Flamecaster Quotes

“The problem is, hope is the thing that can’t be reined in by rules or pinned down by bitter experience. It’s a blessing and curse.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“We spend so much of our lives waiting to be ambushed by heartbreak. Why couldn’t we be ambushed by joy?”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“Love is the root of so much suffering and misery, so much loss. It’s the worst thing in the world, to risk yourself by loving someone. At the same time, it’s the best thing in the world—and worth the risk.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“Is it all right if I call you Jenna?” he asked.
“If I can call you Wolf,” she said.
He scowled, gritting his teeth. “Could you please call me Adam?”
“All right,” she said. “I will try and think of you as a wolf called Adam.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“You don't stop being who you are just because you've run away.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“Well, all right, Ash thought. Maybe freeing the dragon wasn’t such a good idea.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“No, Hanson, this is not the scene where the girl puts on a skirt and some paint and her schoolmate, who’s a little thick, suddenly realizes that she is his true love.”
“Oh,” Ash said. “Good to know.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“We don't protect them because they're weak. We protect them because they are strong, and strong people make enemies.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“His mood was so black that getting murdered was beginning to seem appealing”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“He’s a good horse,” Bellamy said, a bit defensively. “He was always willing if you knew how to manage him. Oh, you know, like most horses, he’d get away with whatever he could, but he was never mean-tempered. Not like this.”
Ash liked the fact that Bellamy stood up for his horse. “How long has he been off his feed?”
“Couple weeks.”
“What’s his name?”
“Crusher.”
Ash raised an eyebrow. “Crusher?” At the sound of his name, the gelding’s ears pricked forward.
Bellamy grimaced. “He’s a warhorse, all right? Man doesn’t want to ride into battle on a horse named Daisy.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“You don't have to come with me," Ash said. "I only brought you along because you're good with a knife. And got us the uniforms. And the explosives."
Lila snorted. "Sorry I'm not pulling my weight."
"This may not be your idea," Ash said doggedly, "but it's what we're going to do."
"Is it? Are you really going to start playing the prince card after all?"
"Don' start in about my mother the queen, because I don't want to hear it."
"All right, then, as your peer and absolute equal, I can't help thinking this is a really bad idea.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“I dreamed I read the cards for you," she said.
"And?"
"And I predicted I would bring heartbreak and trouble into your life," she said.
"Too late," he said, staring down at their joined hands. "Heartbreak and trouble got there ahead of you.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“My mother was from the Fells, but I’ve never wanted to go. They say there are monsters there.”
“There are monsters here, healer.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“Maybe you’re the one that gave me up to the Darians at Oden’s Ford.”
“Right,” she said, staring up at the ceiling. “And then I turned around and rescued you. You know women—changeable as a day in April. Sometimes we just can’t make up our minds.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“If you’re scared, you should’ve stayed at home,” Byram said.
“If you’re not scared, you’re stupid.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“I suppose I’m still walking that line between life and death, trying to choose which side I’m on.”
“I want you on my side, healer,” Jenna said.
“And . . . I want to be,” he said. “It’s just . . .” He searched her face. “How do you ever really know a person?”
Jenna ran her fingertips over the back of his hand, tracing the veins. “Not everything is a lie, Wolf,” she said. “Sometimes you have to believe what you see.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“To be honest, I thought of you as an amateur - a spoiled, entitled, runaway princeling bent on revenge who would get caught and then complicate my elegant scheme. I figured the less you knew, the better."
"I hate it when you sugarcoat things," Ash said.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“You’ve grown so tall, Mageling, in these four years,” she said, as if she hadn’t really looked at him for a while. “And handsome. Are you taller than your father was?”

“So I’m told. It’s hard for me to remember now.” That was a lie. He remembered—exactly—the measure of his father’s arm around his shoulders, the distance between them when he leaned down to speak at Ash’s level, even the scent of him—leather and sweat and fresh mountain air.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“That's the thing about guilt," his father said. "It always seems like there's enough to go around. The only ones who don't take a share are the ones who are actually guilty.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“When Ash said nothing, Lila growled, “You broke her heart, you know. The least you can do is talk to her.”

“I have talked to her. I tried, anyway. I told her up front that I wasn’t looking for a long-term sweetheart. I thought we both agreed to that.”

“Did you make her sign a bloody contract?” Lila laughed, but there was a bitter edge to it. “‘I promise that I won’t fall in love with the moody, mysterious Ash Hanson. I will enjoy his rangy body, his broad shoulders, and shapely leg, all the while knowing it’s a lease, not a buy.’”

“Shapely leg?” Ash thrust out his leg, pretending to examine it, hoping to interrupt the litany of his physical gifts.

But Lila was on a roll. “‘I will not fall into those blue-green eyes, deep as twin mountain pools, nor succumb to the lure of his full lips. Well, I will succumb, but for a limited time only. And the stubble—have I mentioned the stubble?’”

Ash’s patience had run out. Lila was far too fluent in Fellsian for his liking. “Shut up, Lila.”

“Isn’t there anyone who meets your standards?”

“At least I have standards.” He raised an eyebrow.

“Ouch!” Lila clutched her shoulder. “A fair hit, sir. A fair hit.” Her smile faded. “The problem is, hope is the thing that can’t be reined in by rules or pinned down by bitter experience. It’s a blessing and curse.”

For a long moment, Ash stared at her. He would have been less surprised to hear his pony reciting poetry.

“Who knew you were a philosopher?” he said finally. “Now. If you’re staying, let’s talk about something else. Where’s your posting this term?”

“I’m going back to the Shivering Fens,” Lila said, “where the taverns are as rare as a day without rain. Where you have to keep moving or grow a crop of moss on your ass.”

Good-bye, poetry, Ash thought. “Sounds lovely.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“Why did you stab yourself with your own dagger?"
"It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“Hope is the thing that can't be reigned in by rules or pinned down by bitter experience. It's a blessing and a curse.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“When you love someone it catches the attention of the Gods, who punish you.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“If he weren’t so thoroughly wrung out, he could kill the bastard on the spot. In his present condition, he’d be lucky to strangle a gnat”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“We are invited to drink the the king's health."
To his good health or bad health? - Ash”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“You don’t have to come with me,” Ash said. “I only brought you along because you’re good with a knife. And got us the uniforms. And the explosives.”
Lila snorted. “Sorry I’m not pulling my weight.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“It's easy to die, Mageling . . . It's staying alive that's hard work.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“That—that’s a Carthian sun dragon,” he said, shooting a look at Strangward. “Isn’t it?”
Strangward nodded.
“But . . . it is my understanding that dragons are not real,” Botetort said.
Strangward looked from the dragon to Botetort. “I assure you, this dragon is absolutely real. Touch it if you like.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“Scummer,” Mick muttered. Mick never said much, and when he did it was usually “scummer.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster

“I'm beginning to realize that revenge is never as satisfying as you think it will be.”
― Cinda Williams Chima, Flamecaster