Stygian Quotes

“Bravery is defined in many ways,”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“The past is the past. It may be the reason why we’ve become who we are today, but we can change our tomorrow. Another past is seconds away.”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“I’d fight for you, Danni. Right to the fuckin’ end. I’d never stop. No matter what shit was put up against us, I’d keep fighting. You know why? Because that’s what you do when you love someone.”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“You’ll never lose me. No matter what happens, I’ll always be here, whether as I am now or as a breeze in the fuckin’ wind. I won’t ever leave you.”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“What you endured is a small part of us. Let it be a small part of us. Not all of us. We survived it. And we’ve grown into different people because of it.”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“I got out of the car, shut the door, and took two steps before it hit me. My breath hitched and I staggered back against the car as my heart thumped wildly. Goose bumps rose on my skin, and I wrapped my arms around myself as if I needed . . . something. The cold wind blew an intense gust, sifting through my hair as my eyes darted from side to side. It felt . . . it felt as if someone had run their fingers across”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“Twenty minutes later, I pulled up to the iron gates on Post Street. Massive trees hid the house in the summer, but now in November after the leaves had fallen, you could catch a glimpse of it. It emanated coolness with gray stone encasing three stories. The property was surrounded by an eight-foot wall and an alarm system that would test any burglar. I had yet to find out how Keir afforded the place. Anstice didn’t work anymore, and considering she had studied for six years at the University of Guelph to become”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“I found them in my coat pocket, along with a crumpled pack of watermelon gum. I grabbed my cell off the bed, glancing at the time. Shit, I was going to be late. Despite my life being uprooted, I”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“teacher called complaining it was unsanitary for a child to be running around with no shoes and socks. My mom had ranted about someone trying to tell her how to raise her child, but finally caved only because the school refused to let me come back until the rules were conformed to.”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“Goose bumps rose and I ran my hands up and down my arms. I was always cold now. It was this bizarre feeling, as if I’d been in sub-zero temperatures, constantly shivering, and my body unable to get warm. It had been two years since I’d been intimate with anyone. No wild sexual encounters, no erotic flings, no dating. And I certainly didn’t do relationships.”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“injured bird and some boys in the fifth grade were teasing her. I walked up to the little instigator, who was doing most of the egging on, and slugged him in the jaw. He fell flat on his ass and began crying. Anstice and I had been friends ever since. But something had changed since the ‘episode’—that was how we referred to my abduction. Anstice was leery, refused to talk about what had happened, and seemed withdrawn. Something had changed. Mostly, I felt disappointed with myself.”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“Yeah, well, tell him to take his charming ass out the door or I’ll do it for him.” The last time I’d gone for dinner, the thirty-something boys—and Hack and Jedrik were boys considering they bantered back and forth like a couple of ten-year-olds—had fought over who could get me to go on a date with them. They’d actually made a hundred dollar bet. I still couldn’t figure out why they even lived there with Anstice and Keir. It wasn’t like Keir needed the rent money. Hell, they lived in a mansion in the”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“Anstice smiled, no doubt laughing at the absurd idea. “Call me tomorrow, okay? And dinner is still happening.” Anstice hesitated, glancing at Keir as if they were mentally communicating. It pissed me off when they did that, so bloody connected together that they knew what the other wanted to say without actual words. “We want you to meet someone. A good friend.” I stopped mid-bend to pick up a canvas,”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“being in control. If I were Anstice, I’d have punched him in the jaw a few times and threatened to leave him if he continued to insist or demand. But she did usually get her own way. When Anstice’s temper flared, and she was a redhead, Keir procured this little smirk and he’d back down. It was kind of cute, considering there was nothing cute about Keir and his over”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“I stopped laughing. What had I done? I’’d turned every single portrait into what looked like a bloodbath of insanity. I tapped my forehead with the heel of my hand. “I . . . guys, thanks, but it looks like I have a little cleaning up to do before I open tomorrow. Wouldn’t want clients to think I’d lost it or anything.” Maybe I’d killed”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“I looked up and saw Keir. He was the type of guy you noticed, shit, when he walked in a room it was as if it became his. He nodded to me then looked at the destroyed canvas. His square jaw tightened and dark brows lowered over his eyes. He didn’t say anything though as he went and put his arm around Anstice’s waist, drawing her in close to his side. I carried the can of paint over to the”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“shrugged off Anstice’s hand and strode to the front door. “I have to remember, damn it.” I flipped the Open sign to Closed and locked the door to my art gallery, which I’d aptly named Danielle’s. “You have no idea what it’s like waking up in the middle of night freezing cold, feeling like clammy hands are on my body and then there is the water dripping . . . constantly waking to the tap dripping, but it’s not. I know it’s not because I check, damn it. And I keep checking.” I kicked an unopened box of art supplies. “I can’t even go on a date”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“He was forbidding and harsh with those all-knowing eyes. But it was the fearless strength I saw in him that gave me the determination to tackle another day. Then again, he reminded me of the frustration of living with a black hole in my mind. I’d never been one to sit quietly and take whatever life threw at me. Instead, I fought”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“He was there. And don’t start with me, Anstice.” I pointed at the painting. “This guy had something to do with my abduction.” It was the way his eyes stared at me, telling me he felt my pain, knew what I’d been through. In my dreams, this beautiful man spoke to me, reached out with his hands and tried to save me from the black shadow who’d tortured me. I’d know if he’d been responsible, wouldn’t I? I was drawn”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“It was my best one so far. I thought I really captured his pain this time. The outer corners of his eyes drooped and sadness penetrated as he stared directly at you from every direction. Alone and haunted, as if something horrific had happened to him—a tormented soul. “This is it,” I said, staring at my painting. I rubbed my arms, easing the familiar goose bumps that rose whenever I looked at him. “He’s the one in my dreams.” My best friend sighed. “You said that the last time and the time before and the time before that. You’ve painted what . . . twenty, thirty portraits of this guy?” I shrugged. Yeah, so what. I’d lost count. He lived in my dreams every night,”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“I STARED AT THE portrait of the man—eyes green, like a leaf that had consumed an abundance of rain. His chin sharp and angular, lips thick, and a nose with a slight notch on the bridge. He appeared arrogant,”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“I lay shaking, unable to decipher what was going on around me, except for Balen’s comforting voice floating through my mind. “No more pain, little one. Never again. I swear to you. Never again.”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian

“this will end.” He ran a nail across his wrist and blood rose to the surface. He held it inches away from my mouth. “Drink, Danielle.” I met his eyes, ignoring the lure that would end this. “It’s Danni, asshole.” It was all I had left, the last rebellion. He gripped my chin and tilted my head to the side. “I’m very patient, Danni.” I heard the familiar hiss and”
― Nashoda Rose, Stygian