Catherine Ling > Catherine's Quotes

“Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoe said. "We should eat while we can."
Grover cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?"
Zoe blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"
"Nothing," Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam french fries."
Even Thalia smiled at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom."
...
I started cracking up, and Thalia and Grover joined in, while Zoe just looked at me. "I do not understand."
"I want to use the dam water fountain," Grover said.
"And..." Thalia tried to catch her breath. "I want to buy a dam t-shirt.”
― Rick Riordan, The Titan’s Curse

“If it hurt it was fitting. It was simply kingship.”
― C.S. Pacat

“I lack," said Laurent, "the easy mannerisms that are usually shared with," you could see him pushing the words out, "a lover."
"You lack the easy mannerisms that are usually shared with anyone," said Damen.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Laurent could inspire homicidal tendencies simply by breathing.”
― C.S. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Then, in the spirit of benevolence, "Your face is well balanced." She slapped him encouragingly on the back, "You have very long eyelashes. Like a cow.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“That’s right. He is Charls. I am Charls. We are cousins,’ said Charls, gamely, ‘named after our grandfather. Charls.”
― C.S. Pacat, Kings Rising

“Stop enjoying yourself," Damen murmured. "We're going to be killed, any minute."
"Giant animal," said Laurent.
"Stop it.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“After a long moment Laurent said, with painful honesty, "I...find it difficult to let go of control."
"No kidding," said Damen.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Damen felt Laurent start shaking against him, and realised that, silently, helplessly, he was laughing.
There came the sound of at least two more sets of footsteps striding into the room, greeted with: 'Here he is. We found him fucking this derelict, disguised as the tavern prostitute.'
'This is the tavern prostitute. You idiot, the Prince of Vere is so celibate I doubt he even touches himself once every ten years. You. We're looking for two men. One was a barbarian soldier, a giant animal. The other was blond. Not like this boy. Attractive.'
'There was a blond lord's pet downstairs,' said Volo. 'Brained like a pea and easy to hoodwink. I don't think he was the Prince.'
'I wouldn't call him blond. More like mousy. And he wasn't that attractive,' said the boy, sulkily.
The shaking, progressively, had worsened.
'Stop enjoying yourself,' Damen murmured. 'We're going to be killed, any minute.'
'Giant animal,' said Laurent.
'Stop it.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“When laced into his clothing, Laurent's dangerous grace lent him an almost androgynous quality. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that it was rare to associate Laurent with a physical body at all: you were always dealing with a mind.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Let him come to Charcy, with his hithertos and his wherefores, and there he will find me, and with all the might of my kingdom I will scourge him from the field.

"And if you want a personal message," said Laurent, "You can tell my uncle boykiller that he can cut the head off every child from here to the capital. It won't make him into a king, it will simply mean he has no one left to fuck.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Nephew. you were not invited to these discussions.'
'And yet, here I am. It's very irritating, isn't it?' Said Laurent.”
― C.S. Pacat, Captive Prince

“You see?” said Laurent. “He has forgiven me for the small matter of the whip. I have forgiven him for the small matter of killing my brother. All hail the alliance.”
― C.S. Pacat, Kings Rising

“Laurent wasn't loved. Laurent wasn't liked. Even among his own men, who would follow him off a cliff, there was the unequivocal consensus that Laurent was, as Orlant had once described him, a cast iron bitch, that it was a very bad idea to get on his bad side, and that as for his good side, he didn't have one.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Damen's understanding of Laurent rearranged itself, in order that he might despise him more accurately.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Damen now knew the precise number of arrows Laurent needed to have trained on him in order to shut him up. It was six.”
― C.S. Pacat, Captive Prince

“He's the captive Kastor sent you to train?' said Torveld, curiously. 'He's--safe?'

'He looks combative, but he's really very docile and adoring,' said Laurent, 'like a puppy.'

'A puppy,' said Torveld.

To demonstrate, Laurent picked up a confection of crushed nuts and honey and held it out to Damen as he had at the ring, between thumb and forefinger.

'Sweetmeat?' said Laurent.

