Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #3)

by Leigh Bardugo

“Break his heart cruelly. I will gladly give our poor prince comfort, and I would make a magnificent queen.”

should tell you that he loved her too,” she continued. “At least, I think he did. But it was never enough to make him stop his work. It couldn’t temper the need that drove him.

“I gave him his pride. I burdened him with ambition, but the worst thing I did was try to protect him.

The Darkling’s mother

Maybe love was superstition, a prayer we said to keep the truth of loneliness at bay. I tilted my head back. The stars looked like they were close together, when really they were millions of miles apart. In the end, maybe love just meant longing for something impossibly bright and forever out of reach.

just know there’s no way to live without pain—no matter how long or short your life is. People let you down. You get hurt and do damage in return.

“You move forward, and when you falter, you get up. And when you can’t, you let us carry you. You let me carry you.”