Best Quotes from Heir Of Fire by Sarah J. Maas with Page Numbers

You’re nothing but a coward, Nehemia had said to her.

It would take a monster to destroy a monster.

Just her, just him. Just as it should be.

She hadn’t really felt like doing anything at all.

But she hadn’t lingered merely from paranoia.

It had all been fine—fine and easy.

Wendlyn. A land of myths and monsters.

Nehemia would have loved this place.

If Nehemia hadn’t been able to stop the king … then that plan, to find a way to contact Maeve … that plan was absolutely useless.

A mess—she was a gods-damned mess.

It would have been a mistake to call him young—just as it would have been a mistake to call him anything but a warrior.

He moved with lethal grace and surety, scanning the alley as if he were walking onto a killing field.

She realized he might have been handsome were it not for the promise of violence in his pine-green eyes.

He stood with a stillness that only an immortal could achieve.

Perhaps there could be no beating him, either.

Let him think what he wanted.

The less they knew about her, the less they could use against her.

Dare I ask where we’re going?

Do what has to be done, Elena had told her.

He could probably kill her without a second thought—and then move on to his next task, utterly untroubled by ending her existence.

You will always be my enemy.

Nehemia’s death had shattered her. What he had done, his role in that death, had shattered her, too.

He just prayed that she could piece herself back together again.

A broken, unpredictable assassin was one thing. But a queen …

The truth he knew about her could jeopardize more lives than hers.

Symbols have power.

You’d be surprised by the power this still wields in the North—what it does to convince people not to pursue foolhardy plans.

My priority has always been—and still is—keeping you protected.

I didn’t need you to step in.

I sent her to do what needs to be done.

"Wrong kind of witch."

"Take nothing with you, leave nothing behind."

"Let him think he stood a chance while she stalked toward him, still smiling."

"Because she was Manon Blackbeak, heir to the Blackbeak Witch-Clan, and she had been here for weeks..."

"No other Ironteeth witch could have done it—because no other Ironteeth witch would have dared incur the wrath of the three Matrons..."

"From the day Manon stalked into Blackbeak Keep wearing the cloak... it had been her sacred duty to hunt them down, one by one, until there were none left."

"These farmers were the first bit of fun she’d had in weeks. And she would be damned if she didn’t enjoy it."

"Silent as death, Manon slid up behind him."

"She’d tasted the rising fear and rage on the wind all day..."

"She was surprised it had taken these men so long to work up the nerve to come here, to torment and then destroy what petrified them."

In her bones, in her blood and breath and soul, she was so, so tired.

The warm air hummed, leaving a metallic taste coating her tongue.

Gods, the water tasted … new and ancient and powerful and delicious.

Not from mortals.

Because Celaena was Fae, or something like a mongrel.

What ancient oaths the faeries honored in Terrasen might be disregarded here.

They still live.

He wordlessly handed her some bread and cheese.

The hilt of her dagger was in her palm a heartbeat later.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful.

The best he could do these days was maintain a low profile.

Sometimes we forget to write down everything.

I think it looks worse than it actually is.

It’s an honor, Prince.

You needn’t come all the way down here the next time. Just—just send word.

How many others, he wondered, had seen more than they let on?

You’re to entertain Aedion Ashryver today.

A prince needs an escort in his own palace?

Thank you.

She was invisible. And glad of it, most days.

She’d had enough of friends. Enough of them dying, too.

The aches and pains were soothing somehow. Not comforting, but … distracting. Welcome. Deserved.

It had to be some border outpost, a halfway point between the mortal realm and Doranelle.

She hadn’t seen a town in days, and the granite boulders were now carved with whorls and patterns.

As if everything, even the stones, was holding its breath. As if it had been waiting.

Her stomach turned. If they didn’t keep out enemies, they certainly served as an alarm.

The forest turned lusher and denser, and the higher they rode, the mistier it became.

Rowan was heading along the mountains, not over them, climbing higher still.

She hadn’t seen a lookout, so she had no sense of where they were, or how high.

Hello, Aelin Galathynius.

"I suppose that with a proper bath, you’ll look a good deal like your mother."

"You want answers regarding the keys, heir of Terrasen? Then they shall be waiting for you in Doranelle. The rest is up to you."

"I do not break my promises. And I have the feeling that you are unlike your mother in that regard, too."

"Become queen. The words haunted Celaena that night—kept her from sleeping..."

"The world is a far bigger and more dangerous place than you can imagine, girl. Consider yourself blessed to receive any training—to have the chance to prove yourself."

"You’re just as useless as the rest of your brethren."

"I wish you to become who you were born to be. To become queen."

"Training with him would be absolutely wonderful. 'Tell me why.'"

"If you’re that desperate to eat stone, go ahead: I’ll let you try to land the next punch."

"She had whispered the truth that day at Nehemia’s grave. She’d been running for so long that she didn’t know what it was to stand and fight."

You didn’t need a weapon at all when you were born one.

Manon had been born soulless, her grandmother said. Soulless and heartless, as a Blackbeak ought to be.

You are strong enough to endure anything.

