Patricia

“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches. That was what Nana Alba used to say when she told Minerva bedtime stories; it was the preamble that led into a realm of shadows and mysteries.”
― Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Bewitching

“I must write it down. For it is in writing that I will discover a way out. A door within the story. There is one. It cannot end here. Yet some stories do.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales

“What?" I said.
He rose, shaking the dew from his cloak. "You have that look."
He had mirrored my own train of thought, which made me scowl at him irrationally. "Which?"
"The one you wear whenever you outsmart me in some area," he said.
"Well," I began with a shrug, then stopped. My magnanimity was wearing thin, I'm afraid. "Haven't I?"
He laughed, a clear, bright sound, and then, before I knew what was happening, he had lifted me from my feet and spun me through the air, the greenery and shadow of the forest a whirl all around me.
"My beloved Emily," he murmured in my ear.
"Yes, yes, all right," I said, though I did not pull away. My smugness was back, together with a warm sort of satisfaction. It was pleasing to see him this happy.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales

“Shadow’s world was one in which all and sundry either fawned over him or kept a respectful distance from his intimidating bulk. Each time Orga hissed at him, Shadow seemed to assume it a misunderstanding, which grew increasingly improbable as these incidents accumulated, but still less improbable, in his view, than being disliked.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales