Phoenix

“Once I had feared that telling the truth would be like falling, that love would be like hitting the ground, but here I was, my feet firmly planted, standing on my own. We were all monsters and bastards, and we were all beautiful.”
― Rachel Hartman, Seraphina

“He sighed. "So I've gone and revealed how much I admire your work for nothing. Now you'll feel free to laze about self-importantly, I suppose!"
"Viridius, no," I said, stepping toward him and impulsively kissing his balding head. "I'm well aware that that's your job."
"Damned right," he grumpily. "And I've earned it, too.”
― Rachel Hartman, Seraphina

“It's such a relief after all these years to learn that you recovered from your fright," he said in a low voice, giving my hand a squeeze, "and that you grew up so pretty!"
"Were you worried?" I asked, touched.
"Yes. What were you, eleven? Twelve? At that age we're all gawky, and the outcome is always in doubt.”
― Rachel Hartman, Seraphina

“For a fleeting instant, in the sad curve of his shoulders, I saw what Comonot could not: the core of decency; the weight he had carried so long; the endless struggle to do right in the wake of this irreversible wrong; the grieving husband and frightened father; the author of all those love songs. For the first time, I understood.”
― Rachel Hartman, Seraphina