A Shadow in the Ember Quotes

“If I stayed, I think I'd find myself obsessed with trying to count just how many freckles you have.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“What... what does the sun taste like?'

The curve of his lips was wicked. 'Like you.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“Is that a smile?' He leaned over, eyeing me far too intently to be serious. 'It is. You've greeted me with three of them now. Be still my heart.'

Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes. 'It must not take much to still your heart.'

'Apparently, it takes a mortal Princess,' he said.
'One who roams haunted woods in the dead of night and swims gloriously naked in a lake.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“I'm not sure why I'm still here talking to you.'

'Perhaps you feel indebted to me since I watched over you while you were unconscious.'

'I was unconscious for a few moments. It's not like you stood guard for endless hours.'

'I am quite important. Those moments felt like hours.'

'I do not like you,' I said.

He eyes shifted to mine, and that curve of his lips remained. 'But you see, you do. That's why you're still here and no longer threatening to claw my eyes out.'

I snapped my mouth shut.

Ash winked.

'The clawing of the eyes could still happen,' I warned him.

'I don't think so.' He bit down on that lower lip of his again, the act snagging my gaze once more. 'Besides the fact that you know you won't succeed, you said I was beautiful, and clawing my eyes out would ruin that, wouldn't it?”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“I sat back, crossing my arms. 'Why are you even here? You could've left once you realised I was okay.'

'I could've left, but like I said before, it would be incredibly rude to leave someone unconscious on the ground,' he returned.

'Well, aren't I lucky that you're a polite pervert?'

Ash laughed, low and smoky. 'Why haven't you left, liessa?”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“You lie so prettily,' ...”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“But just because I can do something, doesn't mean I should.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“I'm sure you say that to all the ladies you accost.'

'Only the ones I would be tempted to allow to try and claw my eyes out.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“I'm still not afraid of you,' I replied, briefly glancing down. There was only a minor bit of relief when I saw several pale strands of hair plastered to my chest. They didn't hide nearly enough, but it was better than nothing.

'Well, I'm a little afraid of you,' he said, and he was somehow closer without seeming to have moved. He wasn't even a foot from me now, and an icy heat radiated from him, pressing against my flesh. His closeness heightened the sensitivity of every inch of skin. 'You want to claw my eyes out.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“In case you're wondering,' -his voice was a kiss against my skin- 'this is me intentionally staring.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“What will you do, my lady?' Moonlight kissed the apple of his cheekbone as he tilted his head once more. 'You have no shadowstone dagger to threaten me with.'

'I don't need a dagger,' I said, my voice thready. 'And I'm not a lady.'

His head straightened. 'No, I imagine not, considering you're nude in a lake with an unfamiliar man, whose lip you bit upon meeting, and have seen the bare backs of many sailors. I was only being polite.'

My lip curled at the presumed insult. I knew I should let it go. Keep my mouth shut, but I didn't. I hadn't in three years, and my inability to do so had grown and festered into an incurable disease. The kind that provoked further, dangerous recklessness. 'What I am is a Princess who is nude in a lake with an unfamiliar man and has seen the bare backs of men,' I told him, speaking the forbidden. 'And you, with each passing moment, are getting closer to no longer having the ability to see anyone's unmentionable places ever again.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“He tasted of smoky whiskey and the coldest hour of night.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“I'm sure you mean absolutely no offense,' he purred. 'Just like you meant no offense when you stabbed me.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“Animals didn't judge. They didn't care about worthiness. They didn't choose to use or hurt another. They simply lived and expected to either be left alone or loved. That was all.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“Did you kill that man?'

Smoothing out the skirts of the gown, I crossed my ankles. 'I believe he slipped and fell upon my blade.'

'Was it his throat that fell upon your blade?'

'Odd, right?'

'Odd, indeed.' Ezra tilted her head to the side as she stared blankly at me. 'That happens quite often around you.'

'Unfortunately,' I arched a brow at my stepsister. 'Men with careless fists should be more mindful of where they step.'

A faint smile appeared on Ezra's face. 'You know, you do frighten me a little.'

I turned to the carriage window as we rolled down the sunny street. 'I know.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“He felt cold, like the winters to the north and east. Like each winter here in Lasania slowly became with each passing year.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“Hardship could exploit the worst in people as they struggled to survive, forcing them to do things they’d never consider. But then there were those who always had that darkness in them, the ones who were predators long before they faced adversity.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“Hardship could exploit the worst in people as they struggled to survive, forcing them to do things they'd never consider. But then there were those who always had that darkness in them, the ones who were predators long before they faced adversity.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“That wasn't exactly what I was suggesting,' I pointed out. 'I meant that since you seem pretty-'

'Thank you.'

I shot him a bland look.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“You may feel terror, but you're not terrified. And there is a kingdom's worth of difference between the two.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“Perhaps you should look before stabbing?' the god argued. 'Or has that never occured to you?'

'Has it ever occured to you to announce your presence so you don't get stabbed?' I shot back.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“I'm only capable of what is expected of me.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“You are not bait. You are a trap.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“...an enemy is rarely one by choice,' he told me. 'They usually become such due to other people's choices, or they become enemies because of situations they have little control over.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“And you, liessa, are very brave.' His thumb moved, sweeping over the curve of my jaw. 'But, sometimes, one can be too brave.' The dusky silkiness of his words wrapped around me. 'To the point it borders on foolishness. And you know what I've found about the foolishly brave? There's a reason they often rush to greet death instead of having the wisdom to run from it. What is your reason?' he asked. 'What drowns out that fear and pushes you to run so eagerly toward death?”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“If you're trying to intimidate or scare me into obeying you, you can stop. It's not working. I don't scare.'

'You should be afraid of many things.'

'I'm afraid of nothing, and that includes you.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“Only I get to determine what does and doesn't involve me. What I do and do not do is of no concern to anyone. Not even a god.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“My apologies. I should've elaborated. I'm very good at pretending to enjoy things I do not, but I was not pretending when I had your tongue in my mouth.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“You,' he murmured, his voice sultry and thick. 'You were quite convincing.'

'So were you,' I said, a bit breathlessly.

'I know. I'm very skilled at pretending.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember

“I have a feeling I'm going to regret this,' he said with a sigh that caused me to grit my teeth. 'But I guess I'll add this to the ever-growing list of things I end up regretting.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, A Shadow in the Ember