The Infinite Library

“To the stars who listen— and the dreams that are answered.”

“Libraries were full of ideas—perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.”

“And I wondered if love was too weak a word for what he felt, what he’d done for me. For what I felt for him.”

“We all bear scars,... Mine just happen to be more visible than most.”

“You cannot pick and choose what parts of her to love.”

“He thinks he'll be remembered as the villain in the story. But I forgot to tell him that the villain is usually the person who locks up the maiden and throws away the key. He was the one who let me out.”

“You could rattle the stars,’ she whispered. ‘You could do anything, if you only dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That’s what scares you most.”

“I fell in love with you, smartass, because you were one of us—because you weren’t afraid of me, and you decided to end your spectacular victory by throwing that piece of bone at Amarantha like a javelin. I felt Cassian’s spirit beside me in that moment, and could have sworn I heard him say, ‘If you don’t marry her, you stupid prick, I will.”

“She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.”

“The Court of Dreams. The people who knew that there was a price, and one worth paying, for that dream. The bastard- born warriors, the Illyrian half breed, the monster trapped in a beautiful body, the dreamer born into a court of nightmares...And the huntress with an artist's soul.”

“So I’m your huntress and thief?” His hands slid down to cup the backs of my knees as he said with a roguish grin, “You are my salvation, Feyre.”

“No. I can survive well enough on my own— if given the proper reading material.”

“My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me.”

“You do not yield.”

“"Don't feel bad for one moment about doing what brings you joy."”

“I was his and he was mine, and we were the beginning and middle and end. We were a song that had been sung from the very first ember of light in the world.”

“And I realized how badly I'd been treated before, if my standards had become so low. If freedom I'd been granted felt like a privilege and not an inherent right.”

“What’s the point in having a mind if you don’t use it to make judgments?’ ‘What’s the point in having a heart if you don’t use it to spare others from the harsh judgments of your mind?”

“He gripped her hard, forcing her to meet his eyes as he snarled, “I see you. I see every part of you. And I am not afraid.” I will not be afraid. A line in the burning brightness. My name is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius . . . And I will not be afraid.”

“Cauldron save you. Mother hold you. Pass through the gates, and smell that immortal land of milk and honey. Fear no evil. Feel no pain. Go, and enter eternity.”

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

“I'm not married,” he said softly, “because I can't stomach the idea of marrying a woman inferior to me in mind and spirit. It would mean the death of my soul.”

“The best lies were always mixed with truth.”

“"I see her slipping away, bit by bit, because you shove her down when she so desperately needs someone to help her back up."”

“She was a wolf. She was death, devourer of the worlds.”

“I see all of you, Rhys. And there is not one part that I do not love with everything I am.”

“To escape death, she'd become death.”

“Not flowers—never flowers in Terrasen. Instead, they carried small stones to graves to mark their visits, to tell the dead that they still remembered. Stones were eternal—flowers were not.”

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

“I found him carefully studying me, his lips in a thin line. “Has anyone ever taken care of you?” he asked quietly. “No.” I’d long since stopped feeling sorry for myself about it.”

“He looked at his friend, perhaps for the last time, and said what he had always known, from the moment they’d met, when he’d understood that the prince was his brother in soul. “I love you.”

“Some things you hear with your ears. Others, you hear with your heart.”

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

“I threw myself into that fire, threw myself into it, into him, and let myself burn.”

“You could rattle the stars. You could do anything, if only you dared.”

“I have to have music on when writing, or else the silence swallows me whole.”

“I was burning through books every day - stories about people and places I'd never heard of. They were perhaps the only thing that kept me from teetering into utter despair.”

“Aware of every breath, every movement, I sat in his lap. His hands gently braced my hips as I studied his face. “And now I want you to know, Rhysand, that I love you. I want you to know … ” His lips trembled, and I brushed away the tear that escaped down his cheek. “I want you to know,” I whispered, “that I am broken and healing, but every piece of my heart belongs to you. And I am honored—honored to be your mate.” His arms wrapped around me and he pressed his forehead to my shoulder, his body shaking. I stroked a hand through his silken hair. “I love you,” I said again. I hadn’t dared say the words in my head. “And I’d endure every second of it over again so I could find you. And if war comes, we’ll face it. Together. I won’t let them take me from you. And I won’t let them take you from me, either.” Rhys looked up, his face gleaming with tears. He went still as I leaned in, kissing away one tear. Then the other. As he had once kissed away mine. When my lips were wet and salty with them, I pulled back far enough to see his eyes. “You’re mine,” I breathed.”

“I love you,’ he whispered, and kissed my brow. ‘Thorns and all.”

“We need hope, or else we cannot endure.”

“It had filled my time - given me quiet, steadfast company with those characters, who did not exist and never would, but somehow made me feel less ... alone.”

“Where is Aelin. Where is my wife?”

“She would not go quietly. She was not afraid.”

“Everyone sounded the same when they died.”

“I lied! And you know I lied, you stupid bastard!”

“I have no regrets in my life, but this. That we did not have time.”

“'A Court of Thorns and Roses' was actually inspired by three of my all-time-favorite fairy/folktales: 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'East of the Sun, West of the Moon' and 'Tam Lin.' I got the kernel of inspiration by wondering: 'What if 'Beauty' was a huntress?'”

““See what you want, Aelin, and seize it. Don’t ask for it; don’t wish for it. Take it.””