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“His sister had insisted he be formally named heir now that he was of an age when he could rule without a regent. He could have denied Jude, but he owed all his sisters so much that it felt impossible to deny them anything. If one of them asked for the sun, he'd better figure out how to pluck it from the sky without getting burned.”
― Holly Black, The Prisoner’s Throne

“You’ve got to determine your own fate. Make your own choices. And I have to let you.”
“Thank you,” he forces out. It’s not a polite thing to say among the Folk, but Jude ought to hear it. Those words absolve him of no debt.
He’s let her down and possibly made her proud of him, too. His family cares about him in ways that are far too complex and layered for it to come from enchantment, and that is a profound relief.
“For listening to you? Don’t worry. I won’t make it a habit.” Walking up to him, she puts her arms around him, bumping her chin against his chest. “You’re so annoyingly tall. I used to be able to carry you on my shoulders.”
“I could carry you,” Oak offers.
“You used to kick me with your hooves,” she tells him. “I wouldn’t mind a chance for revenge.”
“I bet.” He laughs.”
― Holly Black, The Prisoner’s Throne

“Through sheer force of will, he neither steps back nor flinches. It bothers him, though, how hard it is to steel himself to her touch. He's never been like that before. He's never found it hard to sink into this role of besotted fool.
Maybe it's harder now that he actually is a besotted fool.”
― Holly Black, The Prisoner’s Throne

“I have, Lady Ran,” Sam said. “It’s a floating collection of rubbish the size of Texas. It sounds terrible.” “It is amazing,” said the goddess.”
― Rick Riordan, The Sword of Summer