Cinder Quotes

While Cinder couldn't imagine him abdicating his throne and setting off on a lifetime of space travel and adventure, it was rather adorable watching him try to fit in. ~ Marissa Meyer

Wolf took Scarlet's hands into his, as tenderly as he would pick up an injured butterfly, and slid the band onto her finger. His voice was rough and wavering as he recited - "I, Ze'ev Kesley, do hereby claim you, Scarlet Benoit, as my wife and my Alpha. Forevermore, you will be my mate, my star, my beginning of everything." He smiled down at her, his eyes swimming with emotion. Scarlet returned the look, and though Wolf's expression teetered between proud and bashful, Scarlet's face contained nothing but joy. "You are the one. You have always been, and you will always be, the only one.
Scarlet took the second ring - a significantly larger version of the same unadorned band - and pressed it onto Wolf's finger. "I, Scarlet Benoit, do hereby claim you, Ze'ev Kesley, as my husband and my Alpha. Forevermore, you will be my mate, my star, my beginning of everything. You are the one. You have always been, and you will always be, the only one."
Wolf folded his hands around hers. From where she sat, Cinder could see that he was shaking.
Kai grinned. "By the power given to me by the people of Earth, under the laws of the Earthen Union and as witnessed by those gathered here today, I do now pronounce you husband and wife." He spread his hands in invitation. "You may kiss your - "
Wolf wrapped his arms around Scarlet's waist, lifting her off the floor, and kissed her before Kai could finish. Or maybe she kissed him. It seemed mutual, as her hands wound through his dis ~ Marissa Meyer

Ha!" Thorne's voice carried from the corridor. "I told you I could get him to call me the captain." Cinder ~ Marissa Meyer

Little Cinder

Girl, they can't understand you.
You rise from the as-heap in a blaze
and only then do they recognize you
as their one true love.

While you pray beneath your mother's
tree you carrve a phoenix into your palm
wth aa hazel twig and coal;
every night she devours more of you.

You used to believe in angels.
Now you believe in the makeover;
if you can't get the grime off your face
and your foot into a size six heel

who will ever bother to notice you?
The kettle and the broom sear in your grasp,
snap into fragments. The turtledoves sing,
"There's blood within the shoe."

You deserve the palace, you think, as you signal
the pigeons to attack, approve the barrel filled with red-hot nails.
Its great hearth beckons, and the prince's flag
rises crimson in the angry sun.

He will love you for the heat you generate,
for the flames you ignite around you,
though he encase your tiny feet in glass
to keep them from scorching the ground. ~ Jeannine Hall Gailey

You have compassion but by itself it is not enough. It is almost as if you carry around inside you some dead thing. Some heavy black cinder in your heart that burdens you; a ponderous anchor that tethers you to the past. Until you can burn it away, you can never truly live in the present, in the now. Until you can live in the now, you cannot see things as they really are. Meantime you are a man who is wilfully blind. You have eyes and yet you will not use them. ~ John Dolan

Your position in this household has not changed, and I do not appreciate being spoken to in such a disrespectful manner by the orphan that I accepted into my home."

"Really?" said Cinder. "Would you like me to list all the things I didn't appreciate being done to me today? ~ Marissa Meyer

With plastic siding that was cracked and fading, the trailer squatted on stacked cinder blocks, a temporary foundation that had somehow become permanent over time. It had a single bedroom and bath, a cramped living area, and a kitchen with barely enough room to house a mini refrigerator. Insulation was almost nonexistent, and humidity had warped the floors over the years, making it seem as if he were always walking on a slant. The linoleum in the kitchen was cracking in the corners, the minimal carpet was threadbare, and he'd furnished the narrow space with items he'd picked up over the years at thrift stores. Not a single photograph adorned the walls. ~ Nicholas Sparks

I'm going to make it a law that the correct way to address your sovereign is my giving a high five.' Kai's smiled brightened. 'That's genius. Me too. ~ Marissa Meyer

It's me, Kai. I'm Princess Selene." - Cinder
"This whole time, it was you. - Kai
"You're actually taking this better than I thought you would." - Cinder ~ Marissa Meyer

Iko snorted - a derisive sound that Cinder hadn't even thought escorts were capable of making. Staring ~ Marissa Meyer

