AJ

“The magic still gathers, and the past is gilded; I see the beauty in what has been but only because I have tasted both sorrow and joy in equal measures.”
― Rebecca Ross, Ruthless Vows

“I betrayed you because I love Iris Elizabeth Winnow," Roman continued smoothly, as if he hadn't heard Dacre's taunt. "She represents all that is good in this realm, and your attack on Hawk Shire, simply put, threatened her. I couldn't bear to live in a world where she was slain by your selfishness, and so I warned her. I couldn't bear to live in a world where you killed countless of my people or wounded them, only to heal them in part so that they would feel confused, indebted, and beholden to you. You, sir, never healed me as you should have. You are the author of my wounds to begin with. I would have never breathed the gas that has scarred my lungs if not for you. I would have never felt the bite of shrapnel in my leg if not for you. And what a cruel and terrible thing it is, to be a divine with such power and magic, and yet find yourself so small-minded and afraid that you decide to live out your endless days harming others. Instead of letting us choose to love you for the good you could be, you have forced us to serve you by way of pain and terror. That is unforgivable, and a lesson you will have learned too late, when you lose this war against us. You never saved me, like you claim. In the field of Avalon Bluff: You didn't save me, but Iris did.”
― Rebecca Ross

“You two seemed inevitable.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Vow of Thieves

“I think we all wear armor. I think those who don’t are fools, risking the pain of being wounded by the sharp edges of the world, over and over again...But there’s also a small voice in the back of my mind, a voice that tells me, ‘You will miss so much being guarded.”
― Rebecca Ross, Divine Rivals