Xaden Quotes

“She can't die, and not just because there's a chance I won't survive. She can't die because I know I can't live without her even if I do.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“You have to fight, Vi,' Xaden whispers against my forehead as we move. 'You can hate me all you want when you wake up. You can scream, hit, throw your fucking daggers at me for all I care, but you have to live. You can't make me fall for you and then die. None of this is worth it without you.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“So then why are you here, Xaden?'

'Because I can't seem to stay away.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“Oh gods.'

'Which one are you calling out for?' he asks against my flesh. 'Because it's just you and me in this room, Vi, and I don't share.'

'You.' My fingers tangle in his hair. 'I'm calling out for you.'

'I appreciate the elevation to deity, but my name will do.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“You're still looking.'
...
'You make it hard to look away.'
...
'I'm over here keeping my hands and memories to myself because you asked me to, and you're fucking me with your eyes. That's not playing fair.'
...
'Told you to stop staring.'
...
'If you'd just man up and admit there's something between us, I would strip down to my skin so you could see every single inch of me. And once I had you begging, I'd drop down to my knees, undo those flight leathers you're wearing, and wrap my lips around-'

Xaden chokes.

Every head in the dining hall turns his way, and Garrick pounds on his back until Xaden waves him off, taking a drink of his water.

I grin, which earns me about six looks of confusion from our table and one set of rolled eyes from Liam.

'You're going to be the death of me.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“Did you step in?' Dain demands.

'Did I what?' Xaden arches a dark brow and levels a look on Dain that would make a lesser person wither. 'Did I see her outnumbered and already wounded? Did I think her bravery was as admirable as it was fucking reckless?' He turns that stare on me, and I feel the impact all the way to my toes.

'And I would do it again.' I raise my chin.

'Well-the-fuck-aware,' Xaden roars, losing his temper for the first time since I met him on Parapet.

I pull in a quick breath, and Xaden does the same, as if he's just as shocked by his outburst as I am.

'Did I see her fight off three bigger cadets?' His gaze pivots to Dain. 'Because the answer to all of those is yes. But you're asking the wrong question, Aetos. What you should be asking is if Sgaeyl saw it, too.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“I know. I made it my business to know everything there was to know about you the second I saw you on the parapet.'

'Because that's not creepy.' I let the coffee warm my freezing hands.

'Can't know how to ruin someone without understanding them first,' he says quietly.

I lift my gaze to find that his is already on me. 'And is that still your plan?' Mira's words have haunted me for two days.

He flinches. 'No.'

'What changed?' Frustration tightens my grip on the mug. 'When exactly did you decide not to ruin me?'

'Maybe it was when I saw Oren holding a knife to your throat,' he says. 'Or maybe it was when I realised the bruises on your neck were fingerprints and wanted to kill them all over again just so I could do it slowly. Maybe it was the first time I recklessly kissed you or when I realised I'm fucked because I can't stop thinking about doing more than just kissing you.' My breath catches at his admission, but he just sighs, lets his head fall back against the wall. 'Does it even matter when, as long as it changed between us?'

'Don't do that,' I whisper, and he lifts his head again to hold my gaze.

'Do what? Tell you I can't get you out of my head? Or speak directly into yours?'

'Either.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“If I asked you to stay behind, would you?' His eyes bore into mine.

'No.'

'Exactly. I try not to pick fights I know I can't win.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“His thumbs stroke over the soft skin under my ears, and his gaze drops before he suddenly lets go and retreats a full step. 'Damn it. Touching you was a bad idea.'

'The worst.' I agree, but my tongue skims my lower lip.

He groans and my core melts at the sound. 'Kissing you would be a cataclysmic mistake.'

'Calamitous.' What would it take to hear that groan again?

The inches between us feel like kindling, ready to burn at the first suggestion of hear, and I'm a living, breathing flame. This is everything I should run from, and yet denying the primal attraction I feel is completely, utterly impossible.

'We'll both regret it.' He shakes his head, but there's more than hunger in his eyes as he stares at my lips.

'Naturally,' I whisper. But knowing I'll regret it doesn't stop me from wanting it- wanting him. Regretting is a problem for future Violet.

'Fuck it.'

One second he's out of reach and the next his mouth is on mine, hot and insistent.

Gods, yes. This is exactly what I need.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“There's nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn't find you, Violence.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“Tell me what you're thinking.'

I wind my arms around his neck. 'I was thinking you are exactly as I predicted the first time you took me in my room.'

