The Knight and the Moth (The Stonewater Kingdom, #1)

by Rachel Gillig

Loom stone. Only love, only heartbreak, can weave the thread of all that came, and all that is yet to come.

People who love you for your usefulness don’t love you at all.”

“When you do the right thing for the wrong reason, no one praises you. When you do the wrong thing for the right reason, everyone does, even though what is right and wrong depends entirely on the story you’re living in. And no one says they need recognition or praise or love, but we all hunger for it. We all want to be special.”

“I like that you’re a bad knight,” I said, pressing my teeth into his bottom lip. “It’s what makes you a good one.”

Not everything had to hurt to be holy. Bad, to be good. But damn me if I wanted it to sometimes.

“I am a battlefield of admiration.” He nodded at the horizon. “I cannot decide which I like best. The sunrise, or the sunset. They are like life, and her quiet companion, death.”

“But. There is something to be said about love. Be it for ardor or sorrow, love is like the Heartsore Weaver—like an Omen. Its signs are everywhere. We may seek it, create it, feel it, ignore it, or lose it, but it is always there. Love is like our loom stone—it keeps us rooted to the world. To one another.”

“Divination is a gift we give ourselves—that we might avoid the pain that comes from living, from loving, if we see it coming.

“I can’t ask you to leave the knighthood.” “Because you know I’d say yes?” “Because the king relies on you. I can’t ask you to choose between—” “You don’t have to.” His eyes were so dark. So soft. “I’ve already chosen.”

I knew exactly how to read the signs—knew exactly what was going to happen to me. It was happening right now. I was falling in love.

“It means something that you care enough to argue.” Breath fluttered out of me. “Maybe I just like fighting with you.” “I’m sure that’s the only reason.”

“The rest of the story could not exist without us.”

Swords and armor are nothing to stone.

You’ve known everything, Diviner. And to be all-knowing…”

“What is a god, if not that?”