The Dark Mirror Quotes

“Oh, Paige has done bolder things in her time. She possesses the loyalty of a beagle and the chaotic abandon of a headless chicken,’ Maria said. ‘It’s a dangerous marriage.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“Once again, Jaxon," I said, "I'm going to need you to get fucked.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“Paige," Arcturus said. "What happened to your wrist?"
"You know how Jaxon looked as if he'd run his face straight into a wall?"
"I see." He considered. "You should have used your stronger hand.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“It kills me that I’m never going to hear you call me little dreamer again,’ I admitted. ‘I’d have decked anyone else, but it made me feel like I could be smaller with you. Not in worth or importance, but … like I didn’t have to stretch myself so far, to be so much. I didn’t have to be the Pale Dreamer or Black Moth or the Underqueen or Flora Blake. Every time you held me, you gathered all those people into one. With you, I could just be Paige.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“I'm not just a dreamwalker," I said, my voice straining. "I'm a professional fucking lowlife.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“Whatever part of my existence you have touched," Arcturus said, "is the best of me, Paige Mahoney.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“Fucking mountains", she wheezed out. "Nothing but ... jumped-up hills." She clutched her side. "Taking up space for eons, being outrageously hard to climb."
I gave her a hand. "You all right there, champ?"
"No, I'm dying. Let me expire.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“You weren’t perfect,’ I said. ‘But I think you might have been perfect for me.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“All those years of wandering, and I had found my safe place here.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“Hm. But if you are willing to commit to me – if you grant me the privilege of your trust – then in return, I offer myself as your steadfast companion, who faces all things at your side. I will honour you in body and spirit. You will be my highest calling. Neither of us has a home, but as long as you want me, I will do all I can to be your harbour.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“For some, there is safety in stillness, in certainty. But you have ruined me for stillness, Paige Mahoney.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“For two centuries, my existence was stagnant. I was a shade in Magdalen, following the same paths each night.’ He brushed the tear away. ‘And then you came, angel of vengeance.’ I clung to his shirt. He lifted me on to the counter, and I draped my arms around his neck. ‘The night you left Oxford, I watched my prison burn,’ he said softly, eyes locked on mine. ‘You were in that fire – your wrath, your strength, your refusal to be tamed. And when it finally went out, the world lay absolutely still, just as it did before you came. For some, there is safety in stillness, in certainty. But you have ruined me for stillness, Paige Mahoney.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“You really do meet the most deranged people, Paige.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“I like Warden, but let's not pretend he's perfect." She switched on her cigarette. "Except his jaw. I can't fault that."
"I agree," Nick said.
"So glad you share my appreciation for a fine mandible, Nicklas.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“You needed to forget. But I needed to remember. As I was tortured, it was your voice that kept me sane. Your face that filled my days and nights. I was in a dark room – but I had another, in my memories. The dark room that we shared in Paris. I could go there whenever I wanted. My torturers did what they pleased with my body, but I paid them no heed, with my gift to console me. In my dreams, I was still in your arms.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“If I had this, I might yet lose everything. If I had this, I thought I could survive.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“You have risen from the ashes before, the flowers said in a voice I remembered, a voice I both cherished and feared. And then I climbed, and I was there, curling up tight. The only way to survive is to believe you always will.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“As he guided me from the cellar, I glanced back at Arcturus. He watched me like I was a sunrise.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“That word you used. The descent into the underworld,' I said. 'What's the opposite?'
'An anabasis. The journey back to the surfae, made by those not yet ready for death.' He nodded to the archway. 'You climb first, little dreamer. I will follow.'
With a nod, I went to the other steps. I walked in front of Arcturus, and trusted that he was behind me, all the way.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“I leaned through it and looked down, seeing a pool of glassy water far below, like a dark mirror.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“His gaze returned to me, the needle of a compass settling on north. I tried to iron out my breathing.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror

“Part of me had thrived in the fast lane, but I could tell that I was running on empty batteries, and I didn’t know how to recharge any more.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Dark Mirror