Renee Ahdieh Quotes

He would learn the truth. Tonight he would flout his own rules. Meet the girl alone. Ask her a single question. He could afford that.

With each word, he broke past every barrier, every wall. And Sharazad's will fought him, screamed a silent scream, while her heart welcomed the intrusion as a songbird welcomes the dawn.

For a story was only as good as its villain.

You do not know what it means to be happy. Happiness is not a thing to be found here in the imperial court. We take moments of pleasure. Collect them and keep them tight in our chests. And we hope they are enough to fill whatever holes our truths leave behind.

As always. As ever. As a rose to the sun.

I may be partial to roses, but I am not a fragile flower

And he smiled a smile to shame the sun.

There is no one I would rather see the sunrise with than you.

He was tall and trim, with the build of a young man proficient in warfare. His dark hair was straight and styled in a manner suggesting a desire for order in all things. As she strode onto the dais, she looked up at him, refusing to balk, even in the face of her king. His thick eyebrows raised a fraction. They framed eyes so pale a shade of brown they appeared amber in certain flashes of light, like those of a tiger. His profile was an artist's study in angles, and he remained motionless as he returned her watchful scrutiny.

Do better than this, Shazi. My queen is without limitations. Boundless in all that she does. Show them." Her pulse raced

My soul sees its equal in you.

It's never been a question of who is going to let me behave a certain way; it's always been a question of who is going to stop me. I thank you for answering it.

The only power any man has over you is the power you give him.

In what world did you think you could get away with this?" Jalal seethed. "To my cousin? To my family?" His gleaming hilt continued its punishing onslaught.

I suspect she will be like air. Like knowing how to breathe.

She shook her head, though her shoulders trembled and her nails dug into her palms. "You are ridiculous, Khalid Ibn al-Rashid. I am just one girl. You are the Caliph of Khorasan, and you have a responsability to a kingdom."

"If you are just one girl, I am just one boy."

Shahrzad closed her eyes, unable to hold the fierce light in his gaze.

Are you ever angry you were born a woman?"
"I've never been angry to have been born a woman. There have been times I've been angry at how the world treats us.

Perhaps you should spend less time despising the game and more time building the patients necessary to win.

I could see her daring a cobra to strike, swearing her venom would kill first.

When will you tell him?' 'When I muster the courage or when I'm left with no choice - whichever comes first.

After all, every story has a story.

Is that kind of disrespect … normal?"
Shahrzad lifted a shoulder. "It's not normal. But it's not unexpected. It's the curse of being a woman," she joked in a morose manner.

Because when I kiss you, I want yours to be the first... and last lips I ever kiss.

Because at that moment, with the press of Rahim's lips to hers, with the touch of his tongue sending wildfire through her veins, she knew she would always be home here.
With this boy. In this moment. In this time.
And that her heart would never be lonely again.

For without a measure of arrogance, how can one attempt the impossible?

I wish I possessed your particular brand of optimism," Rahim grumbled.
"And what brand would that be?"
"Idiotic.

Shahrzad paused. Then made a decision. Honey catches more flies than vinegar.

You are ridiculous, Khalid Ibn al-Rashid. I am just one girl. You are the Caliph of Khorasan, and you have a responsibility to a kingdom."
"If you are just one girl, I am just one boy.

I love you, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. There is nothing I would not do for you. Nothing I would not consider if it meant keeping you safe. The world itself should fear me if it stands between us.

Moments spent in idleness were moments left to thought. Moments left to memory.

Understood what it meant to feel at home wherever you were. To feel as though you belonged in any moment, at any place, in any time.

If that was to be my last meal," Mariko murmured, "how fitting is it that it fell from my lips before I could eat it?

Sometimes we must fall foward to keep moving

Tariq's eyes softened, their colors flickering in the shade. Their bright silver centers blended into rings of darkest ash, with black lashes that fanned against the soft skin of his eyelids. His brow had an air of severity that faded with the ready appearance of his smile. A day-old beard shadowed the square line of his jaw, further accentuating its finely wrought symmetry.