Every last Blackbeak—no witch or sentinel left behind.

Since the downfall of their western kingdom, since they had started clawing for their survival, every Blackbeak, Yellowlegs, and Blueblood had to be ready to fight—ready at any time to reclaim their lands or die for their people.

The king needs riders—to be his aerial cavalry.

Following the Matron’s gaze, Manon looked to the horizon, where the mountains were still blanketed with winter. To fly again, to soar through the mountain passes, to hunt down prey the way they’d been born to …

Her responsibility as both Coven leader and heir was to keep her grandmother alive; it was instinct to anticipate every pitfall, every potential threat.

It could be a trap. To gather us in one place, and then destroy us.

The threads of fate twisting around them, tightening.

"Use your words."

"Your leisure time is now nonexistent."

"Like hell I’d go to sleep now."

"You’re both on double duty for a month—in the gardens."

"You didn’t think it would be useful to report this to anyone?"

"With all due respect, sir, we were… we didn’t want them to think we were ratters."

"A muscle feathered in his jaw. Of course Aedion did."

"If that happened, the king might look too closely at Chaol—or ask where he sometimes disappeared to."

"What leverage he could find."

"And if you ever again fail to report another guard abandoning his post, you’re both gone."

You deserved it.

I’ll do my best.

Let Rowan think she was spoiled and selfish. She was, but she wanted sore muscles and blistered hands and to fall into bed so exhausted she wouldn’t dream, wouldn’t think, wouldn’t feel much of anything.

Do not let that light go out.

How would they react if they knew the things she’d done?

She could almost see the three souls in the kitchen lined up beside each other: theirs bright and clear, hers a flickering black flame.

I can handle him.

Maybe you should consider whether Doranelle is worth it, you know? It’s not so bad living here.

When was the last time you ate?

She could not remember what it was like to be free.

"Obedience, discipline, and brutality were the most beloved words in the Blackbeak Clan."

"We walk into the sky, witches."

"We were born on the back of the wind."

"She kept her chin high, hands behind her back, when she spotted the other two heirs watching her."

"It smelled wrong. It smelled like those two prisoners she’d seen with the duke."

"What are the chains for?"

"Magic was gone, and yet this was possible—this creation of magnificent beasts."

"I’d suffer no creature to be my mount but the fiercest, the one whose blackness called to my own."

"The man in front of them took a too-casual step away."

"Had it been another witch, Manon would have dragged her by the neck to the front of the room and made her regret the insolence."

Go ahead and be as nasty as you want, Princess, because I’ve been ten times as nasty, for ten times longer than you’ve been alive.

You don’t know what the hell you’ve been doing for ten years, other than flouncing around and calling yourself an assassin.

You are a child, and a spoiled one at that. And, you are a coward.

Get up.

For Nehemia, she had to try, had to try—

I had planned to wait until you had some handle on your power … face the wights and make it to the other side of the field.

My bare hands are weapon enough.

Rowan’s smile turned feral.

If I wanted excuses, I’d ask for them.

It was a trap. She knew that well enough.

"Stop. Breathe."

"This is not real, this is not real."

"No discipline, no control, and no courage."

"You can kill me or torture me or throw me off a cliff, but I am done for today."

"It dragged me through my memories—and not the decent ones. Is that enough for you?"

"I will kill you," she said, the words raw and gasping.

"A lingering shred of pride—stupid, mortal pride—kept her from bolting through the rest of the field."

"Still, the wight lingered beyond the threshold."

"This was something different. I have never encountered its like, not in these lands or any other."

"You made it to the other side of the field, but I said to face the wights—not throw a magical tantrum."

A leader’s instincts.

However low you think of me, I take my position seriously.

I wonder what manner of man you truly are, if you do not honor your bargains.

For the noble Captain Westfall, there would be no question that he truly wanted His Majesty’s Champion to dispatch our foreign enemies.

You’re to have me for the rest of my damned life. What is a month or two more to you?

This would have to be dealt with carefully, and he still needed as much time as he could buy.

Four months, then I’ll go. Set the date and it’ll be done.

Is that so? I’ll swear that in any temple, before any god.

What purpose, then, did his father have in wanting him to return so quickly?

She had become invisible, like many of the healers—invisible, just as she had wanted.

"We are the Thirteen, from now until the Darkness claims us."

"Just like we practiced."

"Hold on like hell and enjoy the ride."

"Let’s remind them why."

"I say we test them out."

"Your work in keeping them disciplined these years is commendable."

"I want you and the Thirteen to be Wing Leader—I want you leading all the Clans."

"We don’t yet know who our enemies will be, but once we are done with the king’s war and reclaim the Wastes, it will not be a Blueblood or Yellowlegs sitting on the Ironteeth throne."

"Watch your back. I will not be pleased if I have to find myself another heir."

"It’s my honor to serve you, Grandmother."

I’ve been through worse.

It’s in our blood.

It is our duty, honor, and life’s mission to make sure our families are cared for. Especially our mates.

I don’t care.

He wanted her to shift—that was his only command.

No shift, no magic lessons.

If you can hear the wind moaning your name.

