A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)

by V.E. Schwab

I am Delilah Bard, she thought as the ropes cut into her skin. I am a thief and a pirate and a traveler. I have set foot in three different worlds, and lived. I have shed the blood of royals and held magic in my hands. And a ship full of men cannot do what I can. I don’t need any of you. I am one of a damned kind.

“Mysteries are always more exciting than truths.”

People survived by being cautious, but they got ahead by being bold.

“I’ve found that watching is the quickest way to learn, and the safest way to stay alive.”

“Politics is a dance until the moment it becomes a war. And we control the music.”

You cannot be the symbol of power and an ordinary man at the same time. You have to choose. Choose right.

My greatest fear in life isn’t dying. It’s being the source of someone else’s suffering.

“Not anymore. But youth makes fools of us all. Let’s just say I was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the wrong side.”