Jaana

“Have I told you how hideous you look tonight?” Cardan asks, leaning back in the elaborately carved chair, the warmth of his words turning the question into something like a compliment.
“No” I say, glad to be annoyed back into the present. “Tell me.”
"I can't.”
― Holly Black, The Cruel Prince

“Seashells are everywhere. Baskets of them line the windowsills, scatter across the floor, and pile on the cushions of my sofa. A few are chipped, but most are flawless. Some are pale as bone, while others shimmer with coral pinks and dusky violets, still glazed with salt. I edge forward, my heart hammering so hard I feel it in the soles of my feet. Then I see Edmund’s note, tucked into the largest basket: Because you saw a pretty seashell and left before I knew which one.”
― Edith Birde, Because I Killed Him

“What could I become if I stopped worrying about death, about pain, about anything? If I stopped trying to belong? Instead of being afraid, I could become something to fear.”
― Holly Black, The Cruel Prince

“So I am to sit here and feed you information,” Cardan says, leaning against a hickory tree. “And you’re to go charm royalty? That seems entirely backward.”
I fix him with a look. “I can be charming. I charmed you, didn’t I?”
He rolls his eyes. “Do not expect others to share my depraved tastes.”
― Holly Black, The Cruel Prince