These were words that had been spoken in front of hearths for thousands of years.

You always had to watch for on the ancient roads, or in the woods.

She had no stories to tell. All the legends of Terrasen were lost to her, and only fragments were strewn through her memories like rubble.

Because I had nowhere else to go …

Gods, no. No sling. I’ll never hear the end of it from the guards.

You are going to help me knock this table over, and then you are going to help me clean this up.

I am not going to tell anyone.

He wasn’t an enemy using forbidden powers, but—a young man in need of help.

I will start researching tonight.

Perhaps there’s some tonic to suppress it.

Let it be a lesson for you. You’re lucky you didn’t injure yourself further.

It was about as fun as lying on a bed of hot nails, but at least it gave him something to do.

It was nice to have some piece of his friend while she was gone.

"But this death, where Celaena and Dorian and his mother would never know what happened to him … It disgusted him, somehow. Enraged him."

"Keeping Dorian protected was all he had left, all that had ever really mattered."

"That was indeed information Aedion would be willing to kill to keep safe."

"It was a gamble—the biggest gamble he’d ever made."

"He had not minded. Until now."

"Cousin—that had been his most beloved title. Cousin, kin, protector."

"The world had slipped from beneath his feet."

"Alive, and as much of a killer as he was, and working for the same man."

"But Aelin had to come back. She would come back."

"I want to make a bargain with you."

For a long while, I couldn’t talk about what happened to me before I came here.

Every day, always when Rowan disappeared for a few moments, she tried, but—nothing.

If she was going to waste his time by not shifting, then she might as well be useful in some way.

It was on the eighth day after her arrival that Celaena stopped in the middle of their hike up the now-familiar ridge.

Show me how you do it.

It had taken barely more than a few heartbeats.

She imagined phantom fingers reaching down, pulling her Fae form out.

Sometimes I wonder whether this is a punishment for you.

But that was what she’d become, wasn’t it? Useless, pathetic.

I wanted to rip his throat out—rip it out with the elongated canines I bared at him.

The people you love are just weapons that will be used against you.

Do not let that light go out.

Because I made a promise. A promise to my friend that I would see her kingdom freed.

You’re proving me right with every step you take.

So you’d save another land, but not yours.

Because she is dead, and I am left with my worthless life!

If you don’t shift again, you’re pulling double duty in the kitchens for the next week.

Better than nothing.

Do what needs to be done.

Tomorrow, she’d start over.

Your survival depends entirely on you.

Mastering it is the first step toward learning to control your power.

Breathe, and shift.

You are going to listen to every word I say.

If we are separated, run straight—you’ll hear the river.

When I say run, you run like hell.

I want him—he smells of storm winds and steel.

A well ripped open inside of her, vast and unyielding and horrible.

Fear and necessity and impressively deep-rooted survival instincts.

You didn’t lose control immediately upon shifting.

Wanted was a mortal word. Titus was hers.

If you want him so badly, why don’t you go get him?

She knew they were intelligent, but how intelligent?

Emotion, she might have called it. Hunger, but not for her.

Titus didn’t see it coming, and there was something like shock in his eyes.

He’s mine.

You’re mine.

He’d felt the current running between them, too.

Manon had done the most foolish thing she’d ever done in her long, wicked life.

Because she was Manon Blackbeak, and she’d never failed at anything.

"You will always be my enemy."

"The fewer people who know, the safer— for her, for everyone. For you."

"If we can find a way to free magic, it could save you."

"Loyalty is earned, not given."

"When she returns, what she will do to the King of Adarlan will make the slaughtering ten years ago look merciful."

"I will carry your secrets to the grave—but I want no part of them."

"Perhaps she will offer an explanation. But until then, Aedion, you must understand that others might not share your fervor."

"Though any other man would be horrified, though Aedion should be horrified … he wasn’t surprised."

"Men didn’t build more armies and forge more weapons without having plans to use them."

"A queen of their continent had been a slave, and would bear the scars of it forever."

Every day, he brought her to the temple ruins—far enough away that if she did manage to shift and lost control of her magic in the process, she wouldn’t incinerate anyone.

“You’ve been bringing me here because you think it might help with mastering my powers—my shifting?”

“Do you feel old?” His gaze was unflinching.

“I used to wish I had a chance to see it all—and hated that I never would.”

“I am very glad to be a mortal, and to only have to endure this life once. These days, I don’t envy you at all.”

“It forced me to go through … memories. The worst kind.”

“We don’t have the time; you wasted daylight by coming here in your human form.”

“Then we’ll do it the ancient way,” she called.

“Still, Rowan didn’t say anything about it, and his wind fed the flames enough to make quick work of the body, burning far faster than a mortal pyre.”

“They watched in silence, until there was nothing but ashes—until even those were carried up and away, over the trees, and toward the open sea.

It was worth it.

It was her right to decide when and how to kill Arobynn.

She had selected everything, from the figurines atop the mantel to the green napkins.

Aelin had lived. She’d lived, and seen and done things.

The table and the stag figurine atop the mantel were the only shreds of proof that she might remember. Might care.

He had lost everything the day Aelin died.

