Lyra

“Amusement flashed in his eyes.
I had fed off that look once, when I had been starving and thought such crumbs a feast.”
― Madeline Miller

“You're nobody's rainbow.
You're nobody's princess.
You're nobody's doorway but your own,
and the only one who gets to tell you how
your story ends is you.”
― Seanan McGuire, Every Heart a Doorway

“Conscious of her steady gaze, Theron stared in turn at the fire. For seventeen, almost eighteen years, Lilyana had been, as she was now, a quiet sounding board for his fears. She's stood serene against this temper and from the maelstrom pulled, nearly every time, the true reason for his anger. Even when he hadn't been sure of it himself. He'd been a better king with her beside him. Probably a better person. Had he ever told her that? He glanced up from the flames, caught her eye, and realized she knew. For a moment, there was only the two of them, then the moment passed and he sighed.”
― Tanya Huff

“What will you tell them?'
'I will tell them nothing.' The answer came with no hesitation, clear and crisp.
'It is not for them to say what I will do.”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles