NJ :)

“Death is the mother of beauty," said Henry.
"And what is beauty?"
"Terror."
"Well said," said Julian. "Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.”
― Donna Tartt, The Secret History

“War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor t he arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend...”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

“One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

“We all have murder in our pasts--whether by action or by heart. But all of us have the chance of life in our futures. You can't use your mistake to define who you are. That will destroy who you could be.”
― Nadine Brandes, Wishtress