The Ascended (The Aesymarean Duet, #1)

by Bree Grenwich

For the quiet aftermath, when the battle ends and we must face what victory has made of us.

"And I think maybe adventure isn't always about going somewhere new. Sometimes it's about finding something worth staying for."

For a moment, I let myself imagine what it would be like to be the kind of woman someone could love without reservation. One who didn't carry secrets—who could give her heart freely instead of sharpening it like a weapon.

"I built walls not just to keep others out," he said after a moment, his voice so low I had to lean closer to hear it, "but to keep something of myself in. Something they couldn't take or change or control."

I didn't understand then that some people just... break something else when they're broken."

“You don’t understand, Thais.” His eyes burned into mine. "This can never just be physical for me," he said. "Not with you. And you deserve so much more than half of a man promised to someone else."

“That’s not the only problem, Thais. I don’t just want your body. I want all of you. Every single piece. If we go there, it will ruin me for the rest of my life.”

"Only you would face down a god of death at his most unhinged and complain about his emotional unavailability."

Perhaps it took more courage to let go than to hold on.

“Stop trying to reason with me.” His fingers tightened in my hair. “This is going to break me, Thais.” “Xül—” “You don’t understand.” He cut me off. “I love you, starling. I’m in love with you.”

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"I can't give you what you need." "I don't need anything from you." His voice was fierce. "I just need you to exist. To be here. To let me help carry this until you can carry it yourself again." "And if that's never?" "Then I'll carry it forever." He said it like a simple fact. Like the sun rising. "That's what loving someone means." Love. What a cursed, vicious thing.

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