“I desire you and love you, Cristina, and so does Mark. Stay with us.”
Cristina couldn’t move. She thought again of the first time she’d seen Mark and Kieran together. The desire she’d felt. She’d thought at the time she wanted something like what they had: that she wanted that passion for herself and some unnamed boy whose face she didn’t know.
But it had been a long time since any face in her dreams had not been either Mark’s or Kieran’s. Since she had imagined any eyes looking into hers that were both the same color. She had not wanted some vague approximation of what they had: She had wanted them.
She looked at Mark, who seemed pinned between hope and terror. “Kieran,” he said. His voice shook. “How can you ask her that? She’s not a faerie, she’ll never talk to us again—”
“But you will leave me,” she said, hearing her own voice as if it were a stranger’s. “You love each other and belong together. You will leave me and go back to Faerie.”
They looked at her with expressions of identical shock. “We will never leave you,” said Mark.
“We will stay as close to you as the tide to the shore,” said Kieran. “Neither of us wishes for anything else.” He reached out a hand. “Please believe us, Lady of Roses.”
― Queen of Air and Darkness
Cristina couldn’t move. She thought again of the first time she’d seen Mark and Kieran together. The desire she’d felt. She’d thought at the time she wanted something like what they had: that she wanted that passion for herself and some unnamed boy whose face she didn’t know.
But it had been a long time since any face in her dreams had not been either Mark’s or Kieran’s. Since she had imagined any eyes looking into hers that were both the same color. She had not wanted some vague approximation of what they had: She had wanted them.
She looked at Mark, who seemed pinned between hope and terror. “Kieran,” he said. His voice shook. “How can you ask her that? She’s not a faerie, she’ll never talk to us again—”
“But you will leave me,” she said, hearing her own voice as if it were a stranger’s. “You love each other and belong together. You will leave me and go back to Faerie.”
They looked at her with expressions of identical shock. “We will never leave you,” said Mark.
“We will stay as close to you as the tide to the shore,” said Kieran. “Neither of us wishes for anything else.” He reached out a hand. “Please believe us, Lady of Roses.”
― Queen of Air and Darkness
“She knew he couldn’t love her, but in that moment it felt as if he did.”
― Queen of Air and Darkness
― Queen of Air and Darkness
“We can buy you one of those books they have for little kids 'Timmy Has Two Dads'. Except I don't think they have one called 'Timmy Has Two Dads and One of Them Was Evil'. That part you're just going to have to work through on your own.”
― City of Fallen Angels
― City of Fallen Angels
“He wasn’t ready for death, but if it came today, he would face it with his head held high and Alexander Lightwood’s name on his lips.”
― The Red Scrolls of Magic
― The Red Scrolls of Magic
Ambika’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Ambika’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Polls voted on by Ambika
Lists liked by Ambika










