nika ⸆⸉

“It's my own name I'm afraid of forgetting."
"Your true name is written here," she said tapping his chest. "Tattooed on your heart. You don't let just anyone read it.”
― Leigh Bardugo, The Demon in the Wood

“You were meant to be like me. You were meant . . . You’re nothing now.”
He dropped his hands. I saw realization strike him. He was truly alone. And he always would be.
I saw emptiness enter his eyes, felt the yawning void inside him stretch wider, and infinite wasteland. The calm left him, all that cool certainty. He cried out in his rage.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Ruin and Rising

“Go!" He shouted the word at her, leveling the arrow at her forehead even as tears poured down his cheeks. "I never want to see your face. I never want to hear your name. If there were a way to scour you from my life, I'd do it. But until I find the strength to put you in a goddamned grave, this is all I have. Now run!"

His fingers quivered on the bowstring. He would do it. And it would kill him.”
― Danielle L. Jensen, The Bridge Kingdom

“After a long moment, he said, "Aleksander."
A little laugh escaped me. He arched a brow, a smile tugging at his lips. "What?"
"It's just so... common." Such an ordinary name, held by kings and peasants alike.
His smile deepened and he cocked his head to the side. It almost hurt to see him this way. "Will you say it?" he asked.
"Aleksander," I whispered.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Ruin and Rising