The Stardust Thief Quotes

“It is not weakness to rely on others for help,”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“The only difference between a hero and a coward is that one forgets their fear and fights, while the other succumbs to it and flees.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“...and it is with you I shall stay until destiny demands we part ways."
"You make it sound like it's not your choice to stay or go."
"Some things are out of our control. You know that just as well as I. All we can do is make choices based on the cards the fate deals us. But so long as fate allows me to stay with you, I will not leave you Loulie. That is a promise.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“That is the way of all lost things. One does not truly understand a thing’s value until it is gone.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“No one knows what the dead want, Loulie. All we can do is honor them in the ways we understand.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Loyal wazir, one cannot know the outcome of a journey if one is not brave enough to take it.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“But tell me, why were you here in the first place”—he hesitated, realizing he didn’t know her name—“desert flower?” It was the first thing his scrambled mind came up with. He regretted it immediately.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“This is not a story, he told himself. This is reality, and I am living it right now.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“You said before that the dead do not speak." The Resurrectionists's voice brushed gently against her mind. "But how would you know, when you did not have the ability to listen?”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Though only the gods know how long we may live, we humans are the ones who decide when legacies die. Though Shafia is gone, her memory lives on in the lives she touched. That, gentle friends, is the power a story has.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“It was unfortunate that wishes, like dreams, were imaginary.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“It didn't matter that he was a coward. Cowards knew how to flee and hide, and that was good enough.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Family. That was the word that came to mind as Loulie took in the domestic scene. It gripped her heart like a vise, made it difficult to breathe. She had become accustomed to - preferred - living a solitary life, but it was easier to forget what she had lost in the cities, where the families were scattered and hidden. Sitting around this campfire, she could see the interconnectedness of the lives around her - and she could see herself sitting in the heart of the web, adrift.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“A criminal is charged by their actions, not their intentions.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Why are they called relics? It makes them sound ancient."

Qadir spoke without turning to look at her. "Jinn are ancient. Is it any surprise the things we enchant are just as old?”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Loulie frowned. "Is something wrong, ya sayyid?"

The hunter flushed. "Forgive me, merchant. You are younger than I expected."

Loulie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew it was not just a matter of youth. Men were praised for being successful at a young age, but a successful woman was a perplexing puzzle. Most men did not know how to respond to her confidence.

She raised a brow. "No, forgive me. I should not have spoke so sharply to a child.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Perhaps someday, she would find the confidence to reject Ahmed bin Walid outright and stop hoping for something that tore her heart in two. But - the thought of losing her connection with him was just as terrifying as putting name to it in the first place. She'd always told herself it was easier to walk away from someone when she buried her feelings for them; she couldn't lose anyone she didn't commit herself to.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Hundreds of years have passed since his resounding victory. But beware, fair desert folk, for peace is a fragile promise. If you ever come into the desert and hear a voice from your memory offering you your greatest desires, turn away from it. That path is filled with broken and deadly lies.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Her mother had been right. Patience was a hard but necessary lesson. Obtaining revenge was not a sprint; it was a journey.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“The less vulnerable she was with someone, the easier it was to leave them behind.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“You are all killers; no one could ever mistake you for soldiers."

Aisha looked at him for a long moment. And then she snorted and turned away. What did he think soldiers were, if not glorified murderers?”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“The edges of Qadir's lips curled ever so slightly. "I have aged more in the nine years I have known you than in the hundreds I lived before our meeting.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“It was amazing - horrifyingly amazing - that the silver blood spilled in that violent struggle could provoke nature into existence. Unlike human blood, which only ever signified loss. Pain. Absence.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Qadir sighed in her ear. "Why do humans thank the gods for things they do not do?"

"Because they are fools that believe in fate," Loulie said bitterly.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“That was the problem with respites, they were temporary.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“We all start as cowards, Aisha had once told him. The only difference between a hero and a coward is that one forgets their fear and fights, while the other succumbs to it and flees.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Sometimes we must make necessary stops before we reach our final destination.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Aisha had told him about this in the ruins; how had he forgotten ? Because Omar is family, he thought. And with family, we always try to forget.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief

“Mazen’s mother had once said the opposite: that in their country, a soft heart was more valuable because the desert dried out a person’s emotions. But he did not say this to his father.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Stardust Thief