Her tongue flailed around all the questions stammering to get out, and she finally landed on: "When did you have time to take a mistress?"
His smile faltered. "Don't talk about Cress like that."
"What?"
"Oh - wait! You mean Darla. I won her in a hand of cards."
Cinder gawked.
"I thought she'd make a nice gift for Iko."
"You ... what?"
"For her replacement body?"
"Um."
"Because Darla's an escort-droid? ~ Marissa Meyer

I am capable of choosing my battles, if that's what it takes to win the war. ~ Marissa Meyer

That won't satisfy them at all." "I know. That's half the appeal." Cinder ~ Marissa Meyer

Excellent," said Cinder, standing up and brushing off her hands. "I was beginning to worry we wouldn't have a pilot for when it's time to take Kai back to Earth. Now I just have to worry about not having a competent one. ~ Marissa Meyer

Bucky's garage was a two-bay cinder block structure that sat like an island in a sea of cars. New cars, old cars, smashed cars, rusted cars, cars that had signed on for the vital organ program, ~ Janet Evanovich

Ze'ev failed to mention he was in love with you." Scarlet could feel her cheeks turning as red as her hair.
Thorne muttered, "How could you not tell?" Cinder kicked him. ~ Marissa Meyer

All dressed up with nowhere to go," said Iko from the doorway.
Cinder spit out the flashlight with a laugh and glanced down at her oil-stained cargo pants. "Yeah, right. All I need is a tiara."
"I was talking about me. ~ Marissa Meyer

Wherarewe?" Thorne muttered.
"Oh, you're awake already," said Cinder, returning with salve and gauze. "I was hoping you'd stay knocked out awhile longer. The peace and quiet was a pleasant change. ~ Marissa Meyer

Cinderella does not represent contemporary girls.

Today's girls are no 'damsels-in-distress.' They figure and solve problems, invent solutions, and herald in the new world order. ~ Tina Sequeira

Kai caught himself before he could smile at the memory of Cinder, shy and stammering. ~ Marissa Meyer

Cinder felt her heart tug in sympathy - she could relate to being a slave for her "guardian," but she couldn't recall ever being afraid that Adri might actually kill her. Well, other than that time she sold her off for plague research. ~ Marissa Meyer

She was a cyborg, and she would never go to a ball. ~ Marissa Meyer

You could move to Europe."
"You know, I've actually been considering that lately."
Kai laughed again, the warmth returning to the sound. "If that's not a vote of confidence, I don't know what is. ~ Marissa Meyer

Do you still have those tranquilizer darts I gave you?" "Oh, please." Cinder forced herself to stand, though her legs still shook. "Do you have any idea how many times I've nearly died since you gave me those? They're long gone." Dr. Erland harrumphed. "I'll make you some more. I have a feeling you're going to need them. ~ Marissa Meyer

It would be easy to abuse a person when they never recognized it as abuse. ~ Marissa Meyer

Cinder grinned at him. He was usually so self-assured that in the rare moments when he was flustered, it made all of her insides swap wrong side up. ~ Marissa Meyer

With all the planning she'd done, she must have known she was leaving, and even she couldn't have been totally immune to the feeling. She'd had good days here. And on the last day, the bad days become so difficult to recall, because one way or another, she made a life here, just as I had. The town was paper, but the memories were not. All the things I'd done here, all the love and pity and compassion and violence and spite, kept welling up inside me. These whitewashed cinder-block walls. My white walls. Margo's white walls. We'd been captive in them for so long, stuck in their belly like Jonah. ~ John Green

I'm sorry," said Cinder. "We should have tried to be more discreet with our plans."
Scarlet shook her head. "It's not your fault. Kai's travel schedule is pretty much public knowledge, so there was no stopping this, I'm afraid." She snorted. "Just be glad you weren't here to see the hoard of screaming girls when he arrived. ~ Marissa Meyer

I do understand that," said Cinder, her tone heavy as she pulled her gaze away from Jacin, meeting each of the others' in turn. "If we succeed, we'll be starting a war. ~ Marissa Meyer

How does it feel to be a real princess?" Cinder flinched. The chip tumbled off her finger and she barely caught it. "So far it's not nearly as fun as one would imagine. What were you saying about having too much power and responsibility and feeling like you're going to let everyone down? Because that all sounded pretty familiar. ~ Marissa Meyer

How was the flight?" Kai whispered, standing so close she imagined she could feel the vibrations of his heart in the air between them.
"Oh, you know," Cinder murmured back. "Thorne was flying, so it was a constant stream of near-death experiences. How's emperor life?"
"Oh, you know. Press conferences. Cabinet meetings. Adoring fans everywhere I go."
"So also a constant stream of near-death experiences?"
"Pretty much. ~ Marissa Meyer

