"I was as unburdened as a piece of dandelion fluff, and he was the wind that stirred me about the world."

"By the Valg, three were made,Of the gate-Stone of the Wyrd:Obsidian the gods forbadeAnd stone they greatly feared.In grief, he hid one in the crownOf her he loved so well,To keep with her where she lay downInside the starry cell.The second one was hiddenIn a mountain made of fire,Where all men are forbiddenDespite their great desires.Where the third liesWill never be toldBy voice or tongueOr sum of gold."

"The fear of loss . . . it can destroy you as much as the loss itself."

"But perhaps the monsters needed to look out for each other every now and then."

"She had awoken this morning and slipped the amethyst ring off her finger. It had felt liked a blessed release, a final shadow lifted from her heart."

"Centre yourself. Fear will get you killed as easily as a weapon."

"A gift.A gift from a queen who had seen another woman in hell and thought to reach back a hand. With no thought of it ever being returned. A moment of kindness, a tug on a thread."

"As my friend, you should either bring me along, or keep me company.""Friend?" he asked.She blushed. "Well, 'scowling escort' is a better description. Or 'reluctant acquaintance', if you prefer."

"Kaltain just squeezed Elide's fingers. "You find Celaena Sardothien. Give her this. No one else. No one else. Tell her that you can open any door, if you have the key. And tell her to remember her promise to me-to punish them all. When she asks why, tell her I said that they would not let me bring the cloak she gave me, but I kept a piece of it. To remember that promise she made. To remember to repay her for a warm cloak in a cold dungeon."

"She had not understood what it had been like for him to live his entire life underground, chained and beaten and crippled-until then. Until she heard that noise of undiluted, unyielding joy.Until she echoed it, tipping her head back to the clouds around them.They sailed over a sea of clouds, and Abraxos dipped his claws in them before tilting to race up a wind-carved column of cloud. Higher and higher, until they reached its peak and he flung out his wings in the freezing, thin sky, stopping the world entirely for a heartbeat.And Manon, because no one was watching, because she did not care, flung out her arms as well and savored the freefall, the wind now a song in her ears, in her shriveled heart."

"This thing between them, the force of it, could devour the world. And if they picked it, picked them, it might very well cause the end of it."

"She was a wolf. She was death, devourer of the worlds."

"But anyone with witch-blood in their veins was worth keeping an eye on.Or Thirteen."

"She didn't fear the night, though she found little comfort in its dark hours."

"When your people are lying dead around you, don't come crying to me..."

"Fear could break a line faster than any enemy charge."

"Night Triumphant- and the Stars Eternal."

"Was I interrupting? I thought it was over." Rhys gave me a smile dripping with venom. He knew-through that bond, through whatever magic was between us, he'd known I was about to say no. "At least Feyre seemed to think so."

"This witch had been crafted from the darkness between the stars."

"His words were coated with glorious boredom."

"Don't be angry, Finnula had said, be smart."

"Even when this world is a forgotten whisper of dust between the stars, I will love you."

"I heard a story," Aedion drawled to Rowan, "that you killed an enemy warlord using a table." "Please,"Aelin said. "Who the hell told you that?""Quinn-your uncle's Captain of the Guard. He was an admirer of Prince Rowan's. He knew all the stories."Aelin slid her eyes to Rowan, who smirked, bracing his sparring stick on the floor. "You can't be serious," she said. "What-you squashed him to death like a pressed grape?"

"But the king was frowning. "I expected you a month ago."Aedion actually had the nerve to shrug. "Apologies. The Staghorns were slammed with a final winter storm. I left when I could."Every person in the hall held their breath."

"And I didn't think even eternity would be long enough to fix me."

"Say it, I gritted out."The High Lord of the Night Court is your mate."

"There was a faint ringing in her ears that turned into a roar. And beneath it, a sudden wave of numbness, a too-familiar lack of sight or sound or feeling. She didn't know why it happened, because she had been so dead set on hating him, but . . . it would have been nice, she supposed. It would have been nice to have one person who knew the absolute truth about her-and didn't hate her for it.It would have been really, really nice.She walked away without another word. With each step she took back to her room, that flickering light inside of her guttered.And went out."

"I want them to hear your story. And know that there is a special strength..." As I spoke I realized I needed to hear it, know it, too. "A special strength in enduring such dark trials and hardships... And still remaining warm, and kind. Still willing to trust-and reach out."

"Why does anything cling to something? Maybe they love wherever they're going so much that it's worth it. Maybe they'll keep coming back, until there's only one star left. Maybe that one star will make the trip forever, out of the hope that someday-if it keeps coming back often enough-another star will find it again."

