Boy of Chaotic Making (Whimbrel House, #3)

by Charlie N. Holmberg

Children always look forward to the future because they don’t yet value the past.

Even with all the balms one could hope for, the hurt carves your soul and leaves a scar.

“A man who can hear the thoughts of the creatures around him can never truly step out of their world.”

Darkness, I mean. It’s just a part of the world. Part of life. It makes sense to me now. And my darkness . . . that’s a piece of my story, like a chapter in one of your books. I’m not supposed to tear it out. It makes me stronger. It adds to what I’m facing now, and what I’ll face in the future. It’s part of me, just like my legs or my magic or my mind.

“As I bind your hands, so are your lives bound in a union of love, trust, and devotion. Like the stars, your love should be a constant source of light, and like the earth, a foundation from which to grow.”

“May this knot remain forever tied, and may your hands always hold one another. Hold tightly during the storms of life, and be gentle as they nurture one another. I summon the spirits of the four quarters of our world, that this binding may be blessed by the powers of all creation. So let it be, amen.”

“Hulda, I am a better man because of you. I am a found man. You have changed everything in my life for the better. I honestly don’t know how I lived before you. I want your face to be the first thing I see in the morning, and your voice to be the last I hear at night, forever and always. I will gladly haunt this house with you for eternity.”

“You have written me a happy ending, and I cannot fathom a better story than ours.”