When she came back, he was never letting her go.

It is easy to be lied to when you do not know any of those people firsthand.

How many would stand if they knew what power their prince possessed?

You will always be my enemy, Celaena had once said.

I am Manon Blackbeak, heir to the Blackbeak Clan, and you are mine. Do you understand?

Those human bastards cut off your spikes, so I’m going to build some for you. Iron ones. Like mine.

Each of the scars, the chipped teeth and broken claws, the mutilated tail—they weren’t the markings of a victim. Oh, no. They were the trophies of a survivor.

You want out of this shithole? Then you’ll let me put this saddle on you to check the fit.

I am going to put this saddle on you... And then we’ll stain this kingdom red.

Get out. Leave the saddle and get out. If you bring a whip in here again, I’ll use it on you myself.

A long, hot huff of air into her hands.

I want the Thirteen adding tumbling to their hand-to-hand training.

You didn’t think I’d let Iskra off so easily, did you?

I’ll be airborne with Abraxos in a week, and then we’ll be flying as one.

Let it be a blade, Aelin. If you cannot find the peace, then at least hone the anger that guides you to the shift.

See what you want, Aelin, and seize it. Don’t ask for it; don’t wish for it. Take it.

You are not most people, and I think you like it that way.

It was the common denominator those times you shifted—anger of varying kinds. So own it.

A fierce, challenging grin, and Rowan moved, so fast she could hardly follow.

She could die for love of this speed, this surety in her bones.

How had she been afraid of this body for so long?

Not joy, perhaps not ever, but a glimmer of what she had been before grief had decimated her so thoroughly.

If we can’t win them with charm, we might as well win them with our business.

Not a bad day, she realized as she nodded off under the forest canopy. Not bad at all.

‘You understand the risks, and yet you’re still helping me.’

‘It’s the right thing.’

‘For seeing me and not running.’

‘I had to know what it was like, just for a little while, to belong to someone.’

‘He made her want to laugh and sing and shake the world with her voice.’

‘Just looking at him... she wanted to be selfish and stupid and wild.’

‘It was the only way I could get her sent to Wendlyn.’

‘I’d rather have no father than your father.’

‘A man able to walk into hell itself and come out grinning.’

‘There are more of them out there, and they’re combing the slums door-to-door.’

"I don’t pay for what I can get for free."

"Any deeper and his damn intestines would be hanging out."

"Play the part."

"Lay back, limp and loose, and keep the pipe in your hand."

"There is no place. We have no home."

"I understand why the young man had been so close-lipped until now. Secrecy had kept them alive."

"A spell sent from specific points, like a beacon."

"Is there some way of undoing it?"

"We need eyewitnesses to confirm what we suspect..."

"It’s not my house… the owner won’t mind one bit."

"You can’t really like flowers."

"Fine," she said, chucking the leg away. "You want fresh meat?"

"If you won’t eat it, then I will."

"Brought down" was a more elegant phrase than what had actually happened: she half froze to death as she waited for some goats to pass.

"I hate you," Manon panted through her iron teeth.

"Give me orders, and they will be done."

"It’s your reward. You earned it."

"You are going to fly, because I say so."

"This is ruined, thanks to your goats."

"Your wings are functional. The humans said they were. So you can fly."

"Open your wings!" she screamed over the wind, over her thundering heart.

"Open them and pull up!" she bellowed, just as the rapids on the stream began to appear.

"A last, rallying war cry against the Darkness."

"His wings were pumping, each boom the most beautiful sound she had ever heard in her long, miserable life."

"Until she heard that noise of undiluted, unyielding joy."

"She flung out her arms as well and savored the freefall, the wind now a song in her ears, in her shriveled heart."

"We will meet here, and until breakfast, we are going to train."

"I want us in close quarters."

"There will be no gaps and no room for attitude or territorial horseshit."

"Don’t fall behind," she said, and Abraxos plunged into the canyon.

There is nothing that I can give you. Nothing I want to give you.

You are not owed an explanation for what I do outside of training.

The sooner you can sort out your whining and self-pity, the sooner I can be rid of you.

You left me.

I have no one left. No one.

It would have been nice to have one person who knew the absolute truth about her—and didn’t hate her for it.

It would have been really, really nice.

If the stories about the skinwalkers had been true, if the immortal stags were real … perhaps she could glean something vital here.

Then I shall start at the beginning.

But they were all of them ruled by Maeve and her two sisters.

A spirit that cannot be broken.

Elentiya. Lies, lies, lies.

I do not care about you.

You are in control now. You are its master.

You are the keeper of your own fate.

A better world.

Because I am lost.

And I do not know the way.

Mastering my immortal power was just another task.

I could master this. I could master myself again.

You do not apologize for defending the people you care about.

I will rip out your rutting throat.

Tell me why, Aelin.

Because I am sick of it!

Please don’t bring anyone else into it. I will do anything you ask of me. But that is my line. Anything else but that.

When you lose a mate, you don’t … I lost all sense of self, of time and place.

But maybe we could find the way back together.

I think I’m still … not back. I might never be.

Together, then.

