Allison Engblom

“I’d be your King, but always your servant. Never your keeper.”
― Rachel Gillig, Two Twisted Crowns

“So you’re right, you don’t need me fighting your battles. But if you’ll let me, I’d like to be standing beside you as you fight them.”
― Lynette Noni, The Prison Healer

“I wasn’t afraid of you, Alina. I was afraid of losing you. The girl you were becoming didn’t need me anymore, but she’s who you were always meant to be.”
“Strong.” He looked away. “Luminous. And maybe a little ruthless too. That’s what it takes to rule. Ravka is broken, Alina. I think it always has been. The girl I saw in the chapel could change that.”
“Nikolai’s a born leader. He knows how to fight. Knows how to politic. But he doesn’t know what it is to live without hope. He’s never been nothing. Not like you or Genya. Not like me.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Ruin and Rising

“Not wanting to be destroyed by despair doesn’t make you a coward. It makes you a survivor.”
― S.A. Chakraborty, The Empire of Gold