Quotes From "Ruin And Rising" By Leigh Bardugo

They had an ordinary life, full of ordinary things-if love can ever be called that. Leigh Bardugo

Good luck, Oretsev. Find the firebird, and when this is over, I'll see you well rewarded. A farmhouse in Udova. A dacha near the city. Whatever you want."" I don't need any of that. Just..." He dropped Nikolai's hand and looked away. "Deserve her. Leigh Bardugo

I was done with hesitation. It wasn't just that we'd run out of options, or that so much was riding on the firebird's power. I'd simply grown ruthless enough or selfish enough to take another creature's life. But I missed the girl who had shown the stag mercy, who had been strong enough to turn away from the lure of power, who had believed in something more. Another casualty of this war. Leigh Bardugo

They wanted a Grisha queen. Mal wanted a commoner queen. And what did I want? Peace for Ravka. A chance to sleep easy in my bed without fear. An end to the guilt and dread that I woke to every morning. There were old wants too, to be loved for who I was, not what I could do, to lie in a meadow with a boy’s arms around me and watch the wind move the clouds. Leigh Bardugo

I just know there's no way to live without pain - no matter how long or short your life is. People let you down. You get hurt and do damage in return. Leigh Bardugo

I've always known that whatever marriage I made would be political. It would be about power, not love. But we might get lucky. In time, we might have both.'' Or the third amplifier will turn me into a power-mad dictator and you'll have to kill me.'' Yes, that would make for an awkward honeymoon. Leigh Bardugo

I was just a girl again, but this girl didn’t owe her strength to fate or chance or a grand destiny. I’d been born with my power; the rest I’d earned. Leigh Bardugo

Despise your heart. I wanted to. I didn't want to grieve anymore, to feel loss or guilt, or worry. I wanted to be hard, calculating. I wanted to be fearless. Leigh Bardugo

I will tell you a story, one I used to tell to a little boy with dark hair. A silent boy who rarely laughs, who listened more closely than I realized. A boy who had a name and not a title Leigh Bardugo

I tilted my head back, breathing deeply. It was a clear, moonless night, and after those long months underground, the sight of all that sky was dizzying. And so many stars–a glittering, tangled mass that seemed close enough to touch. I let their light fall over me like a balm, grateful for the air in my lungs, the night all around me. Leigh Bardugo

Mal was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, “I’m not sure who my first kill was. We were hunting the stag when we ran into a Fjerdan patrol on the northern border. I don’t think the fight lasted more than a few minutes, but I killed three men. They were doing a job, same as I was, trying to get through one day to the next, then they were bleeding in the snow. No way to tell who was the first to fall, and I’m not sure it matters. You keep them at a distance. The faces start to blur.”“ Really?”“ No. Leigh Bardugo

Abruptly, Adrik snarled, 'I'm glad Sergei's dead. I'm just sorry I didn't get to wring his neck myself.'' You'd need two hands for that, ' said Leigh Bardugo

The names they gave were false ones, though the vows they made were true. Leigh Bardugo

(...)And what did I want? (...)A chance to sleep easy in my bed without fear. (...) There were old wants too, to be loved for who I was, not what I could do, to lie in a meadow with a boy's arms around me and WATCH THE WIND MOVE THE CLOUDS. (...) Leigh Bardugo

That first winter, when it was time for her friends to leave, the girl ventured out into the show to say goodbye, and the stunning raven-haired Squaller handed her another gift. "A blue kefta, " said the math teacher, shaking her head. "What would she do with Leigh Bardugo

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

And feast on the dead, I thought with a shudder. As if he could read my thoughts, he pressed a hand to my shoulder. His fingers were long and white, splaying over my arm like a waxen spider. If the gesture was meant to comfort me, it failed. Leigh Bardugo