Devna

“Cautiously, she let her knuckles brush against his, a slight weight, a bird's feather. He stiffened, but he didn't pull away.

"I'm not ready to give up on this city, Kaz. I think it's worth saving." I think you're worth saving.

Once they stood on the deck of a ship and she'd waited just like this. He had no spoken then and he did not speak now. Inej felt him slipping away, dragging under, caught in an undertow that would take him farther and farther from shore. She understood suffering and she knew it was a place she could not follow, not unless she wanted to drown, too.

Back on Black Veil, he'd told her that they would fight their way out. Knives drawn, guns blazing. Because that's what we do. She would fight for him, but she could not heal him. She would not waste her life trying.

She felt his knuckles slide against hers. Then his hand was in her hand, his palm was pressed against her own. A tremor moved through him. Slowly, he let their fingers entwine.

For a long while, they stood there, hands clasped, looking out at the gray expanse of sea.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom

“Evangeline Fox always believed she’d find herself inside of a fairytale one day.”
― Stephanie Garber, A Curse for True Love

“Don’t go,” he said, still half asleep.
“I have to bathe. I smell like a forest fire.”
“You smell like wildflowers. You always do. What can I say to make you stay?” His words trailed off into a drowsy mumble as he fell back asleep.
Tell me it’s more than war and worry that makes you speak those words. Tell me what they would mean if you weren’t a king and I weren’t a soldier.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Rule of Wolves

“It hurts, Jacks.”
“I know, love. I’m going to take you somewhere safe.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After