Dina E > Dina's Quotes

“I'll have to introduce you by saying, 'He's not always this grumpy. Then again, he's one of those people who talks less and murders more'.”
― Hafsah Faizal, We Hunt the Flame

“His stories were filled with blood and darkness, horrors and terrors. Whenever Umm scolded him with a teasing smile, Baba would say that lies would take his little girl nowhere. That was also what he had said when he put a bow in Zafira's still-baby-soft hands and taught her how to loose an arrow. And so she was given the truth, even in the years when she would look upon everything with a veil of innocence.”
― Hafsah Faizal, We Hunt the Flame

“Love is for children, said the girl.
Death is for fools, said the shadow.
Darkness is my destiny, said the boy.
Allegiance is my undoing, said the eagle.
Suffering is our fate, said the beauty.
And they were all horribly wrong.”
― Hafsah Faizal, We Hunt the Flame

“I have always wished for someone to take matters into her own hands...to prove to our caliph that a body is only a body and that a soul determines one's actions.”
― Hafsah Faizal, We Hunt the Flame

“So you thought to spare her. Did you think this was your chance for redemption? Silly boy, darkness is your destiny. You were born for hell.”
― Hafsah Faizal, We Hunt the Flame

“There once was a boy with a future.
Until all he had left was his past.”
― Hafsah Faizal, We Hunt the Flame

“He knew the weight of anguish that could drown a city in sand. He knew that look, that feeling. To watch a loved one suffer. To know one could have done so much but can now do nothing at all. It was the feeling that made him stop feeling.”
― Hafsah Faizal, We Hunt the Flame

“Confidence breeds freedom.”
― Hafsah Faizal, We Hunt the Flame

“If you're going to save the world, you might as well do it in style!”
― Hafsah Faizal, We Hunt the Flame

“Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after. Such moments are tests of courage, of strength.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“There are two kinds of guilt. The kind that's a burden and the kind that gives you purpose. Let your guilt be your fuel. Let it remind you of who you want to be. Draw a line in your mind. Never cross it again. You have a soul. It's damaged but it's there. Don't let them take it from you.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“You are full, Laia. Full of life and dark and strength and spirit. You are in our dreams. You will burn, for you are an ember in the ashes.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“The field of battle is my temple. The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“I'd rather die than live with no mercy, no honor, no soul.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Nan always said that as long as there is life, there is hope.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“It will get better. You'll never forget them, not even after years. But one day, you'll go a whole minute without feeling the pain. Then an hour. A day. That's all you can ask for, really.” His voice drops. “You'll heal, I promise.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“In the night, your loneliness crushes you, as if the sky itself has swooped down to smother you in its cold arms.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“I do not doubt, I do not hesitate. I am the Lioness's daughter, and I have the Lioness's strength.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Laia and Helene: They’re so different. I like that Laia says things I don’t expect, that she speaks almost formally, as if she’s telling a story. I like that she defied my mother to go to the Moon Festival, whereas Helene always obeys the Commandant. Laia is the wild dance of a Tribal campfire, while Helene is the cold blue of an alchemist’s flame.

But why am I even comparing them? I’ve know Laia a few days and Helene all my life. Helene’s no passing attraction. She’s family. More than that. She’s part of me.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“The field of battle is my temple. I mentally chant a saying my grandfather taught me the day he met me, when I was six. He insists it sharpens the mind the way a whetstone sharpens a blade. The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Fight back, Laia. For Darin. For Izzi. For every Scholar this beast has abused. Fight. A scream bursts from me, and I claw at Marcus’s face, but a punch to my stomach takes the wind out of my lungs. I double over, retching, and his knee comer up into my forehead. The hallway spins, and I drop to my knees. Then I hear him laughting, a sadistic chuckle that stokes my defiance.

Sluggishly, I throw myself at his legs. It won’t be like before, like during the raid when I let that Mask drag me about my own house like some dead thing.

This time, I’ll fight. Tooth and nail, I’ll fight.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“You will be chained to the darkness within yourself as surely as if chained to the walls of a prison cell.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Laia is the wild dance of a Tribal campfire, while Helene is the cold blue of an alchemist’s flame.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“You will burn for you are an ember in the ashes”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“I don’t know what happened to you,” I say. “I don’t know who my father was or why you hate him so much. But I know my death won’t free you. It won’t give you peace. You’re not the one killing me. I chose to die. Because I’d rather die than become like you. I’d rather die than live with no mercy, no honor, no soul.” I wrap my hands around the bars and look down into her eyes. For a second, confusion flashes there, an all-too-brief crack in her armor. Then her gaze turns to steel. It doesn’t matter. All I feel for her in this moment is pity. “Tomorrow, I’m the one who will be set free. Not you.” I release the bars and move to the back of the cell. Then I slide to the floor and close my eyes. I don’t see her face as she leaves. I don’t hear her. I don’t care. The killing blow is my release. Death is coming for me. Death is nearly here. I am ready for him.”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Lover?” The boy lifts an eyebrow suggestively. My face grows hot. “He’s my—my friend.” “Then why worry?” The boy flashes a grin tinged with wickedness, and I find myself smiling in return. I glance over my shoulder at Izzi, talking to an earnest-looking Scholar. She laughs at something he says, her hands, for once, not straying to her eyepatch. When she catches me watching, she looks between the Tribal boy and me and waggles her eyebrows. My face goes hot again. One dance can’t hurt; we can leave after. The”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“Now it hits me. This is it. This is the end. Martial tradition says a soldier who dies well dances among the stars, battling foes for all eternity. Is that what awaits me? Or will I slip into endless darkness, unbroken and quiet?”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

“And his mask. So strange that it sits atop his face like a thing apart. Is it a sign of weakness? It can’t be—I keep hearing he’s Blackcliff’s finest soldier. Stop, Laia. Stop thinking of him. If he’s thoughtful, then there’s devilry behind it. If there’s fire in his eyes, it’s a lust for violence. He’s a Mask. They’re all the same. I”
― Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes