Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1)

by Rebecca Ross

But if I’ve learned anything from those fools, it’s that to be vulnerable is a strength most of us fear.

Continue to pretend that your life was fine while you were with us by day, even as you grieved by night? Would you even know

“I don’t want to wake up when I’m seventy-four only to realize I haven’t lived.”

I don’t think you realize how strong you are, because sometimes strength isn’t swords and steel and fire, as we are so often made to believe. Sometimes it’s found in quiet, gentle places. The way you hold someone’s hand as they grieve. The way you listen to others. The way you show up, day after day, even when you are weary or afraid or simply uncertain.

and the stillness broke when they touched, as if they had cracked the world.

She would have slapped him. She might have kissed him.

This. This is everything.

Like reaching for a friend in the darkness and finding their hand.