Arras

“We must each be where we belong.” “What is belonging?” we ask. She says, “Where loneliness ends.”
― Rivers Solomon, The Deep

“Some sorcerers get an affinity for weather magic, or transformation spells, or fantastic combat magics like dear Orion. I got an affinity for mass destruction.”
― Naomi Novik, A Deadly Education

“With her wind-spun hair and eyes bright from the hunt, Sabran Berethnet looked almost carefree -- and for the first time in years, Ead felt her own cares lifted from her shoulders. Like seeds from a dandelion clock.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Priory of the Orange Tree

“The silence of the Great Bedchamber was vast. Vast as night and all its stars. Ead heard each rustle of silk, each brush of hand on skin on sheets. Their breaths were hushed, held in anticipation of a knock on the door, a key in the lock, and a torch to bare their union. It would light a flame of scandal, and the fire would rise until it scorched them both. But Ead called fire her friend, and she would plunge into the furnace for Sabran Berethnet, for just one night with her. Let them come with their swords and their torches. Let them come.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Priory of the Orange Tree