Simona Mladenova

“Darlington was a good talker, but he was happiest when no one was speaking to him, when he didn’t have to perform the ritual of himself and he could simply be left to watch others.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House

“There should be more magic. Not the creased-greasepaint performances of clowns and hack illusionists. Not card tricks. The magic he'd been promised would be found at the backs of wardrobes, under bridges, through mirrors. It was dangerous and alluring and it did not seek to entertain.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House

“This was why he had done it, not because of guilt or pride but because this was the moment he'd been waiting for: the chance to show someone else wonder, to watch them realize that they had not been lied to, that the world they'd been promised as children was not something that had to be abandoned...that everything was full of mystery.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House

“A lie isn't a lie until someone believes it. It doesn't matter how charming you are if there's no one to charm.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Ninth House