1
You are what your creators and experiences have made you, like every other being in this universe. Accept that and be done; I tire of your whining.N.K. Jemisin
2
I remembered Nahadoth's lips on my throat and fought to suppress a shudder, only half succeeding. Death as a consequence of lying with a god wasn't something I had considered, but it did not surprise me. A mortal man's strength had its limits. He spent himself and slept. He could be a good lover, but even his best skills were only guesswork - for every caress that sent a woman's head into the clouds, he might try ten that brought her back to earth.N.K. Jemisin
3
The younger man stepped away from the table and came toward me, his whole posture radiating menace. Every Darre woman is taught to deal with such behavior from men. It is an animal trick that they use, like dogs ruffling their fur and growling. Only rarely is there an actual threat behind it, and a woman's strength lies in discerning when the threat is real and when it is just hair and noise.N.K. Jemisin
4
We can never be gods, after all--but we can become something less than human with frightening ease.N.K. Jemisin
5
It is blasphemy to separate oneself from the earth and look down on it like a god. It is more than blasphemy; it is dangerous. We can never be gods, after all - but we can become something less than human with frightening ease.N.K. Jemisin
6
He has come to seduce the god of seduction, and oh, has he come prepared.N.K. Jemisin
7
How terrible to be a god of change and endure grief unending.N.K. Jemisin
8
In a child's eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe.N.K. Jemisin
9
...and when I lift my head to scream out my fury, a million stars turn black and die. No one can see them, but they are my tears.N.K. Jemisin
10
But love like that doesn't just disappear, does it? No matter how powerful the hate, there is always a little love left, underneath. Yes. Horrible, isn't it?N.K. Jemisin
11
So there was love, once. More than love. And now there is more than hate. Mortals have no words for what we gods feel. Gods have no words for such things. But love like that doesn't just disappear, does it? No matter how powerful the hate, there is always love left, underneath. Horrible, isn't it?N.K. Jemisin
12
Determination could easily become obsession.N.K. Jemisin
13
Once upon a time there was a Once upon a time there was a Once upon a time there was a Stop this. It's undignified.N.K. Jemisin
14
It was very bad if the council had resorted to recruiting men. By tradition men were our last line of defence, their physical strength bent towards the single and most important task of protecting our homes and children. This meant the council had decided that our only defence was to defeat the enemy, period. Anything else meant the end of Darre.N.K. Jemisin
15
The priest's lesson: beware the Nightlord, for his pleasure is a mortal's doom. My grandmother's lesson: beware love, especially with the wrong man.N.K. Jemisin