Lena

“I turned on Nikolai and kicked him hard in the shin. He yelped, but that wasn’t nearly satisfying enough. I kicked him again.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Next time you try something like that, I won’t kick you,” I said angrily. “I’ll cut you in half.”
He brushed a speck of lint from his trousers. “Not sure that would be wise. I’m afraid the people rather frown on regicide.”
“You’re not king yet, Sobachka,” I said sharply. “So don’t tempt me.”
“I don’t see why you’re upset. The crowd loved it.”
“I didn’t love it.”
He raised a brow. “You didn’t hate it.”
I kicked him again. This time his hand snaked out like a flash and captured my ankle. If it had been winter, I would have been wearing boots, but I was in summer slippers and his fingers closed over my bare leg. My cheeks blazed red.
“Promise not to kick me again, and I’ll promise not to kiss you again,” he said.
“I only kicked you because you kissed me!” I tried to pull my leg back, but he kept a hard grip.
“Promise,” he said.
“All right,” I bit out. “I promise.”
“Then we have a deal.”
He dropped my foot, and I drew it back beneath my kefta, hoping he couldn’t see my idiotic blush.
“Great,” I said. “Now get out.”
“It’s my coach.”
“The deal was only for kicking. It did not prohibit slapping, punching, biting, or cutting you in half.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“He would not rest until his country could too.
And he would never turn his back on a wounded man - even if that man was him.
'Nikolai Nothing', snarled the demon. 'Ravka will never be yours'.
Perhaps not. But if you loved a thing, the work was never done. 'Remember who you are'.”
― Leigh Bardugo, King of Scars

“I ran my finger over one of the pier’s sleek planks. “Is that why you stayed away so long? Why you became Sturmhond?”
“I don’t know if there’s just one reason. I guess I never felt like I belonged here, so I tried to make a place where I could belong.”
“I never felt like I fit in anywhere either,” I admitted. Except with Mal. I pushed the thought away. Then I frowned. “You know what I hate about you?”
He blinked, startled. “No.”
“You always say the right thing.”
“And you hate that?”
“I’ve seen the way you change personas, Nikolai. You’re always what everyone needs you to be. Maybe you never felt like you belonged, or maybe you’re just saying that to make the poor, lonely orphan girl like you more.”
“So you do like me?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, when I don’t want to stab you.”
“It’s a start.”
“No it isn’t.”
He turned to me. In the half-light, his hazel eyes looked like chips of amber.
“I’m a privateer, Alina,” he said quietly. “I’ll take whatever I can get.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm

“Brothers," he said, "I have brought the Sun Summoner back to Ravka."
I couldn't help myself. I hauled off and punched him in the face.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm