Home > Work > A History of Madness (The Outlands Pentalogy #2)
1 " Anais is one of the few places in the world where scars can be erased by creams and lotions. I hate that I know that now. I hate that I've seen how many things can be erased, as if they never happened. As if the damage was all a dream. "
― Rebecca Crunden , A History of Madness (The Outlands Pentalogy #2)
2 " You cannot live in a cage forever, darling,' he said. 'Humans were meant to be free. One day you'll wish you came with me.''Dangerous words.''We're dangerous creatures; some of us have just forgotten how. "
3 " Kitty looked at him, her eyes so open and genuine that he felt like he'd just been run over. The tattoo on her face had long stopped reminding him of Gabriel. The most beautiful thing in the world to him now bore the thing he most desired to be. It was impossible not to adore that. "
4 " But the look on her face was more fearsome than a lion. He had always known her defiance burned brighter than most. She wasn't like him. He ran when damaged. She fought back even harder. "
5 " Tommy was the armour and Nate was the sword, and together they made an unconquerable match. "
6 " Freedom was there for those who sought it. They had lost more than their share along the way, and the unfairness of that would never be rectified, but freedom stood wide open and welcoming, and he felt faint at the sight of it. "
7 " His parting conversation with Tommy would haunt him for eternity. 'I could find you even in death, brother. "
8 " In the midst of dealing with the wretched - and to him unbelievable - loss of the only thing he had ever loved, Nate found himself loving the woman who loved his brother almost as much as he did. "
9 " Name?' the man asked, still not looking up, clearly unbothered by the arrival of another convict. He must have seen hundreds by this point.'Anteros,' said Nate with a grimace. He hated his name.'Oh!' The man's head shot up, eyes wide with surprise. He appraised Nate for a moment, unabashedly curious. 'You don't look much like your capture.''More handsome?''Thinner,' said the man critically. 'And you've lost a lot of hair. Cut it yourself?''I let the rats I was living with chew it off. I'm told I taste like strawberries. "
10 " Darling?'She looked at him. 'Yeah?''Are you afraid of anything?'Kitty nodded. 'I didn't used to be.''I'm afraid of everything.''Why?''I've never been given a reason not to be. "
11 " Nate smiled to himself as Tommy's face swam into his mind. 'Hes the only person in the world I have always known without question to be mine. If Kitty...' His throat tightened and he had to clear it several times before the words formed. 'You may not have noticed but I don't care much for life. There's plenty awaiting me in the next life, and I'm certain it will be less painful. I stay alive for her, and because I cannot yet believe my brother dead.' He smoked for a second before continuing. 'I’ve asked other siblings about it before. Siblings I know to love each other undeniably; siblings who do anything for each other. I've never met another pair like us. The only thing I've ever believed in is Tommy. "
12 " I envy your lady a bit. She's lucky.'That gave him pause. 'Kitty? Whatever for? Are you harbouring some deep longing to Complement a rotund leech?''It's hard not to envy the one who is held in such high regard by someone so passionate,' she mused. 'It's like you're ready to burst with all the fire you feel. It's intoxicating.''Not to me,' he said. 'It's horrible.''Caring?''Yes. I don't recommend it at all. "
13 " Kitty sat down beside him. 'Do you remember the last time we were trudging around a mountain?'Nate snorted. 'God, that feels so long ago.'She passed him a bottle of water. 'I kind of hated you then.''Kind of? Darling, with the amount of vitriol you spat my way it's a wonder I ever liked you at all.' He reached out and brushed sweaty hair away from her eyes. "Then again, perhaps not. I would have loved you either way. "
14 " You must feel more than hate if you love her as much as you do.'Nate leaned his head back against the wall. Some words were better left unsaid, but strange things occurred in the darkness; words that would never be utterable in the daylight suddenly seemed necessary in the night. He let out a long breath and shrugged. 'There's nothing good or easy or kind about loving her. I'm completely consumed. I wouldn't change it. Not for anything in the world. But I don't think I've ever once been able to be happy about it. "
15 " Ive been out there,' said Nate. 'On my own. It's the only place that's never worried me.''But what about mutants? Rabids? Wild animals?'What about guards, the Private Police, Crown and Council?' he countered. 'There's danger on both sides of the Wall. The difference is that those dangers make sense to me. I'd rather live a life without law and take my chances than risk dying helpless at the hands of another human who hates me and doesn't even know why. "
16 " It was selfish to ever want this life for you,' he admitted.'It's not selfish to want the one you love to want the life you love. "
