Alyssa > Alyssa's Quotes

“This was more than an unexpected turn.
It was an unchecked slide into hell.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“I perfected my craft, playing the quarterlords and merchants against one another as if I was a musician and they were crude drums rumbling beneath my hands, making one boast to another that I had never pulled anything over on him, making them all feel so very smart, even as I relieved them of items I could put to better use elsewhere.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“I hated that I found him—appealing. Not just his appearance, but the confidence of his strides, the calculations in his gaze, his cockiness, his damned voice. I hated the ridiculous flip-flop my stomach did just now when I caught him looking at me.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“We were Rahtan, we could chisel what made us uncomfortable and awkward into an ice sculpture in hell if we had to.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“Because if I could believe in tomorrow or the next day, maybe that would give the magic time to come true. Or better, maybe by then I wouldn’t need the magic at all.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“Jase had seen me, restless, walking, organizing supplies that were already ordered. Everyone else was asleep on their bedrolls. He came up behind me, his hands circling my waist. "I can't sleep either," he said. His lips grazed my neck, and he whispered, "Tell me a riddle, Kazi." We laid out a blanket on a bed of grass, the stars of Hetisha's Chariot, Eagle's Nest, and Thieves' Gold lighting our way, far from everyone else. I settled in next to him, laying my head in the crook of his shoulder, his arm wrapping around me, pulling me close.
"Listen carefully now, Jase Ballenger. I won't repeat myself."
"I'm a good listener."
I know you are. I've known that since our first night together. That's what makes you dangerous. You make me want to share everything with you. I cleared my throat, signaling I was ready to begin.

"If I were a color, I'd be red as a rose,
I make your blood rush, and tingle your toes,
I taste of honey and spring, and a good bit of trouble,
But I make the birds sing, and all the stars double.
I can be quick, a mere peck, or slow and divine,
And that is probably, the very best kind."

"Hmm..." he said, as if stumped. "Let me think for a minute..." He rolled up on one elbow, looking down at me, the stars dusting his cheekbones. "Honey?" He kissed my forehead. "Spring?" He kissed my chin. "You are a good bit of trouble, Kazi of Brightmist." "I try my best." "I may have to take this one slowly..." His hand traveled leisurely from my waist, across my ribs, to my neck, until he was cupping my cheek. My blood rushed; the stars blurred. "Very slowly...to figure it all out." And then his lips pressed, warm and demanding onto mine, and I hoped it would take him an eternity to solve the riddle.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“But when I turned a chill caressed me—Go—a voice crawled up my spine—Leave—a finger turned my jaw—Hurry—and then there was a rushed blur of voices, hands, faces, running through the hall—Shhh, this way, run, don't say a word. Death strode among them, glanced at me, but this time he didn't smile. He wept. His arms were full and he could carry no more.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“Mason said, with admiration, that it made me a stone-cold bastard, but this girl had pushed me to a reckless burning edge I didn’t even recognize, and her calm reply only pushed me further.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“Sometimes you can't begin to know everything you've lost until someone shows you what you might have had”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves, Dance of Thieves

“Seconds could change everything. Seconds could erase one path and send you reeling down another.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“My mother's abscence hit me in a new, bitter way, because sometimes you can't begin to know everything you've lost until someone shows you what you might have had.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“Choose your words carefully, even the words you think, because they become seeds, and seeds become history.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“It’s awkward, isn’t it?” he said. “What’s that?” I replied, my voice far too breathy. “These moments when we’re not hating each other.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“blink last”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“ The wind, time,
They circle, repeat,
Teaching us to be every watchful,
For freedoms are never won,
Once and for all,
But must be won over and over again.

- Song of Jezelia”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“then hold on to me, he said let me show you the stars.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“It was a wild indulgent slope we had cascaded down, and I didn’t care. For once in my life, I didn’t care about tomorrow. I didn’t care if I starved or died. I feasted on the now, and I didn’t let myself think about who he was or who I was, only who we were right now in this moment and how he made me feel on this patch of earth, in this patch of shade. In this strange upside-down world, ignoring tomorrow seemed as natural and expected as breathing.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“There were three of them outside the mercantile—women—and one of them was juggling. I blinked, thinking the magistrate had made a mistake. This was a girl I might have eagerly bought a drink for last night, but there was no mistaking she was outfitted for trouble, a sword hanging from one hip and two knives from the other. Her long black hair hung loosely over her shoulders, and she laughed and chatted with the store clerk as she continued to juggle, and then—
I jabbed Mason. “Did you see that?”
“See what?”
“She just nicked an orange!”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“She leaned closer and said, “Let’s just call this a friendly warning. If you hurt
my brother, I’ll make sure that you regret it.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“I had seen Rahtan before in Ráj Nivad, but none had been like her. They looked like killers and brutes, and they were big. She barely reached past my shoulder. And they sure as hell never juggled.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“It had always been the laughter that needled through me, a repeated stitch that surfaced over and over again.....Laughter reveals in the same way a sigh or a glance does. It's an unintentional language. Worry, fear, deceit - they hide in the things unsaid.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“My head spun, but in a way that wanted to sink into, to drown in the warmth of it. I was falling into a vast dark sky and I didn't care. I wanted to disappear into it. I wanted more. Our tongues explored, soft, warm, and then he pulled away, his eyes searching mine, wondering, asking. Should he stop?
No, I thought. No. Don't stop.
His gaze held, waiting, as if he needed to hear me say it aloud.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“You are Rahtan, Kazi. You have a promise to keep, and you will betray him eventually.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“I wondered if she was truly Rahtan. Yes, she was skilled, but she didn’t exactly possess brawn—even if she had managed to overtake me and slam me up against the wall. But juggling? Riddles? Her age. Her poise and demeanor was that of a cynical tested soldier, but her appearance—she was young, younger than me, I was certain. Her black hair fell in thick, long waves, and her hands were delicate, her fingers more suited for a piano than a sword.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“What had her life been like in Venda? Or maybe, more precisely, what had they done to her? She was not the result of happy, content parents. It was like she’d been held prisoner in a cellar her whole life. She flinched at sun and an open sky. As soon as we hit the Heethe plateau, she kept her eyes straight ahead on some distant point, her focus like steel, her shoulders rigid, like she carried a heavy pack on her back.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“Blink last.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“I only need you, Kazi, that's all I need.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“There is magic in everything, only you must watch for it. It does not come from spells or potions or the sky, nor by special delivery of the gods. It is all around you.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“It was our story. It didn't have to have a happy beginning or a happy ending, but the middle was a feast at a banquet, a rich soapy bath, a night's rest at an inn and full stomach, a warm chest nestled up against my back, the soft heat of lips at my nape, stories whispered in my ear.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“My breaths shuddered, still hot in my chest. I knew I had made a big mistake, but it was a glorious one, and I wanted to make it over and over again. But there was something in his eyes, something genuine and earnest and true that made me pause. This was more than just making the best of it, this was something taking root, a seed being planted. But it was a seed that couldn't be planted.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves