An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)

by Sabaa Tahir

Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after.

The field of battle is my temple. The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.

You will be chained to the darkness within yourself as surely as if chained to the walls of a prison cell.”

“You’ll never forget them, not even after years. But one day, you’ll go a whole minute without feeling the pain. Then an hour. A day. That’s all you can ask for, really.” His voice drops. “You’ll heal. I promise.”

The way i just relized i am no longer in as much pain as i once was

I see my own desire for freedom mirrored, intensified in her eyes. It’s something I’ve never detected in the eyes of a fellow student, let alone a Scholar slave. For one strange moment, I feel less alone.

Instead, when he’d met my gaze for a jolting moment, I’d seen life bursting through, chaotic and alluring beneath the shadow of the mask. I’d seen fire and desire, and my heart had thumped faster.

All the beauty of the stars means nothing when life here on earth is so ugly.

But there are two kinds of guilt, girl: the kind that drowns you until you’re useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose.

Life is hard enough without having to avoid entire rooms in my own head.

“Fear can be good, Laia. It can keep you alive. But don’t let it control you. Don’t let it sow doubts within you. When the fear takes over, use the only thing more powerful, more indestructible, to fight it: your spirit. Your heart.”