ice Like Fire (Snow Like Ashes, #2)
62 " I wish I didn't have to force it away - I wish none of us had to, and we were all strong enough to deal with the things that have happened to us. "
63 " Magic is all about choice. Choosing to use it, choosing to surrender to it, choosing to take it from the chasm - choosing to let it break in defense of a kingdom. The most powerful magic of all is choice, and of that power, the strongest choice anyone can make in an act of sacrifice. "
64 " You've fought for Winter so spectacularly. I am more proud than I have ever been to call you my son, and I will do all I can to help you as you help our Kingdom. But don't forget to fight for yourself as well- there is no shame in that. "
65 " He’s proud of someone who doesn’t exist. "
66 " We’re different from them—we can’t forget our pasts because it’s all we’ve ever known. And I think the older ones realize you know that, and that’s the reason they don’t want you around. Because the people who are running this kingdom can’t bear to have anyone around who might remind them of their great failure. "
67 " it was too hard to believe she was real, this child throwing insults and truths with more accuracy than any adult. "
68 " Denial has nothing to do with it. There’s no way to handle it at all. "
69 " They weren’t themselves. He was a lord and she was a queen and Theron was . . . hers. Theron, who smiled at her now. Mather wished he could find even a flicker of dishonesty in that smile—but it was pure and true, and "
70 " Should I have let him bleed my kingdom dry? Should I have not fought back? No, of course not. But not like this. Not like . . . me. "
71 " No one knows how empty I feel, like a quiver for arrows, existing only to hold a greater weapon. "
72 " Okay,” he says, arms crossed, the paper crinkling in his fist. “Yell at me.” I squint. “Yell at you?” Mather nods. “Yes. Do it. I’ve—” He stops, jaw snapping shut with an audible click. He shifts away from me, back again, lips pursing in nervous frustration. “The least I can do is let you yell at me. We both know I deserve it. So”—he waves me on—“yell at me. "
73 " So you can see why I might be confused that you think of protecting Winter’s queen, when for the past couple of months, you’ve acted as though you didn’t give a damn about her. But don’t worry, I have plenty of other people in my life who have perfected the ability to pretend to care. You don’t owe me any favors. "
74 " None of this was the freedom he thought he’d wanted. "
75 " Did everyone know of his failures, how he was not only no longer the king, but no longer someone Winter’s true ruler turned to at all? Did everyone recognize how far he had fallen? "
76 " I have no idea how to find the Order of the Lustrate. Not beyond these keys. There’s something more to them, something I don’t understand, and it terrifies me. "
77 " Needing a family, though? He would never in a thousand winters need it. "
78 " He could help me in this. He could stay, help me deal with . . . everything. "
79 " I can’t be afraid of anything. "
80 " It’s beautiful.” Theron runs his fingers down the threads. “A Winter–Spring battle?” He looks at me, expectant. I actually manage a chuckle. “You’re asking me? You’re the one with Ventrallan blood. "