Empire of Flame and Thorns (Flame and Thorns, #1)

by Marion Blackwood

People already keep me at arm’s length, and I don’t want to give them any more reasons to dislike me.

But I don’t. Because no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise, I still desperately want people to like me. I want them to trust me. I want to be accepted.

“If people fear you, use it as a shield. People will always seek to tear you down, because of one thing or another. Be it for how you look or how you behave or who your family is or what magic you have. There will always be people who will use any weakness against you so that they

can feel better about their own pitiful lives.”

It’s a circular problem that I can’t solve without sacrificing something.

Pure rage burns in his golden eyes as he comes to a halt on the floor. Then his gaze flicks down to me, and that rage darkens into something not of this world. Something so terrifying that ice skitters across my skin at the mere sight of it.

“You always put everyone else’s needs and wants ahead of your own. You always take care of everyone else. But who takes care of you?” “I do.”