Barira

“The library possessed a life of its own, had become greater than Cornelius had ever intended. For these were not ordinary books the libraries kept. They were knowledge, given life. Wisdom, given voice. They sang when starlight streamed through the library's windows. They felt pain and suffered heartbreak. Sometimes they were sinister, grotesque- but so was the world outside. And that made the world no less worth fighting for, because wherever there was darkness, there was also so much light.”
― Margaret Rogerson, Sorcery of Thorns

“But you know the truth of magic. The greatest power springs only from suffering.”
― Margaret Rogerson, Sorcery of Thorns

“Was that what it meant to lose someone? The pain never went away. It just got... covered up.”
― Margaret Rogerson, Sorcery of Thorns

“I'm ruining your reputation, aren't I?" she asked, watching the spectacle unfold.

"Don't worry," Nathaniel said. "I've been hard at work trying to ruin my reputation for years. Perhaps after this, influential families will stop trying to catapult their unwed daughters over my garden fence. Which actually did happen once. I had to fend her off with a trowel.”
― Margaret Rogerson, Sorcery of Thorns