'Oh yeah?' He draws back, curiosity sparking in his eyes. 'And what exactly was that?'

'A very dangerous addiction.' My gaze skims over the silver line of his scar, the thick lashes so many women would kill for, and over the bump in his nose to that perfectly sculped mouth. I've already told him that I love him, so it's not like I'm keeping secrets over here. Hell, compared to him, I'm an open book. 'Impossible to sate.'

His eyes darken. 'I'm going to keep you,' he promises, just like he did last night. Or was it this morning? 'You're mine, Violet.'

I lift my chin. 'Only if you're mine.'

'I've been yours for longer than you could ever imagine.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“Xaden's head snaps in my direction. 'Violence?'

I take a step and then another, holding my frame upright with muscle memory I didn't have last year, and begin to cross.

Xaden swings his legs up and then fucking jumps to his feet. 'Turn around right now!' he shouts.

'Come with me,' I call over the wind, bracing myself as gust whips my skirt against my legs. 'Should have gone with the pants,' I mutter and keep walking.

He's already coming my way, his strides just as long and confident as if he was on solid ground, eating up the distance between us as I move forward slowly until we meet.

'What the fuck are you doing out here?' he asks, locking his hands on my waist. He's in riding leathers, not a dress uniform, and he's never looked better.

What am I doing out here? I'm risking everything to reach him. And if he rejects me... No. There's no room for fear on the parapet.

'I could ask you the same thing.'

His eyes widen. 'You could have fallen and died!'

'I could say the same thing.' I smile, but it's shaky. The look in his eyes is wild, like he's been driven past the point where he can contain himself in the neat, apathetic façade he usually wears in public.

It doesn't scare me. I like him better when he's real with me, anyway.

'And did you stop to think that if you fall and die, then I can die?' He leans in and my pulse jumps.

'Again,' I say softly, resting my hands on his firm chest, right above his heartbeat, 'I could say the same thing.' Even if Xaden's death wouldn't kill Sgaeyl, I'm not sure I could survive it.'

Shadows rise, darker than the night that surrounds us. 'You're forgetting that I wield shadows, Violence. I'm just as safe out here as I am in the courtyard. Are you going to wield lightning to break your fall?'

Fine. That's a good point.

'I... perhaps did not think that part through as thoroughly as you,' I admit. I wanted to be close to him, so I got close, parapet be damned.'

'You're seriously going to be the death of me.' His fingers flex at my waist. 'Go back.'

It's not a rejection, not with the way he's looking at me. We've been sparring emotionally for the past month, hell, even longer than that, and one of us has to expose our jugular. I finally trust him enough to know he won't go for the kill.

'Only if you do. I want to be whereever you are.' And I mean it. Everyone else- everything else in the world can fall away and I won't care as long as I'm with him.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“I reach for her. 'I'm so sorry I had to keep...' My words die on my tongue as she steps back, avoiding me.

'Not happening.' A world of hurt flashes in those hazel eyes, and I fucking wither. 'Just because I believe you and am willing to fight with you doesn't mean I'll trust you with my heart again. and I can't be with someone I don't trust.'

Something in my chest crumples. 'I've never lied to you, Violet. Not once. I never will.'

She walks over to the window and looks down, then slowly turns back to me. 'It's not even that you kept this from me. I get it. It's the ease with which you did it. The ease with which I let you into my hear and didn't get the same in return.' She shakes her head, and I see it there, the love, but it's masked behind defences I foolishly forced her to build.

I love her. Of course I love her. But if I tell her now, she'll think I'm doing it for all the wrong reasons, and honestly, she'd be right.

I'm not going to lose the only woman I've ever fallen for without a fight. 'You're right. I kept secrets,' I admit, pressing forward again, taking step after step until I'm less than a foot from her. I palm the glass on both sides of her head, loosely caging her in, but we both know she could walk away if she wanted. But she doesn't move. 'It took me a long time to trust you, a long time to realise I fell for you.'

Someone knocks, I ignore it.

'Don't say that.' She lifts her chin, but I don't miss the way she glances at my mouth.

'I fell for you.' I lower my head and look straight into her gorgeous eyes. She might be rightfully pissed, but she sure as Malek isn't fickle. 'And you know what? You might not trust me anymore, but you still love me.'

Her lips part, but she doesn't deny it. 'I gave you my trust for free once, and once is all you get.' She masks the hurt with a quick blink.

Never again. Those eyes will never reflect hurt I've inflicted ever again.

