Why are you taking this so personally?”“Wouldn’t you?”“I have no idea. I’ve always been beautiful.”“And humble too?

You will always be one of us.

Do you think I could have come to you again and again, if you had been less alone?You called me and I answered

Lay down the thorn, boy king. Haven’t you earned a bit of rest? Aren’t you tired?'He was. Saints, he was. He thought he had grown used to his scars, but he had never grasped how much of his will it would take to hide them. He had fought and sacrificed and bled. He had gone long days without rest and long nights without comfort. All for Ravka, all for an ideal he would never attain and a country that would never care.

I need your skills, Inej. That's not the same thing. You may be the best spider crawling around the Barrel, but you're not the only one.

I want you to know my name.The name I was given, not the title I took for myself.Will you have it?"Yes""Aleksander

There are rumors that your Lantsov prince has been sighted.”I drifted nearer, trying to keep my voice casual. “Where?”He glanced up, his lips curling in a slight smile. “Do you like him?”“Does it matter?”“It’s harder when you like them. You mourn them more.”“Tell me, Alina,” said the Darkling. “Has he claimed you yet?”“Claimed me? Like a peninsula?”“No blushes. No averted eyes. How you’ve changed. What about your faithful tracker? Will he sleep curled at the foot of your throne?

Fight me as long as you're able.You will find I have far more practice with eternity

Go home and tell them what you've seen, Nikolai thought as the demon soared through the night. Make them believe you. Tell them the demon king rules Ravka now and vengeance is coming.