I learned I have a great deal to learn." Reza

It must be said. These truths, no matter how harsh, must be said.

You are a disaster. You flinch at the slightest noise, and you nearly ripped that poor boy's head off for dropping his sword."

"The boy was stumbling about, wielding an unsheathed blade. I find it fortunate he didn't trip and impale himself on the cold steel of his own stupidity."

"Your sarcasm gets more brutal with age. And with arrogance. It's not nearly as entertaining now.

Her lips were hers one moment. And the they were his.

Everything was cold, and she chewed from habit rather than enjoyment, but she knew she would regret it later if she went to bed hungry as well as angry.

Are you also going to inform me I need to be as swift as a fire so I may move mountains in the wind?" Yoshi

For the wonder of a first love can never be matched.

Murderer, monster, madman... Khalid may very well be all of those things. But he's also loved. By me and by my father. But, most of all, by Shazi. With her, he is as fiercely loved as he loves.

Do you know why I adore roses?" Shahrzad untied the knot of his tikka sash with deliberate slowness. "I've always loved them for their beauty and their scent, but--"
"It's because of their thorns." His muscles tensed at her touch. "Because there's more to them than first meets the eye.

Jalal shook his head and moved toward Khalid. "She is. Please give her a chance to explain."
"Leave," Khalid commanded quietly.
"Don't let your fear and your distrust ruin this."
His uncle took Jalal by the shoulder.
"She loves you!" Jalal continued, his tone heedless. "This is not what it seems. Maybe it began as something else, but I would bet my life on what it is now. She loves you. Please don't fall to hate. You're not your father. You are so much more. She is so much more.

A true plague of a girl. And yet a queen in every sense of the word.

This destroyer of worlds and creature of wonder.

For never was a story of more woe.

And only those watching very carefully saw the Caliph of Khorasan lean back against the cushions and toy with the bangles on his wife's arm.

I've never been angry to have been born a woman. There have been times I've been angry at how the world treats us, but I see being a woman as a challenge I must fight. Like being born under a stormy sky. Some people are lucky enough to be born on a bright summer's day. Maybe we were born under clouds. No wind. No rain. Just a mountain of clouds we must climb each morning so that we may see the sun.

Everything in life began with an idea.

I love you, she said. Khalid lifted his head to hers. She placed a hand against his cheek. Beyond words.

Ours is a love stronger than fear and deeper than the sea

The power behind words lies with the person.

Loving someone is to lose control

Though a promise means little without a measure of trust.

But you do laugh too loud. And I hope you never stop." Despina

Some secrets are safer behind lock and key

I understand how difficult it is, putting your heart in someone else's hands. But, if you don't, how will you ever truly know a person?

Respect is not a thing granted. It is a thing earned.

You have a beautiful laugh. Like the promise of tomorrow.

You don't know the beginning of me." She trembled as she spoke. "And . . . you will never see the end.

I won't ask for forgiveness, but I am so very sorry," he said, with the simple brevity she was learning to expect. She pressed her lips into his soft, dark hair. "I know." He

My mother used to say that a man who can't appreciate poetry lacks a soul.

Despina edged closer. "When I was a little girl in Thebes, I remember asking my mother what heaven was. She replied, 'A heart where love dwells.' Of course, I then demanded to know what constituted hell. She looked me straight in the eye and said, 'A heart absent love.'" Despina studied Shahrzad as she spoke.

. . .the infinite captivates us because it allows us to believe all things are possible. That true love can last beyond time.

And, with a kiss, Shahrzad let herself fall.
For the boy who was an impossible, improbable study in contrasts. The boy who burned her life to cinder, only to remake of it a world unlike any she had ever known.

You are not weak. You are not indecisive. You are strong. Fierce. Capable beyond measure.

Be as swift as the wind. As silent as the forest. As fierce as the fire. As unshakable as the mountain. And you can do anything...

What I am has no bearing on who I become.

