Lucienne

“She began to burn herself again. She found release in the pain; it was comforting, familiar. It was a trade-off she was well used to. Success required sacrifice. Sacrifice meant pain. Pain meant success.”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War

“Without thinking they sank into a formation; back to back, fighting while covering each other’s blind spots…They were like a well-oiled machine. They were a spontaneously coordinated dance. They weren’t two parts of a whole, not quite, but they came close.”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War

“He was like a sword that had been sharpened, metal that had been tempered.”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War

“when she saw the open sky above her, purple in the evening light, she could have cried”
― R.F. Kuang, The Poppy War