An Ember in the Ashes Quotes

“My eyes never leaving Cain’s, I drop to my knees, draw my sword, and run the blade across my palm. My blood falls to the dais in a rapid drip. “I, Elias Veturius, swear, by blood and by bone . . . ”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Bind him properly this time and get him into an interrogation cell.” The Mask removes himself from the fray, rubbing his jaw. When he sees me backing down the hallway, he goes strangely still. Reluctantly, I meet his eyes, and he tilts his head. “Run, little girl,” he says. My brother is still fighting, and his screams slice right through me. I know then that I will hear them over and over again, echoing in every hour of every day until I am dead or I make it right. I know it. And still, I run. »»»”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“For Kashi,
who taught me that my spirit
is stronger than my fear”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“I’m not going to kill you,” I say, nestling the blade into his neck. “Just wanted you to know I could. Now take me to my execution, Emperor.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“I wonder if he has a sister, a wife, a woman. But it wouldn't matter if he did. To him, I'm not someone's family. I'm just a thing to be subdued, used, and discarded.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“You’ll never forget them, not even after years. But one day, you’ll go a whole minute without feeling the pain. Then an hour. A day. That’s all you can ask for, really.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“I realize that some naiive sliver of me hoped that he was better than this. Not good, necessarily. Just not evil.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“I throw her over my shoulder”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“As I head back to Blackcliff, I try to make sense of what just happened. I want to believe that I can trust Mazen, that he’ll hold to his end of the bargain. But something is off. I’ve struggled for days to eke out extra time from him. It makes no sense for him to suddenly give it away so easily. And something else sets my nerves on edge. It’s how quickly Mazen forgot about me when Sana showed up. And it’s how, when he promised to save my brother, he didn’t quite look me in the eyes.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“May I offer you my congratulations, Commandant?” “On what?” “On the naming of the Aspirants. It’s all over the city. Your son—” “Get out,” the Commandant says. She turns her back on the startled slaver, who quickly retreats, and settles her gaze on me. This thing actually spawned? What kind of demon had she whelped? I shudder, hoping I never find out. The”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“My dress, black silk with a corset-tight bodice and diamond-patterned skirt, is the finest thing I’ve ever worn. I hate it on sight. The”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Destiny?” I laugh, a bitter thing. “What destiny?” Everything here is blood and violence. After I graduate tomorrow, nothing will change. The missions, the rote viciousness, will wear me down until there’s nothing left of the boy the Augurs stole fourteen years ago. Maybe that’s a type of destiny. But it’s not one I’d choose for myself. “This life is not always what we think it will be,” Cain says. “You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.” “I don’t want—” “What you want doesn’t matter. Tomorrow you must make a choice. Between deserting and doing your duty. Between running from your destiny and facing it. If you desert, the Augurs will not stop you. You will escape. You will leave the Empire. You will live. But you will find no solace in doing so. Your enemies will hunt you. Shadows will bloom in your heart, and you will become everything you hate—evil, merciless, cruel. You will be chained to the darkness within yourself as surely as if chained to the walls of a prison cell.” He”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after. The moment Darin called out—that was such a moment. It was a test of courage, of strength. And I failed it. Laia! Run! Why”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“El campo de batalla es mi templo. La punta de la espada es mi sacerdote. El baile de la muerte es mi plegaria. El golpe de gracia es mi liberación.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“—Hummm. Sí, te pega hacer mermelada.
—¿Sí? ¿Por qué?
—Porque eres muy dulce —contesta con voz empalagosa.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Also, he’s shorter than me. Considerably shorter. Half a foot, at least.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Don't make vows when you don't know the cost.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Life isn't scary enough for you, girl?”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“The only place you’ll find a map of Blackcliff,” a raspy voice intrudes, “is in the Commandant’s head. And I don’t think you want to go rummaging around in there.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“I stare at her, realize I'm staring, tell myself to stop staring, and then keep staring”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Slavers catch lies the way spiders catch flies.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“In the end, I don't answer her question. She doesn't answer mine. Instead, we sit without words, watching the city, the river, the desert beyond, our secrets heavy between us.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“He melts into the crowd, and I hurry back toward Blackcliff. If Izzi knows of an entrance, I still have time to see it for myself and head back here to pass along the information. The Resistance can get Darin out, and I’ll be done with all of this. No more scars or whippings. No more terror and fear. And maybe, a quiet part of me whispers, I’ll get more than just a few moments with Keenan. I”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Your mother—isn’t—worth your words.” Cook’s voice drops into a snarl. “Never—never listened to anything but her own selfishness. The Lioness.” Her mouth twists around the name. “She’s the reason—the reason—I’m here.” Her breath heaves now, as if she’s having some sort of fit, but she barrels on, determined to get out whatever it is she wishes to say. “The Lioness, the Resistance, and their grand plans. Traitors. Liars. F-fools.” She stands and reaches for her cleaver. “Don’t trust them.” “I don’t have a choice,” I say. “I have to.” “They’ll use you.” Her hands shake, and she grips the counter. She gasps out the last few words. “They take—take—take. And then—then—they’ll throw you to the wolves. I warned you. Remember. I warned you.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“The simulacrum tilts its head, just like Darin used to. “They’re hurting me, Laia.” It’s not Darin. My mind is slipping. This is guilt, fear. The voice changes, twisting and layering as if there are three Darins all talking at once. The light in the fake-Darin’s eyes goes out as quickly as a sun in a storm, and his irises darken into black pits, as if his entire body is filled with shadow. “I won’t survive it, Laia. It hurts.” The”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Elias?” Helene’s ghost is still here. For a moment, I don’t understand. She reaches for my face, and I flinch from her, expecting the cold caress of a spirit. But her skin is warm. “Helene?” Then she’s pulling me close, cradling my head, whispering that I’m alive, that she is alive, that we are both all right, that she’s found me. I wrap my arms around her waist and bury my face in her stomach. And for the first time in nine years, I start to cry. «««”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Existen dos clases de culpa: la que se convierte en una carga y la que te da un propósito. Deja que la culpa te impulse, que te recuerde quien quieres ser. Dibuja una línea mental y no vuelvas a cruzarla. Tienes alma. Está herida, pero está. No permitas que te la quiten, Elías.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“La seguridad es una ilusión en la que sé que no debo confiar”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“The ghosts of our misdeeds seek vengeance,”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes