Ash

“And then I realized. I realized that fear, when embraced, hardens and sharpens. That it becomes rage. That it becomes power. I would not die here.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“I didn’t notice my lips had curled until his thumb moved, tracing the shape of that smile as if it was something worthy of reverence. “Are you going to kill me, Oraya?” I didn’t run. Didn’t move. Instead, I lay my palm flat against his chest. I surprised even myself when I replied, “Not tonight.” His hand slid from my face and swept a stray strand of black hair from my cheek, smoothing it to the side. But instead of withdrawing, his fingers tightened around my hair—clutching it, but not pulling, as if he was trying to convince himself to let me go and failing. “You might destroy me anyway.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“He had done nothing but be kind to me. But I only knew how to fight.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night

“Death isn’t frightening when weighed against an insignificant existence.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night