Ivy

“He would have lived next door to a garbage gully if it meant a roof over his head, hot meals, waking up in the same room every morning without his heart hammering as he tried to remember where he was.”
― Leigh Bardugo, The Demon in the Wood

“In the eerie, muffled silence of the water, he heard his mother's voice, vicious like a whip crack. She was always more of him, demanding it, and now she told him to fight. She spoke his true name, the one she only used when they trained, the name tattooed on his heart. A heart that had not stopped beating. A heart that still had life.”
― Leigh Bardugo, The Demon in the Wood

“After a long moment, he said, "Aleksander."
A little laugh escaped me. He arched a brow, a smile tugging at his lips. "What?"
"It's just so... common." Such an ordinary name, held by kings and peasants alike.
His smile deepened and he cocked his head to the side. It almost hurt to see him this way. "Will you say it?" he asked.
"Aleksander," I whispered.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Ruin and Rising

“Never let them touch you. Because one touch was enough to reveal it, this gift lurking inside him. It was enough to make him less a boy than a prize.”
― Leigh Bardugo, The Demon in the Wood