And somewhere far and deep inside her, an ember began to glow.

“If there’s ever a day when we find peace … it’ll be a strange transition for all of us.”

“But if there’s ever a day when we find peace … it’ll be a strange transition for all of us.”

“I don’t see how the people of Allsbrook wouldn’t embrace a lord who spent years trying to break Adarlan’s rule.”

“My only wish is to see her again. Just once, if that’s all the gods will allow me.”

“Enough.”

“All I want is for my people to be free and my queen restored to her throne.”

“You should have told me that you and your grandfather had no home.”

“So have we all.”

“You killed for me, then hid me. That isn’t nothing. I owe you.”

“But I’m trying to find a way to break the spell on magic, and I will make it happen.”

It might be the only material that could patch up his wings and withstand the winds.

It’s worth it. To secure victory for the Thirteen, to be Wing Leader, one night in a storm was nothing.

I’ll need ten yards of it—woven bolts, if you have them.

What price could I ask of a long-lived witch? Twenty years off your lifespan is nothing to you.

I do not think I should like to eat them—not those dreams.

But the world is changing, sister.

The spider remained motionless, but the three behind her crept closer, silent and observing.

If we are to be an army, then they’ll carry their supplies, as most soldiers do.

You think I’m going to give away my beauty for second-rate weaving?

Manon didn’t particularly care about her beauty, weapon though it was.

"They say it’s not the beasts who are the problem, but the riders."

"If you don’t let me into that saddle and make that jump, I’m going to have you confined to the darkest, smallest pit in this bloody mountain."

"You rutting coward," she hissed at the beast, pointing to the Crossing. "Get back in line."

"You touch him again, and I’ll drink the marrow from your bones."

"Though, perhaps your mount needs a bit of discipline."

"Abraxos is fine, Manon. Look at him. Look at him and see that he’s fine."

"Manon wasn’t too keen on that plan, but it was the only way Asterin and Sorrel would agree to let her do it."

"Iskra looks worse."

"Doesn’t your wyvern talk to you?"

"I thought the King of Adarlan had convinced us to fly under one banner again."

She’d awoken that morning feeling … clear.

For the first time in a long while, she felt as though she could see. As though she could breathe.

Because if I free Eyllwe and destroy the king as Celaena, I can go anywhere after that.

The crown … my crown is just another set of shackles.

I wanted to hide from myself, mostly.

I convinced myself I should disappear, because the second thing I wanted, even then, was to be able to someday … hurt people the way I had been hurt.

Oh, not a chance, Princess. You can tell me what you want, when you want, but there’s no going back now.

Whatever we are, whatever this is? I’m still figuring it out, too.

If I had grown up with them, I probably would have been found by the king and slaughtered.

You have sworn to free your friend’s kingdom and save the world—but will not even consider your own lands.

Tell me your greatest wish, and I’ll make it happen.

My greatest wish is for a morning when I don’t have to run out the door at first light.

You cannot pick and choose what parts of her to love.

Just as you cannot pick which parts of me you accept.

Things have already changed. And changed because of you.

The only thing you have a right to do is decide whether you are her enemy or her friend.

You do not have the right to wish she were not what she is.

What’s done is done, and there is no going back, no matter how hard you try to change things.

I’ve already made my decision about her.

Perhaps not picking a side is what costs you.

Magic gobbled up energy, and she was eating double or triple what she used to.

Though she envied his long life—and the gift of seeing the world that went along with it—she could still feel the undercurrent of rage and grief beneath each tale.

The music was a tapestry woven of light and dark and color, building delicate links in a chain that latched on to her heart and spread out into the world, binding her to it, connecting everything.

Gods, to be free like this …

If you don't let go, you are going to burn out completely.

What would happen if she walked through them? The pulsing in her head seemed to say do it, do it, do it.

Ice and fire. Frost and embers. Locked in a battle, pushing and pulling.

You must learn to recognize the signs—and how to pull back before it’s too late.

He was using the people around them, her fear for their safety, to get her to master her control.

She had shoved herself over some boundary—hadn’t heard the warning signs to turn back—and she was burning alive beneath her skin.

"You’re staying with me from now on."

"This is not pity. Maeve decided not to tell me what happened to you."

"I knew. At first, I was afraid you’d mock me if I told you, and I would kill you for it. Then I didn’t want you to pity me. And more than any of that, I didn’t want you to think it was ever an excuse."

"Tell me how you were sent there—and how you got out."

"I spoke of the day I had snapped and sprinted for my own death."

"There would be more time to tell him of what happened next—of the Wyrdkeys and Elena and Nehemia and how she had become so broken and useless."

"Something molten rushed through her, pouring over every crack and fracture still left gaping and open. Not to hurt or mar—but to weld. To forge."

"I wasn’t aware you had—"

"The bed is for tonight. Tomorrow, you’ll get a cot."

"A need to protect—a male’s duty and honor."

I will free them. Them, and all the slaves in Calaculla, too.

That is how I was able to stand before the King of Adarlan... Because I did not give that rage, those memories, one inch.

At least if you’re going to hell, then we’ll be there together.

