Loralie Clark

“I have nothing else to lose now—except for you.”
― Melissa Bashardoust, Girl, Serpent, Thorn

“A princess had a secret lover who came to her window to see her. She let down her hair for him to climb and reach her, but he refused. He wouldn’t harm a hair on her head, he told her, and he sent for a rope instead. Soraya had revisited that story over and over again through the years, wondering if she would ever look out her window and see someone waiting for her, someone like that young man, who would care more about her safety than his own.”
― Melissa Bashardoust, Girl, Serpent, Thorn

“They were pressed so tightly against each other that when Parvaneh withdrew, Soraya felt like a piece of her had been peeled away. But Parvaneh remained within the circle of Soraya’s arms, her own hands gripping the bars on either side of her, and she whispered into the crook of Soraya’s neck, “What were you going to say before?”
“When?” Soraya asked, breathless.
“Before I interrupted you. You said you were still with me, that you were still my … my what?”
It seemed ridiculous that she could still blush in her current position, and yet she felt an unmistakable heat warm her face. “I don’t remember,” she said.
Parvaneh lifted her head, eyes sparkling. “Liar. You’re still my friend? My ally? Tell me. We have no secrets in this dungeon.”
“Yours,” Soraya said, looking Parvaneh in the eye, as if the word were a challenge. “I was going to say I’m still yours.”
Parvaneh arched an eyebrow. “Interesting,” she said. She leaned in again, brushing her lips against Soraya’s shoulder. “And how long have you been mine?”
Soraya tugged lightly on Parvaneh’s hair, making Parvaneh look up. “It was when I healed your wings,” she said, “when I touched you for the first time.”
― Melissa Bashardoust, Girl, Serpent, Thorn

“I felt as if I already knew you, as if you were already mine. Didn’t you feel the same?”
― Melissa Bashardoust, Girl, Serpent, Thorn