The Forbidden Wish Quotes

“If you're not free to love, your're not free at all.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“Even a thief may have honor, and even a jinni may have a heart.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“The universe sings a deep, eternal song, sound in waves, in deep sighs, in whispers, in swirling chords and rising, falling tones. The music of the worlds, weaving in a pattern that is both chaos and order, both beauty and terror, without beginning, without end.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“Get control of yourself, Zahra!
My name isn’t Zahra. I am Smoke-on-the-Wind, Curl-of-the-Tiger’s-Tail, Girl-Who-Gives-the-Stars-Away.
He loves you!
He is just a mortal. Just a boy, a moment in time that will soon pass.
His name is Aladdin.
I have known a thousand and one like him. I will know a thousand and one more. He is nothing.
He is everything. ”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“You insist you're a monster because you're afraid of being human.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“This has been the great lesson of my long life: To love is to destroy.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“But my heart is a treacherous star, refusing to dim when the sun rises”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“Find me, my thief.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“If it's a monster they want, then a monster they shall have.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“I've been chased, shot, cut, beaten, and dragged a hundred leagues in the blink of an eye. I need a drink.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“Unable to go forward, afraid to go back”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“There is only one thing more numerous than the stars, and that is the darkness that holds them.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“You've ruled before, so tell me, does it get easier?"
"No, but you get stronger.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“What good is it Habiba, to deny the truth? Your friendship woke something in me all those centuries ago, some dormant humanity that had lingered through the years, and after you died, it recoiled and hid again.
But Aladdin has woken it once more. With his sun-bright smile and his laughing eyes and his way of asking the hardest kind of questions. After you, I swore to never love again.
But I love him.
And so I must let him go.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“May you carry the weight of this betrayal to your grave.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“We mourn what has been lost, and tomorrow, we rise.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“So this is what it feels like to have all your wishes come true.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“Have I told you I love you?" he whispers.
I smile. "Not since this morning."
"Unforgivable. I will tell you every hour of every day.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“I am the weed cast out of the rose garden. I am the crow chased out of the dovecote.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“Every glance, every touch, every whisper between us has been a pebble added to the scales, tipping me toward a new direction.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“He alone can meet my eyes without disgust or fear. He alone still sees the girl inside the monster. But it is not enough.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“You can't choose what happens to you, but you can choose who you become because of it.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“You loved before, and she was taken from you. Ever since, you've been afraid to love again. You insist you're a monster because you're afraid of being human.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“All I wanted was peace between our peoples. But I see now that this is not possible, for my people are ruled by a dreamer, and the jinn are rules by a monster.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“Love is a path lined with roses.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“Zahra, I think you're right---love isn't a choice. If I could choose to love Caspida, maybe this would all be going differently, but I don't think that's possible. Not anymore."
All the smoke inside me sinks as I stare at him. "What are you saying?"
He turns and meets my gaze squarely. As much as I want to, I find it impossible to look away. The intensity of his copper gaze holds me entranced.
"I think you know," he says softly. "Or am I the only one who feels it?”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“He is just a mortal. Just a boy, a moment in time that will soon pass.
His name is Aladdin.
I have known a thousand and one like him. I will know a thousand and one more. He is nothing.
He is everything.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“I still can't believe it's really you," he murmurs, running his fingers down my cheek. "This face...it's yours, isn't it?"
"The one I was born with," I admit, heat rising under my skin as I feel a surge of shyness. I look down at my hands. "Do you...like it?"
"Zahra."
I can't help but lift my gaze at the warmth in his tone. His eyes are shining, his lips slanted in a small smile.
"You're beautiful," he says. "I mean, you were beautiful before, of course, but knowing that this is the real you...I didn't think I could love you more, but I do.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“I asked her why my father resisted the guards when they always won in the end. Why didn't he just save himself the pain and pay them what they wanted? She told me that sometimes, you can't choose what happens to you, but you can choose who you become because of it. That's why my father fought back.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“"All I wanted," said the Queen, "was peace between our peoples. But I see now that this is not possible, for my people are ruled by a dreamer, and the jinn are ruled by a monster."”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish