Mariana

“Beside Ruby, the Darkling lay in his black kefta. Who had tended him? I wondered, feeling an ache rise in my throat. Who had combed his dark hair back so neatly from his forehead? Who had folded his graceful hands on his chest?”
― Leigh Bardugo, Ruin and Rising

“A decoy,” said the Darkling, coming up beside me. “We’ll take the southern trails. It’s what we should have done in the first place.”
“So you do make mistakes,” I said without thinking.
He paused in the act of pulling on his gloves, and I pressed my lips together nervously. “I didn’t mean—”
“Of course I make mistakes,” he said. His mouth curved into a half smile. “Just not often.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone

“What have you come here for, Alina?”
I answered him honestly. “I wanted to see you.”
I caught the briefest glimpse of surprise before his face shuttered again. “There are two thrones on
that dais. You could see me anytime you liked.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Ruin and Rising

“Mercy." He said the word as if he were tasting something unfamiliar. "I could be merciful.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone