The tender hug didn't fix the world. The pain and anger were still there. But Hawke was so warm, and his embrace was...gods, it felt like hope, like a promise that I wouldn't always feel this way.

Poppy, you wound me. In my heart,” he said, placing his hand over his chest. “Again.” “Don’t whine. You’ll heal. Again,” I snapped. “Unfortunately.

Why did he have to have such a...charming grin? It was the kind I knew numerous others had fallen prey to.I doubted any of them regretted that fall.I knew I didn't.

But he also filled the air with a certain type of unquantifiable tension, as if the room were electrified. Anyone around him had to be aware of that.

What I felt was…it was messy and raw. I hated him, and…I didn’t. I cared for him, as idiotic as that was. And I wanted him—his kiss, his touch. But I also wanted to hurt him. We weren’t lovers. We were enemies, and we could never be anything else. I was surrounded by people who hated me.

You know what I think?” “I’m half afraid to hear it.” “Things are about to get so much more exciting around here.

Are you done talking yet? Or are you too afraid that I might actually beat you, so you won’t shut up?” “I like hearing myself talk.

Like when I saw a spider, I behaved as if it were the size of a horse with the cold calculation of an assassin."PoppyFrom Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

You are…” “Devilishly handsome? Wickedly clever?” He turned back to the western sky, where it still carried the haze of fire. “Stunningly charismatic?”“That wasn’t what I was going for,” I told him. “More like ridiculous.”“Endearingly ridiculous,” he corrected.