Mia Stegner Bode > Quotes

“I tried to blink back the tears that just kept coming. Eventually, I gave up and let my sight be obscured.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“I felt my eyes widen slightly, feeling like the kid of the group who didn’t understand anything and was a pain to have around.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“They question me everyday. There’s always bright lights and they give me medicine that’s supposed to make me tell the truth, but it doesn’t work on me. Or maybe it only works when I start talking, but I never do.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“I can’t tell you the things I know,” I repeated.
“Why not?”
“They aren’t my secrets to tell.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“I guess they knew me well, because they were right. They didn’t have to capture me. Because I was going to follow. And even if I didn’t make it out of wherever their new secret hideout was, I was going to do everything in my power to get Christina away from them.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“Rosalie had never been one to question or accuse, just to forgive -- but I guess everyone had their limits when it came to tolerance levels, and I’d crossed the line.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“I’m fine. I’m at an antique store, by the clothes store just a mile or so from-”
“Which clothes store, Tess? If you haven’t noticed, there are about a million.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“The lie detector didn’t react to anything I said, but I wouldn’t dare smile.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“Sometimes, even spies don’t make the right decisions. Sometimes we get confused. And this isn’t a movie,” I added, “so there’s no guarantee that the good side will win. Do you understand?”
“The good side will still win,” she said bravely. “We’re just going to have to work for it instead of watching it happen.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“Waiting.
That’s always what being a spy comes down to, isn’t it?”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“I ran, and I just kept running.
I wasn’t going to stop until I got back to my family; I wasn’t going to stop until I got home.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“You underestimate us, Josephine,” Taylor smiled. “A few guards, chains, and a locked door can’t keep a family apart.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“Mr. Bradshaw was, in a way, my second father. I trusted him and wanted to make him proud. But that day, as I lowered myself to the ground in shock, it was hard to believe I was staring up at the same person.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“His hair was red, and his eyes were a color blue that put the ocean to shame.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“I was sure the door was locked, so I immediately stuck the bobby pin inside and jiggled it around for a while. Then I gave up and looked at James Bradshaw. He grinned, showing his bright white teeth.
Then something occurred to me. He’d never said the door was locked. I dropped the bobby-pin and opened the door.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“I know you’re hurting, Taylor, but grief is clouding your judgement and you need to stay focused. If you attack her now, you won’t win. You know she has the advantage, Taylor. I’ve taught you this. Please, we just need to get out of here.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“Taylor, listen to me. I could tell you that it’s okay. That she wasn’t a wonderful person, or I didn’t love her. I could tell you that she’s happier now, and her life would’ve been sad and filled with pain and longing to see her love again. I could say that I’m not struggling with her death, as well as the death of the hope that she could once again be part of my life. But instead I’ll just say that I’m sad, too, sweetheart. That way I can spare you the struggle of detecting the lie in my words.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“Hi, my name is Tess Embers.
A lot of thoughts are probably running through your mind right now. Who does this person think she is? Doesn’t she know that you should never begin a story with a boring phrase like,‘Hi, my name is...’? Doesn’t she know to use a hook at the beginning to draw readers in instead of pushing them away?
Well, sorry, but I’m just a teenage girl and I don’t necessarily want everyone to know everything about my life. Maybe I don’t want to hook people.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“I woke up in a dark room. The first thing I noticed was that my hands and wrists were not tied. That made me frustrated, because that meant that I was somewhere really isolated. It meant that they thought, and were probably correct, that I had no chance of escaping.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“James Bradshaw
1313 Lemon Drive
(Yes, the ‘haunted’ house)
1:00 a.m.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“I love you, Tess,” he told me, tightening his arms around me as if he would never let go.
He’d better not.
We’d never let go of each other -- not Jayden and me, and not the rest of us. We would always be together; we would always be a team.
No matter what happened. No matter what we went through. No matter where our lives took us.
We would always be a family.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“I let out a helpless, frustrated noise that sounded like a combination of a cry and a growl. It took everything in me not to shout a stream of curse words. Seriously -- out of all the things that could happen to me, I’d been the victim of a pickpocket? That wasn’t supposed to happen -- not to a spy. Not to me!”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“But one thing was for certain: something would happen next. Something always did. Especially when you live the life of a spy.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“Suddenly, I found myself running along the rooftop, leaping and falling. Falling until I caught the zip-line handle and then I was zooming, flying across the sky. I released the precious glass ball, not even glancing down to see it shatter.”
― Maya Bode

“I carefully returned the files to my mother’s drawer and left the house with one objective: find Christina Georgia.
July 14th was today.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“You know, for a spy as talented as you, you can really be...obnoxious,” I told her.
She grinned. “I know.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“Everything okay?” He asked, and I nodded hastily. “You sure?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Mr. Bradshaw wouldn’t be proud of your lying skills right now,” he pointed out.
I rolled my eyes. “Mr. Bradshaw’s not here.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“You know, Tess, I could kiss you right now.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“I’m here for my parents, I thought, I’m here for my mom. Because of the letter. To give them a chance, since I never really did. I’ll just leave if they really do turn out to be heartless, or if they really have gone insane because of their thirst for the Didot’s power. I just want to see for myself.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers

“Do you have anything to pick a lock?” She asked desperately.
“Always.” I slid one of the three bobby-pins I always kept with me off of my waistband, tossing it to her.”
― Maya Bode, Tess Embers