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

by Rachel Gillig

“Which is more intricate?” he mused. “The designs of men, trying to reach gods, or that of gods, trying to reach men?” My hammer collided with a chunk of granite. “What is either to the intricacies of women, who reach both?”

“I think contentedness,” I said bitterly, “is just a story we tell ourselves.”

“Her care came with conditions. You bent yourself to fit them, and now… now you see yourself as this terrible burden. Like you’re nothing if you’re not the best, the most useful version of yourself.”

“You don’t have to be good, or useful, for someone to care about you.”

created. Starving things make for loyal pets, so long as you feed them just enough.