You’re hoping for hell—because how could you face them in the After-world?

I have no doubt that you’ll be able to free the slaves from the labor camps some day.

Your magic lacks shape... And because it has no shape, you have little control.

You were relieved when you thought that was all you had.

It was hers to command—not the other way around. She was not its slave. She was no one’s slave anymore.

What happened ten years ago... It’s a monster dwelling under my skin.

Imagine the sadists you’ve encountered—and then imagine them with millennia to hone their craft and warped desires.

You are mine, and I am yours.

Let’s show them why.

If you live, you had better pray to the Darkness that you win those Games.

Keep to the walls so he doesn’t spook your wyverns.

It would not be so bad to die—if it was with him, if she was not alone.

You hear that? That is for you.

You are one of the Thirteen.

I don’t care if you splatter yourself on the rocks.

The entire mountain shook with the sound.

He thundered down the long shoot, and Manon moved with him, fearless, unrelenting, ready.

"She just slowly got to her feet, not bothering to brush off the dirt and leaves, and kept practicing."

"Her master had been a monster, there was no doubt of that. But he had trained her thoroughly."

"A warrior on a battlefield."

"If she needed to pause, if her power faltered, she died."

"There was always more to learn; she lived and breathed and dreamt of fire."

"If you were mistaken, I’d consider it a blessing."

"But these days … she didn’t know what she needed. What she wanted."

"What if there’s more than one?"

"Sometimes, mates can be together intimately before the actual bond snaps into place."

"Whatever and whoever climbed out of that abyss of despair and grief would not be the same person who had plummeted in."

You were unprepared, he seemed to say. And I was not with you.

If we’re going to explore, then we’re going to do it under cover of darkness.

Believe me, I can and I will.

You physically cannot harm them, Aelin. Not right now.

They wear iron everywhere they can, in their weapons, in their armor. They know their enemy well.

How many of the sentries at Mistward have actually seen battle?

This time, it would be different.

We cannot kill them with our magic while they are encamped.

There are endless caves and places to hide along the western coastline.

They might have missed them had it not been for Rowan’s keen sense of smell.

"A true warrior knew when to walk away from a fight."

"It would be a blessed relief to let go. She need only surrender to the dark, just as he asked."

"Pain—that was why the body that morning had been marred."

"A wall of flame sprang up as she and Rowan sprinted away, a shield into which she poured every ounce of will and horror and shame, damning the consequences."

"Then I’ll run him down until he drops dead."

"The key was not to panic—panic made you stupid. Panic got you killed."

"Not a hint of sound or movement. 'Oh, I certainly hope you do,' she said."

"His arms were solid as walls, his assortment of weapons just as reassuring."

"They held tight to each other and did not dare close their eyes for the entirety of the night."

"She controlled her breathing and focused on counting the minutes, wondering how long she could remain before she had to find another way."

They would face the threat head-on, starting by taking out the two hundred mortal soldiers.

Rowan wanted them slowed down and incapacitated as much as possible until help arrived.

The demi-Fae were not an army and did not have the resources of a fully stocked fortress, so Rowan declared they’d make do with what they did possess: their wits, determination, and knowledge of the terrain.

He remained calm and steady—fierce, even—despite the hell that might soon be upon them.

For whatever it’s worth, all of this just proves that she doesn’t deserve you.

He needed to be calm—needed to keep his wits about him for this.

The only word she could breathe was 'Endovier?' It was a fool’s plea.

There had been rebels in Endovier—rebels who fought for her kingdom when she had been ... when she had been ...

She had abandoned them—and she had been too late.

The wards, as if sensing her intent, devoured her power whole, absorbing every last ember until it flickered, hungry for more.

"Perhaps it’s just as bad there. Perhaps it’s worse. But to do what I have to do, to get through it … I have to believe it’s better. Somewhere, it’s better than this."

"There are worse things than death, Sorscha. Please—please, just go."

"Together. We’ll face this together."

"I have been forced to do many, many things. Depraved, despicable things. Yet nothing made me feel as filthy as I did today, thanking that man for murdering my people."

"He murdered thousands of people in one sweep. Imagine what he’ll do if he finds you’ve been helping me."

"I want you out of this castle... I’ll give you the funds, but I want you away from here as soon as you can find a way to go without raising suspicion."

"You cannot convince me otherwise."

"What do you suppose the people on other continents, across all those seas, think of us? Do you think they hate us or pity us for what we do to each other?"

"It was not a symphony that filled the cavernous space. It was the Song of Eyllwe."

"The news about the slave massacres had struck that afternoon, spreading through the city on a wave of murmuring, leaving only silence behind."

"I am fighting. Nehemia would have stayed. My parents would have stayed."

"Do not insult me by asking me to leave. I am fighting."

"You are the only person who can give the demi-Fae a chance of surviving; you are trusted and respected. So I am staying."

"Because you are needed, and because I will follow you to whatever end."

"If the creatures devoured her body and soul, then she would not mind. She had earned that fate."

"It doesn't matter. Even if we survive, when we go to Doranelle, you will walk out of Maeve's realm alone."

