Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)

by Leigh Bardugo

Many boys will bring you flowers. But some day you’ll meet a boy who will learn your favourite flower, your favourite song, your favourite sweet. And even if he is too poor to give you any of them, it won’t matter because he will have taken the time to know you as no one else does. Only that boy earns your heart.

“I don’t want to die.” “I’ll do my best to make other arrangements for you.”

Matthias suspected that Brekker would drag the girl back from hell himself if he had to.

shore. It had started with a storm, and in a way, that storm had never ended. Nina had blown into his life with the wind and rain and set his world spinning. He’d been off balance ever since.

“It’s not natural for someone to be as stupid as he is tall, and yet there you stand.

“I feel sorry for you, Brekker. There is nothing sacred in your life.” There was a long pause, and then Kaz said, “You’re wrong.”

She’d laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and got drunk on it every night, he would have. It terrified him.

The ache in his lungs was unbearable. He needed to tell her … what? That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. That he was twisted, crooked, wrong, but not so broken that he couldn’t pull himself together into some semblance of a man for her. That without meaning to, he’d begun to lean on her, to look for her, to need her near. He needed to thank her for his new hat.

I can hear the change in Kaz’s breathing when he looks at you.” “You … you can?” “It catches every time, like he’s never seen you before.”

“I want you to stay. I want you to … I want you.”

“I will have you without armour, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all.”

“We all carry our sins, Nina. I need you to live so I can atone for mine.” “You can do that without me, you know.” He buried his head in his hands. “I don’t want to.”