Megan Shade > Quotes

“Love is in the choices we make every day. In the fragments of ourselves we give away for someone else to keep safe and hold close, and the shiny new pieces we fin inside us because of it. -Poetry by Dead Men”
― Megan Shade

“It’s the worst part of my curse, I think. Being forced to know the cause of every death in the kingdom before it happens, but unable to stop it.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“A’ Bhan-dia a’ Bhàis, accept my bargain. By Samhain next, I will destroy the one who stole you from me—or let my soul be lost.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“the sound into my memory to ensure I would never, ever, forget what I did. As if I could.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“Men are the only creatures capable of a hatred so bone-chilling.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“Dinnae even think about it. If either of us will be kneeling for the other, it will be me,”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“I said I wasnae going to hurt you. But I am going to find a way to kill you.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“I scramble back, unease churning in my stomach. That wasn’t death I saw. That was life.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“Not right now. Not until we free those souls. Not until women are no longer being killed. But, once I've done my part, once I've made things right as much as I can, then yes. I've been alive a very long time, and most of it has been unpleasant. I should think I would like to finally rest.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“You’ve become the searing heat of flames against my skin, growing stronger each day, devouring all the oxygen in your wake, consuming everything you touch. Every fiber of my being, until my mind can hold nothing but you. I can hardly breathe in your presence for my wanting you. That is why you saw disgust on my face. Because I was sent here to kill you. Because I have to kill you. And instead, I want you more than even the breath I cannae find.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“The hair on the back of my neck stands on end as I tear my eyes from the After and look back up. For the first time in a century, I get my wish. My dragon has landed.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“stare. “Fighting even more than that.” He sighs. “Too many men are able to hide their true selves. Until life gets hard, at least. It’s disgusting, if you ask me.” It's more than disgusting. It's evil, but I don't correct him,”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“The one who will remember.” She tilts her head. “The one you destroyed.” My blood runs cold. The one I destroyed? I’ve destroyed no one, other than those I killed. Their deaths may stain my soul, but they are gone. They cannot come for me. Can they? “You and I are not so different,” she says again, tilting her head, and my stomach lurches. The vision. The dragon. “Is it madness, then? Is my mind betraying me once again?” “We’re all a bit mad, my dear,”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“He follows the river. He’s coming for you. He’s angry, he’s eager, for what he has to do. Be wary his sword, and be wary the truth. He follows the river. He’s coming for you.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“You seem to mistake me for someone who will obey the orders of brutish men,”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“It’s not often I weep for the dying. Not anymore”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“The lump in my throat thickens. You may be my prisoner, but even prisoners have basic rights, he’d”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“But it takes integrity to separate justice from cruelty.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“The terrified woman with hair the color of rowan berries and a face so ethereal that, despite the split lip and bruised temple, it looks as if it was crafted from morning dew and starlight?”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“I am the Washwoman. The Murderess of the River Bàsail. The Bean-Nighe, and nothing more.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“Since the dawn of the kingdom of Na Trì, the magic of the Bàsail washed the sins of the dying of its own accord. For your crimes against the Fates, it is now your bones that will carry the task you stole. You will cleanse the death-clothes of the departed for eternity, the blood of each and every soul passing through your fingers, staining your hands forever. Hands that will never again know rest. You will wish for death. May it never find you.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“Come follow the river. Do not be afraid. Her mistress will find you by the end of the day. You cannot escape her, be you goddess or maid. So follow my river. Do not be afraid.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“I’m desperate for proof I’m not going mad again, but I’m equally afraid to be sane.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End

“With every curse, there must be a counter. Gather the pieces of a life completed—a vessel that carries breath, a name given in love, a piece of home and hearth, a promise broken, and an ending mourned. Bind them in tartan. Seal them in true faith and a changed heart, and send them into the After. Only then, if the river accepts your plea, may you choose to follow.”
― Megan Shade, The Washwoman at the River's End