"Some things are worth the risk."

"I claim you as my friend."

"For hours, they adjusted their plans to accommodate the lack of reinforcements."

"Even Emrys refused, and Malakai merely said that where his mate went, he went."

"I think we’ve been betrayed."

"What about magic? Use it sparingly, but if you think you can destroy them with it, don’t hesitate."

"That blackness will kill anything it touches."

"The barrier cannot be allowed to fall."

"I’m the expendable one, Rowan."

"Right now, I am a woman who has a power that might save lives."

"Let me do this. Help the others."

"Hold the line, Aelin."

"This was the least I owed those murdered in Endovier and Calaculla—the least I could do, after so long."

"A monster to destroy monsters."

"But you are not Athril, beloved of the dark queen."

"We are princes of our realm."

"You should fear us. And embrace us."

"I shall enjoy devouring you from the inside out."

"Once you let me in, girl, there shall be no more blood, or pain."

"Brannon and the others beat you into oblivion once. We can do it again."

"The darkness—it would be a relief compared to the hell smoldering in my veins."

"Moving my limbs, even breathing, had become a monumental effort. I was so tired."

"She had gone out there with no intention of saving her own."

"As her flames winked out and darkness swallowed her whole."

Coward.

I know. I know.

The moment that darkness had swept around her, snuffing out her exhausted flame, it began eating away at the reckless rage that had compelled her to step out of the barrier.

This was hell—and looked like hell.

She was a waste of space and breath, a stain on the world.

She welcomed the pain with open arms.

Again. Again. Again.

There was no one to save her, no one who could enter their darkness and live.

She had not looked into the Valg prince’s eyes expecting to ever again see sunrise.

An end to the abyss. And an end to her, perhaps, at last.

You are loved, Fireheart—that you are safe, and it is the strength of this—that matters.

Wherever you go, Aelin, no matter how far, this will lead you home.

A sacrifice—it had been a sacrifice, and now it would be in vain.

You are a disappointment.

You will not find her.

I have a gift, then.

Get up.

It would not take a monster to destroy a monster—but light, light to drive out darkness.

She would remake the world—remake it for them, those she had loved with this glorious, burning heart.

You are everything I hated about the world.

If the victim let go of those fears? What if the victim walked through them—embraced them?

Her magic was raging so fiercely that the rain turned to steam before it hit her.

She would survive this, too. Because hers was not a story of darkness.

Not with the courage that having one true friend offered—a friend who made living not so awful after all.

Their hands clasped between them, blood to blood and soul to soul.

Yet this was not the end—this was not her end.

The wave of impenetrable black descended, roaring as it made to devour them.

She pulled up fire and light, embers and warmth, the glow of a thousand dawns and sunsets.

She would give it to them.

She gritted her teeth against the sounds.

That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

I think that this kingdom could use a healer as its queen.

I want to thank you. I know what you’re risking is—

We’re all risking something.

This is how he did it, isn’t it?

I wouldn’t have asked if this wasn’t the only way.

Just humor me.

You gave me the truth today, so I’ll share mine.

I don’t think I would want to go back to how it was before—who I was before.

Don’t fear it.

"There is no undoing what happened with Narrok. Once the world hears that Aelin Galathynius fought against Adarlan, they will know you are alive."

"I accepted that fate from the moment I stepped outside the barrier."

"Thank you … for the warning. And for hesitating that day."

"The third Wyrdkey."

"Once upon a time, in a land long since burned to ash, there lived a young princess who loved her kingdom … very much."

"No wonder your sense of self-preservation is so pathetic, if that’s all the water you can conjure."

"A woman—a woman was smiling back at her, beautiful for every scar and imperfection and mark of survival."

"It might take a while, but if—when I reclaim my kingdom, the demi-Fae will always have a home there."

"Your mother would be proud."

"He would know you are alive, and that you do not plan to cower."

She’s alive—she’s truly alive.

Aelin was a warrior, able to fight with blade or magic.

She was done with hiding.

Tell them it’s time to fight back.

Hold on, the riders told the world. Hold on.

She had drawn a line in the sand.

Somewhere in Wendlyn, his friend was changing the world.

She had not forgotten him, or any of them still here.

For the promise of keeping her safe, of someday, perhaps, not having to hide what and who he was.

When Celaena got back, when she returned as she’d sworn she would … Then they would set about changing the world together.

I am the heir of ash and fire, and I will bow to no one.

There is still time. Do not succumb to fear yet.

She was as much a queen as Maeve.

I would prefer to first retrieve the knowledge you’re keeping to yourself.

This doom has not yet come to pass.

Perhaps your blood merely recognized the presence of the Valg and was trying to tell you something.

An army that does not need to eat or sleep or breathe—an army that will sweep like a plague across your continent, and others.

How do you think Brannon won himself such glory and a kingdom?

For the past day, she too had been lost in herself, busy gathering her strength and clarity.

The thought of Maeve possessing all three of the keys was horrifying enough that Celaena didn’t let herself fully contemplate it.

"One thought from me, and your city will burn."

"Your people aren’t."

"Try me. Just try to push me, Aunt, and see what comes of it."