'I fucked up by not telling you sooner, and I won't even try to justify my reasons. But now I'm trusting you with my life- with everyone's lives.' I've risked it all by just bringing her here instead of taking her body back to Basgiath. 'I'll tell you anything you want to know and everything you don't. I'll spend every single day of my life earning back your trust.'

I'd forgotten what it felt like to be loved, really, truly, loved- it'd been so many years since Dad died. And mom... Not going there. But then Violet gave me those words, gave me her trust, her heart, and I remembered. I'll be damned if I don't fight to keep them.

'And if it's not possible?'

'You still love me. It's possible.' Gods, do I ache to kiss her, to remind her exactly what we are together, but I won't, not until she asks. 'I'm not afraid of hard work, especially not when I know just how sweet the rewards are.. I would rather lose this entire war than live without you, and if that means I have to prove myself, over and over, then I'll do it. You gave me your heart, and I'm keeping it.' She already owns mine, even if she doesn't realise it.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“I'm going to keep you,' he promises, just like he did last night. Or was it this morning? 'You're mine, Violet.'

I lift my chin. 'Only if you're mine.'

'I've been yours for longer than you could ever imagine.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“I love you, the world does not exist for me beyond you. Xaden to Violet.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame

“Can't you just hide us in shadows or something?'

'Sure, because a giant black cloud moving down the hallway isn't going to look more suspicious than a couple sneaking around.' He shoots me a look that keeps me from countering.

Point taken.

Not that we're a couple.

Not that I wouldn't climb the man like a tree if presented with the right set of circumstances.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“Bet it would be even more awkward if I kissed you now, huh?'

Yes, please.

'The next time we kiss had better not be just to piss off Dain.' The next time had better only be because we want it.

'Next time, huh?' His gaze lowers to my mouth again.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“Holy. Fucking. Hot.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“It's already snowing up the pass. I bet we get 7 inches tonight... Maybe more if your good. Xaden to Violet.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame

“Violet,' Xaden groans against my mouth. The plea in his tone floods my veins with a whole different form of power. Knowing he's just as affected by our attraction as I am is a rush. 'This isn't what you want.'

'It's exactly what I want,' I counter. I want to replace the anger with lust, the death of the day with the pulse-pounding assurance of my own life, and I know he's capable of delivering all that and more. 'You said to do whatever I need.' I arch my back, pressing the tips of my breasts against his chest.

His breathing changes, and there's a war in his eyes that I'm determined to win.

It's time to stop dancing around this unbearable tension and break it.

He leans down, his mouth only inches from mine. 'And I'm telling you that I'm the last thing you need.' The barely leashed growl of his voice rumbles up through his chest, and every nerve ending in my body flares to life.

'Are you suggesting someone else?' My heart races as I chance calling his bluff.

'Fuck no.' The unmistakable flare of jealousy narrows his eyes for a heartbeat before his hips pin mine to the door, and my instant relief at his answer is replaced by a jolt of pure lust. I can see that infamous control of his hovering on the edge, balancing precariously on the point of a knife. All he needs is one. Little. Push. And I'm about to shamelessly shove.

'Good.' I tilt my head up to his and draw his bottom lip between mine, sucking before gently nipping him with my teeth. 'Because I only want you, Xaden.'

The words breach something within him, and he gives.

Finally.

One mouths collide, and the kiss is hot and hard and completely out of our control.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“Even when I'm not with you, there's only you. Xaden to Violet.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame

“I'll spend every single day of my life earning back your trust. Xaden to Violet.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame

“Xaden Riorson is now in the business of keeping his mortal enemy alive.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“Apparently I can't trust Liam to report deadly situations or Rhiannon to train you on the mat, seeing how easily Barlowe had you pinned, so as of this moment, I'm taking over.'

'Taking over what?' My eyes narrow.

'Everything when it comes to you.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“I fucking love your hair. Xaden to Violet.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame

“There's no where in existence you could go that I wouldn't find you remember? Xaden to Violet.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame

“He snaps his fingers and the room illuminates, mage lights hovering above us. “You’re all fucking dead.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“- Perderías todo por lo que has trabajado por salvarme, por mi…
- Pues entonces seguiré teniendo todo lo que necesito, con mucho gusto vería al mundo arder hasta las cenizas si eso significa que tú sigas con vida.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame

“Which one are you calling out for? Because it's just you and me in this room, Vi, and I don't share.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing

“Dragons are not concerned with the opinions of the sheep.”
― Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing