Home > Work > The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)
141 " He rises from the throne. “Come, have a seat.” His voice is replete with danger, lush with menace. The flowering branches have sprouted thorns so thickly that petals are barely visible.“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” he asks. “What you sacrificed everything for. Go on. It’s all yours. "
― Holly Black , The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)
142 " And to coddle your ego, I have made myself less. I have made myself small, I have kept my head down. But it wasn’t enough to make you leave Taryn and me alone, so I’m not going to do that anymore. “I am going to keep on defying you. I am going to shame you with my defiance. "
143 " It’s funny how you get under his skin.”At first, I’m not sure I heard him right. I almost ask whom he’s talking about, because I can’t quite believe he’s admitting that high and mighty Cardan is affected by anything. “Like a splinter?” I say.“Of iron. No one else bothers him quite the way that you do. "
144 " How will I know when I’ve learned it, since I don’t know it now?” he asks.The question sounds like a riddle. “Come back when returning feels like a hard choice instead of an easy one,” I answer finally. "
145 " There is a pleasure in being with them,” he says. “Taking what we wish, indulging in every terrible thought. There’s safety in being awful. "
146 " It occurs to me that if I kill him, I can finally stop thinking about him. If I kill him, I won't have to feel like this anymore. "
147 " You are nothing. You barely exist at all. Your only purpose is to create more of your kind before you die.He's wrong about me. I am going to make my mayfly life count for something.I won't be afraid of him or of Prince Dain's censure. If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse. -Pg. 210 "
148 " You’re mortal,” he informs me. In his other hand, he’s carrying an empty goblet, tipped over absently, as though he’s forgotten he still carries it. “It’s not safe for you here. Especially if you go around stabbing everyone. "
149 " One of his hands slides over my stomach, tracing the shape of my skin. He kisses me again, and it's like falling off a cliff. Like a mountain slide, building momentum with every touch, until there is only destruction ahead.I have never felt anything like this. "
150 " Our lives are the only real thing we have, our only coin. We get to buy what we want with them. "
151 " And no matter how eager you are for it, you cannot make the moon set nor rise any faster. "
152 " For a moment, Cardan just stares at me with stupid, crow-black eyes. Then one corner of his mouth curls. “Oh,” he says. “You’re going to regret doing that. "
153 " Do you know what mortal means? It means born to die. It means deserving of death. That’s what you are, what defines you—dying. "
154 " She gives me a glare fit to singe hair. "Make me a promise that this is going to save Oak's life.""I promise," I tell her."And make me another promise that it's not going to cost you yours."I nod. "It won't.""Liar," she says. "You're a dirty liar and I hate it and I hate this.""Yeah," I say. "I know."At least she didn't say she hated me, too. "
155 " Mithridatism, it’s called. Isn’t that a funny name? The process of eating poison to build up immunity. So long as I don’t die from it, I’ll be harder to kill "
156 " Cardan tucks my arm firmly through his before striding into the entryway, and I feel a rush of warmth as I match his step. I can't afford to be less than ruthlessly honest with myself. Against my better judgment, despite the fact that he is terrible, Cardan is also fun.Maybe I should be glad of how little it will matter. "
157 " I am afraid that if I begin to feel, I won't be able to bear it. I am afraid that the emotion will be like a wave sucking me under. "
158 " You can't be jealous of me. You don't have to live at the sufferance of the same person who murdered your parents. You don't have to stay angry because if you don't, there's a bottomless well of fear ready to open up under you." I stop speaking abruptly, surprised at myself.I said I wasn't going to be charmed, but I let him trick me into opening up to him. "
159 " I will repay him, although it seems I will have much to repay him for. I will make him proud of me. Everyone else, I will make very, very sorry. "
160 " I thought love was just supposed to happen when you least expected it, like a sap to the skull. "