In the stretched-out moment that followed, Damen thought explicitly about killing him.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“I miss you too,’ he said. ‘I’m jealous of Isander.’ ‘Isander’s a slave.’ ‘I was a slave.’ The moment ached. Laurent met his gaze, his eyes too clear. ‘You were never a slave, Damianos. You were born to rule, as I was.”
― C.S. Pacat, Kings Rising

“Laurent entered, an edge to his grace, like a leopard with a headache.”
― C.S. Pacat, Kings Rising

“He didn't reprimand Damen. He didn't seem particularly displeased with barbaric behavior, as long as it was directed outward. Like a man who enjoys owning an animal who will rake others with its claws but eat peacefully from his own hand, he was giving his pet a great deal of license.

As a result, courtiers kept one eye on Damen, giving him a wide berth. Laurent used that to his advantage, using the propensity of courtiers to fall back in reaction to Damen's presence as a means of extricating himself smoothly from conversation.

The third time this happened Damen said, 'Shall I make a face at the ones you don't like, or is it enough to just look like a barbarian?”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“This," said Laurent, "is a little more—"
It was a word of sharp points: "—intimate," he said, "than ice."
"Too intimate?" Damen said. Slowly, he was kneading Laurent's shoulders.
He did not usually think of himself as someone with suicidal impulses.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Makedon was explaining the virtues of iron tea to Laurent, and when Laurent massaged his own temple with finely bred fingers, Makedon remarked, rising, ‘You should have your slave fetch you some.’

‘Fetch me some,’ Laurent said.
Damen rose. And stopped.

Laurent had gone very still. Damen stood there, awkwardly. He could think of no other reason why he had stood up.

He looked up and his eyes met those of Nikandros, who was staring at him. Nikandros was with a small group to one side of the table, the last of the men in the hall. He was the only one to have seen and heard. Damen just stood there.

‘This meeting is over,’ Nikandros announced to the men around him, too loudly. ‘The King is ready to ride.”
― C.S. Pacat, Kings Rising

“Torveld favoured Laurent with another of those long, admiring looks that were starting to come with grating frequency. Damen frowned. Laurent was a nest of scorpions in the body of one person. Torveld looked at him and saw a buttercup.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“He wasn't sure how it would be, but
when Laurent saw who was beside him,
he smiled, the expression a
little shy but completely genuine.
Damen, who hadn't been expecting it,
felt the single painful beat of his heart.
He'd never thought Laurent could look
like that at anyone.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Laurent said, ‘No. I’m not here to—’ He said, ‘I’m just here.”
― C.S. Pacat, Kings Rising

“I'm twenty years old,' said Laurent, 'and I've been the recipient of offers almost as long as I can remember.'

'Is that an answer?' said Damen.

'I'm not a virgin,' said Laurent.

'I wondered,' Damen said, carefully, 'if you reserved your love for women.'

'No, I--' Laurent sounded surprised. Then he seemed to realise that his surprise gave something fundamental away, and he looked away with a muttered breath; when he looked back at Damen there was a wry smile on his lips, but he said, steadily, 'No.'

'Have I said something to offend you? I didn't mean--'

'No. A plausible, benign and uncomplicated theory. Trust you to come up with it.'

'It's not my fault that no one in your country can think in a straight line,' said Damen, frowning a touch defensively.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“It’s not naive to trust your family.’
‘I promise you, it is,’ said Laurent. ‘But I wonder, is it less naive than the moments when I find myself trusting a stranger, my barbarian enemy, whom I do not treat gently.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“Is today the first time you’ve been beaten in an okton?’
‘Technically, it was a draw,’ said Damen.
‘Technically. I told you I was quite good at riding. I used to beat Auguste all the time when we raced at Chastillon. It took me until I was nine to realise he was letting me win. I just thought I had a very fast pony. You’re smiling.”
― C.S. Pacat, Kings Rising

“What are you doing?" Damen's breath
was shaky.

"What am I doing? You are not very
observant."

"You're not yourself," said Damen. "And
even if you were, you don't do anything
without a dozen motives."

Laurent went very still, the soft words
half bitter. "Don't I? I must want
something.”
― S.U. Pacat, Captive Prince

“My whole life, all anyone's ever wanted was to possess me," said James. "The only one who ever set me free was you.”
― C.S. Pacat, Dark Rise