"They had slept in the shelter of the ruins, though neither of them really got true rest."

"To the stars who listen " and the dreams that are answered."

"Lucien studied the wine in his goblet. "You don't hold on to power by being everyone's friend. And among the faeries, lesser and High Fae alike, a firm hand is needed. We're too powerful, and too bored with immortality, to be checked by anything else."

"Then, like a shimmering disk too rich and clear to be described, the sun slipped over the horizon and lined everything with gold. It was like seeing the world being born, and we were the sole witnesses."

"Well, good-bye for now," he said, rolling his neck as if we hadn't been talking about anything important at all. He bowed at the waist, those wings vanishing entirely, and had begun to fade into the nearest shadow when he went rigid.His eyes locked on mine wide and wild, and his nostrils flared. Shock-pure shock flashed across his features at whatever he saw on my face, and he stumbled back a step. Actually stumbled. "What is-" I began.He disappeared-simply disappeared, not a shadow in sight-into the crisp air."

"A few fires flickered, plumes of dark smoke marring the ruby sky."

"Rhysand yelled my name again - yelled it as though he cared. I blacked out, but she brought me back, ensuring that I felt everything ensuring that I screamed every time a bone broke."

"For him, I had done this-for him I'd gladly wrecked myself and my immortal soul. And now I had an eternity to live with it."

"What Maeve didn't understand, what she could never understand, was just how much that little princess in Terrasen had damned them a decade ago, even worse than Maeve herself had. She had damned them all, and then left the world to burn into ash and dust.So Celaena turned away from the stars, nestling under the thread-bare blanket against the frigid cold, and closed her eyes, trying to dream of a different world.A world where she was no one at all."

"I want to take my time with you - to learn every inch of you. And this apartment has very, very thin walls. I don't want to have an audience he added as he leaned down again, brushing his mouth over the cut at the base of her throat, "when I make you moan, Aelin."

"Perhaps Nesta will take up the blood-drinking habit, too. I certainly believe her threat to rip out my throat. Maybe she'll enjoy the taste."

"But death was her curse and her gift, and death had been her good friend these long, long years."

"Rhysand stared at me for long enough that I faced him."Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don't feel anything at all."

"Everyone wants to talk-talk-talk. Can't we eat-eat-eat, and then talk?"

"What's your name?" he asked above the roar of the music.She leaned close. "My name is Wind," she whispered. "And Rain. And Bone and Dust. My name is a snippet of a half-remembered song."He chuckled a low, delightful sound. She was drunk and silly, and so full of the glory of being young and alive and in the capital of the world that she could hardly contain herself."I have no name," she purred. "I am whoever the keepers of my fate tell me to be."He grasped her by her wrist, running a thumb along the sensitive sknin underneath. "Then let me call you Mine for a dance or two."

"Hide from fate all you like, Baba Yellowlegs said as they turned away. "But it shall soon find you!"

"I'm not ill like that, she groaned. He sat on her bed, peeling back the blanket. A servant entered, frowning at the mess on the floor, and shouted for help."Then it what way?"I,uh... Her face was so hot she thought it would melt onto the floor. Oh you idiot. "My monthly cycles finally came back!His face suddenly matched hers and he stepped away, dragging his hand through his short hair. "I-if...Then I'll take my leave, he stammered, and bowed. Celaena raised an eyebrow, and then, despite herself, smiled as he left the room as quick as his feet could go without running, tripping slightly in the doorway as he staggered into the rooms beyond."

"Tamlin let out a low snarl of approval, and I bit my bottom lip as he removed his pants, along with his undergarments, revealing the proud, thick length of him. My mouth went dry, and I dragged my gaze up his muscled torso, over the panes of his chest, and then-"Come here, he growled, so roughly the words were barely discernable.I pushed back the blankets, revealing my already naked body, and he hissed."

"He moved to sniff some white-and-yellow flowers.A nightmare. This was a nightmare. "You can't really like flowers.Again those dark eyes shifted to her. Blinked once. I most certainly do, he seemed to say."

"A lovely girl gazing at the stars, and the stars who gazed back."

"She realized that Rowan saw each of those thoughts and more as he reached into his tunic and pulled out a dagger. Her dagger. He extended it to her, it's long blade gleaming as if he'd been secretly polishing and caring for it these months.And when she grasped the dagger, it's weight lighter than she remembered, Rowan looked into her eyes, into her very core of her, and said, 'Fireheart'."