The Ashfire King Quotes

“there is no such thing as a single truth. There are just the stories we tell others, and the ones we tell ourselves.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Most of the men she had known preferred to cloak themselves in secrets. But there were no such barriers between her and Mazen. She knew who he was and whom he yearned to be. And he knew both sides of her as well - the merchant and the wanderer. It was a relief, to be known.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“What if?" he asked himself. What if, instead of sneaking away from his responsibilities, he had faced them? What if, instead of caving to his father's demands, he had fought against them? Mazen would never know. The past was the past, a story already told, and though he could certainly weave it into a different tale, it would not change the reality.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“We meet again, merchant. Your dedication to thwarting my plans would be admirable if it were not so annoying.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“All magic has its source, regardless of the life it takes on.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Before death, there is always life.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“When their preparations were done, Loulie faced the group. "I'll see you when this is over." She had never been one for moving speeches. Instead, she spoke the words like a threat. She did not want anyone - especially Mazen - thinking she would condone sacrifice.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“You have a knack for attracting unusual magics, akhi."

Mazen shook his head. "I'm not like Loulie. I don't find them myself."

"Since when is taking earning? Do not let Omar's way of thinking taint your mind. You have these magics because you were entrusted with them. That is a far greater honor.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Magic is not a thing to be borrowed here. It simply is. Can you not feel it in the air, in the land?”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Foolish human. You think a war is won without sacrifice? A crown earned without strife? A kingdom saved without tenacity? Your weakness is not your incompetence or your cowardice. It is your inability to forgive yourself. I have failed, time and again, but so long as I breathe, I will not falter. To live is to persevere. For the world, and in spite of it.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“You would be surprised by how many lies I have been told about my own kind. Jinn are like humans that way, so steeped in their own biases they believe the lies they speak.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“They were the same. All of them, monsters. Only Mazen had been innocent, and now he would be haunted by imaginary blood on his hands for the rest of his life.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Happiness is a hard-earned battle," the ifrit said. "But someday in the future, perhaps, I will lose myself in dance again.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Even Nabila briefly seemed at a loss for words. When next she spoke, her voice had softened with confusion. "Even when you were trapped, our king did not return for you. He left you behind - and still you trust him?"

Rijah nodded without hesitation. "Is that not what loyalty is? To believe in someone even when they have made a grave mistake? Our king trusted us the same way we trusted him.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“I think the war between humans and jinn never ended. Humans blame the jinn for the barrenness of the land, and the jinn blame humans for their sunken cities. I think both of our worlds are dying, in different ways, because they are divided.

In the absence of the truth, people make up their own stories. That is why there is so much hatred. That is why, even now, jinn blood paints the human desert and ifrit like Nabila pray for war. You know as well as I that there are people who do not believe in those stories - people who are caught in the middle that only wish for peace. But when we think about war, we forget about those people. We forget that there might be an alternative to violence.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Many would have said it was inevitable that when war eventually came to his city, the king grew tired of living for others. That instead of using his magic to save the city, he decided to bury it beneath the sane and escape to the surface, where he could once again wander.

But remember: a crime forgotten is not a crime forgiven.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“The traveler was dismayed. "Do you hate me so much that you would run from me?"

And the errata responded, her voice heavy with misery, "It is not the future that terrifies me, but the inevitability of its ending. But the I saw you leaving the city and knew I could turn away no longer. You have met your destiny time and time again. Now I must meet mine.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Loulie looked at her, baffled. "Why are you helping me?"

Duha's expression was serene as she lowered the pinnace to the Sandsea. "Because without me, you will perish, and your death would be both a tragedy and an inconvenience.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Aisha was not trying to outrun the vagabonds. She was trying to outrun her magic.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“I wish, sometimes, that I could still see wonder in the world the way Mazen does."

"Some would call that naivete."

"Others would call it faith. Mazen has always believed in the good in people. That belief is a rare thing, and all the more precious for it.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Your mind is a fortress, thief. You limit yourself by keeping the gates closed.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“In his absence, Aisha rolled up one of her sleeves and touched the thatched henna pattern Umm Jaber had drawn on her arm. Armor, Aisha had called it. She only wished she could wear it over her heart. She clutched her arm and glanced up at the weeping sky.

Aisha was envious; she had forgotten how to cry long ago.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Remember this, gentle friends: what might today be a flame will tomorrow be ashes. We cannot condemn fire for its nature, but if we attempt to master it, we are doomed to burn with it.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“It was your brother who doomed you. I have approached many humans with my story. Always, they are the cause of their own demise. You cannot condemn fire for its nature, but you can condemn a human for his greed.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“I know what it's like to keep living after losing everything," she said softly. "It's like sinking in the Sandsea. You don't know when the end will come for if it will. And either way, it doesn't matter, because there is no reprieve. You just sink and sink..." Her breathing hitched. "Until someone pulls you out and gives you new purpose. But even then, the hole remains. You can build a new life around it, but it never fills. You continue living, but you never stop sinking.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Aisha stared at the lines. She had not prayed to the gods in a long time. She was not in the habit of asking anyone - human or deity - for assistance. But these words did not feel like a plea. They felt like armor.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Mazen knew how powerful stories were. It had been stories that had swayed the sultan's heart after the wife killings and, only recently, stories that had painted Mazen as the murderer who had stolen his father's life. But down here, Mazen was not yet shackled to that lie.

Down here, the narrative was still his to control.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“Once, when Mazen had been a child, he'd asked his mother if the stories she told were truth or fiction. Many years later, he still remembered her answer.

"Every story is a memory," she had once said. "A tale that happened neither here nor there, but in another time and place. Our job as storytellers is to describe that reality as we understand it. It is the listen who must determine what is and is not." He remembered the way her voice had fallen to a whisper as she spoke, as if she were sharing some precious secret with him. "Remember, Mazen, there is no such thing as a single truth. There are just the stories we tell others, and the ones we tell ourselves.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“A miracle or a war... quite an ultimatum.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King

“This is your will," the Resurrectionist insisted. "I am merely helping you realize it.”
― Chelsea Abdullah, The Ashfire King