Sometimes we must fall forward to keep moving. Remain motionless - remain unyielding - and you are as good as dead.
Death follows indecision, like a twisted shadow. Fall forward. Keep moving. Even if you must pick yourself up first.

Where were you?" Shahrzad tried to control the tremor in her voice.
"Not where I should have been."
"This morning and last night."
His breath fanned on her skin as he bent toward her ear. "This morning, I was not where I should have been. Last night, I was not where I wanted to be.

But even the moment when the leaves fall from their boughs - even that moment - has a beauty to it. A glory of its own.

My fear - even when it is feigned - has more weight when it is matched alongside anger.

If I am marching to my death, then I will march to it as a girl. Without fear.

For love, people consider the unthinkable . . . and often achieve the impossible. I would not sneer at its power." The

Every day, I think I am going to be surprised by how remarkable you are, but I am not. Because this is what it means to be you. It means knowing

When I was a boy, my mother would tell me that one of the best things in life is the knowledge that our story isn't over yet. Our story may have come to a close, but your story is still yet to be told.
Make it a story worthy of you

The worst kind of lie - the kind shrouded in good intentions. The kind cowards use to justify their weakness.

Sometimes," he gasped, "the family you choose...is stronger than blood.

Then how does one go about making the impossible, possible ?

Sharzad had not intended to torment Khalid with the magic carpet. Not at first. But he brought it on himself. Truly, he did.

She wanted to kiss him.
No.
It was one thing to return his kiss; she'd been prepared for that. But it was another thing entirely to want his kiss… another thing entirely to desire his affections.

Today he'd intentionally wandered too far. Wandered away from those who hovered around him like flies to a carcass.

You're better than beautiful." Rahim took a careful breath. "You're interesting. Never forget that.

It was easy to be good and kind in times of plenty. The trying times were the moments that defined a man.
And love? Love was something that did much to change a person. It brought joy as it brought suffering, and in turn brought about those moments that defined one's character. Love gave life to the lifeless. It was the greatest of all living powers.
But, as with all things, love had a dark side to it.

Jalal," she said, "I can explain."
"There's no need."
"I'm not - "
"I told you; there's no need." He spoke simply. "I trust you.

It's a fitting punishment for a monster. to want something so much - to hold it in your arms - and know beyond a doubt you will never deserve it.

In the past, I used to think real love was anti-capitalistic.
I believed love, as the modern world understood it, was an endless siege fueled by the impossibility of healthy co-dependence.
One person always gave. One person always took.
Selflessness and selfishness.
I was wrong.
Real love is unto itself. For every person, it's different, and no one can presume to explain its complexity using mere words.
For me, love comes down to the moments of pure, unadulterated happiness in your life.

I wish you happiness, Vikram Singh." "And I you, meraa dost - my greatest friend.

She rose onto her knees. Let her arms spread wide in the wind.

That's quite gallant of you. After you've ignored me for the better part of a week, like a boy half your age with twice your charm.

The tears and the pain all but blinding her, she forced open her eyes one more time, to a curtain of dark hair; to a waterfall of black ink spilling across the last page of her life.
No.
I'm not nothing.
I was loved.

Beautiful words were beautiful words, even to the most practical of minds.

From the stars, to the stars.

Let go of it this instant, or I'll dump it's contents on your head and leave you to wallow in honeyed misery," he whispered in her ear, his amusement as plain as his threat.
Shahrzad froze, his breath tickling her skin.
"Do it and I'll bite your hand," she said. "Until you scream like a little boy."
He laughed--a rich susurrus of air and sound. "I thought you were tired of bloodshed. Perhaps I'll toss you over my shoulder. In front of everyone."
Refusing to comply with out a fight, she pinched his forearm until he grimaced.

It was never about belonging to someone. It was belonging together.

The mighty Caliph of Khorasan. The King of Kings. Her beautiful monster.

I never lose, nor am I afraid to spill blood.

For a mistake was only a mistake if it was left to remain so.

Do you think you're invincible? That you live off nothing but fresh dew and cold fury?