"Behold my power, Maeve. Behold what I grapple with in the deep dark, what prowls under my skin."

"The power wasn’t in might or skill. It was in the control—the power lay in controlling herself."

"I don’t want you enslaved to me. I won’t be that kind of queen."

"Together, Fireheart," he said, pushing back the sleeve of her tunic. "We’ll find a way together."

"But who would have thought you were so sentimental?"

"Your choice. Free him, or I melt this right here."

"A court that will change the world," he promised.

"Fools, for not knowing what they’ve unleashed."

"This—this was what she had been built for."

"You’ve been practicing, it seems."

"I didn’t claw my way to Second by sitting on my ass."

"The objective was to retrieve the eggs, not kill the others."

"They just had to capture the Yellowlegs egg and bring it back to the Blackbeak nest, and it would be done."

"Chaos was complete."

"They dove and dove, for the broken wyvern and the still-living witch upon it."

"Yet they could save Petrah."

"All she could see was the unconditional love in that dying wyvern’s eyes."

They have made you into monsters.

You have known for five hundred years that your salvation lies in your hands alone.

Our great secret is that we pity you.

They are not born evil. But you force them to kill and hurt and hate until there is nothing left inside of them.

For what you do to your children.

You want to know the grand Crochan secret?

My death—my murder at your hands, is a reminder.

How it must pain them to know they couldn’t break me in the end.

You’re on our list—the list of all you monsters to kill on sight if we ever run into you.

I regretted not knowing the Crochan’s name.

But the pain wouldn’t last forever.

Whatever creatures the king sent with Narrok, I do not think they were innocent men.

And it would not be Celaena Sardothien who returned to this continent.

Is there anything you want me to tell her, or give her?

Tell her I had nothing to do with you.

What would you have given—just to see her again?

Yet no matter what happened tomorrow, or next week, or next year, she was grateful.

For now, she could be selfish for a little longer.

She was still quiet, and small. If she could hardly stand up to Amithy, how could she ever be expected to fight for her country?

Dorian needed a true queen if he was to survive this.

Because they would fight. They would fight their way out of this, or to their deaths.

He’d taken down six that night with minimal damage—how many could he cut down now?

My queen is coming—and she will spike you to the walls of your gods-damned castle.

You destroyed everything that I had, and you deserve everything that’s to come.

I was not supposed to love you. But I did. I do.

And you know what? All you monsters can burn in hell.

But regardless, I am so glad that you confessed to treason, Aedion.

Such interesting letters you send to your friend. Why, I might not ever have read them.

You want a spy? You want a traitor? Then here I am.

No.

There is one true king in this room— there always has been. And he is not sitting on that throne.

What she represents, and what your son represents, is what you fear most: hope.

You cannot steal it, no matter how many you rip from their homes and enslave. And you cannot break it, no matter how many you murder.

When you come back, burn this place to the ground.

Someone had to get out. Someone had to survive.

I love you.

Dorian was on his side of it.

He had nothing left. Chaol had gotten away. It was enough.

Hope—that was what he carried with him.

You and me, we’ll find a way to free them.

"I only ask because I would not be parted with you, Grandmother."

"Tomorrow."

"To be aloft and skimming the clouds. Where every Blackbeak belonged. Where Manon belonged."

"They flew all night down the Fangs, swift and sleek as shadows, and the earth below quivered in their wake."

"Asterin was smiling faintly. It was not a wild grin, or one that promised death, but a calm smile."

"Manon did not let herself savor that beautiful breeze or open herself to that joy. She had work to do; they all did."

"Despite what the Crochan had said, Manon had not been born with a heart, or a soul. She did not need them."

"Only then would they ride to reclaim their broken kingdom."

"Her grandmother smiled, iron teeth shining."

"And when shall we fly to Morath?"

He would see that world reborn, even if it took his last breath.

But there was a new sword at his side—an ancient king’s blade, from a time when good men had served noble rulers.

No one noticed when the sword was jettisoned over the river, its pommel catching the sun and burning like golden fire.

A flash of light before it was swallowed by the dark water, never to be seen again.

The rising sun was staining the Avery River with gold as the cloaked man strode onto a rickety dock.

Even if he had no name now, no position or title save Oath-Breaker, Traitor, Liar.

Fishermen were heading out for the day, revelers were stumbling in for the night.

The world had prospered for it.

Rifthold was still asleep—unaware of what had happened the night before.

Thinking of all that it had once embodied.

I will gather the rest of my court—our court—and then we will raise the greatest army the world has ever witnessed.

I am going to rattle the stars.

We’re stronger together than apart.

Either as yourself or as Celaena, they will try to find you and kill you.

I prayed for two things. I asked her to ensure you survived the encounter with Maeve—to guide you and give you the strength you needed.

Dangerous, for a prince of ice and wind to pray to the Fire-Bringer.

For some reason, Mala likes me, and agreed that you and I make a formidable pair.

Together, we will rebuild it.

No matter the odds, no matter how long it took, no matter how far I had to go.

I am Aelin Ashryver Galathynius—and I will not be afraid.