The others sat down to watch Iko work. She'd just finished teasing the hair at the crown of Scarlet's head when Scarlet asked, "Why is Wolf's tuxedo missing?"
Cinder traded looks with the others. "It ... um ... we were ..."
"Thorne came up and took it," interrupted Cress. "When you were changing."
Scarlet frowned. "What for?"
"Because .. he wanted to ..." Cress swallowed. "Um ... compare it to his own tuxedo. To make sure they were, uh ... matching?" Her gaze darted to one side as she realized how implausible that sounded, even for Thorne.
"She means," interrupted Cinder, "that Thorne was concerned that he and Wolf might have purchased the same tuxedo, which I guess is considered a big faux pas. You know how Thorne is about that sort of thing. Can't be seen in the same tux as the groom! How embarrassing, right? ~ Marissa Meyer

The cybernetic operation?"
"No, the sex change."
The doctor's smile faltered.
"I'm joking. ~ Marissa Meyer

Thorne blinked at her, then down at the sewage he could barely make out in the darkness. "Don't you have some tool in that fancy hand of yours that can get us across?"
Cinder glared, light-headed from her body's instinctively short breaths. "Oh, wow, how could I have forgotten about my grappling hook? ~ Marissa Meyer

He shrugged against her. "The people of Luna don't need a princess. They need a revolutionary."
Cinder furrowed her brow. "A revolutionary," she repeated. She liked that a lot better than princess. ~ Marissa Meyer

Cinder cast a look toward the road that would take her away from the palace, back to the safety of being an invisible girl in a very big city. Releasing a slow breath, she turned and followed the android. ~ Marissa Meyer

Thorne scoffed. "Careful is my middle name. Right after Suave and Daring."
"Do you even know what you're saying half the time?" asked Cinder. ~ Marissa Meyer

Scrubbing away the last bit of the painting - her own amateur portrait - Cinder stepped back to join him. The ship no longer looked like the Rampion she'd come to think of as home. It no longer looked like the stolen ship of Captain Carswell Thorne.
She swallowed the lump in her throat.
All around her, strangers were helping to gather up the painting supplies, scrubbing paint off one another's faces, pausing to take enormous drinks of water, and smiling. Smiling because they'd spent the morning together, accomplishing something. ~ Marissa Meyer

Had he done it for her? "I know," said Iko with a dreaminess in her tone, though Cinder hadn't said anything. "He's fantastic." When ~ Marissa Meyer

to speak without thinkin will lead you to an early grave, or to a very small cinder-block cell! ~ Ali Vali

Cinder hurried to join her, eager to see what the boys had done. But when she stepped into the sitting room, it was not the decorations that caught her attention first, but Wolf, standing in front of the fireplace altar in his formal black-and-red tuxedo. Thought it had been made especially for him, the jacket still stretched across his broad chest and shoulders, and the red bow tie was almost humorous against his fierce features and lupine bone structure.
Almost.
Despite everything Levana had tried to do to him, Cinder had to admit that he was still handsome, with his olive skin and vivid green eyes and unkempt hair. Most of all, though, it was the look he was giving Scarlet, which would have taken away the breath of any girl.
Kai and Thorne were there, too, each of them standing with their hands in their pockets, rocking back on their heels with supremely smug looks on their faces, like they were daring anyone to suggest it wasn't the most beautiful impromptu wedding ever created. ~ Marissa Meyer

Some dry leaf blows into a campfire well-stoked and drawing well. What follows? That leaf catches at once, swiftly is consumed, a shadow withering briefly in the fierce light, and thereafter little remains, not cinder and ash so much as smudges of char. ~ Kai Ashante Wilson

Peregrine," Molly said sometime later, when the group had fallen quiet. Talon snored softly with his head in her lap. "Sable made an announcement to us earlier. He told us this place was going to be called Cape Rim. I think we can do better."
"I know we can," he said. "What would you call it, Molly?"
"I've been thinking about it, and it seems to me we wouldn't be here if it weren't for Cinder."
"Oh ... ," Marron said. "That's lovely."
Aria looked up, her violet scent filling him with steadiness. "What do you think?"
Perry looked down to the waves, and then farther out to the dark horizon, where he saw only stars. "I think it's a great name. ~ Veronica Rossi

The man, a huge grin spreading over his face, was slower to stand, first grabbing a cane from against the wall. "Welcome aboard the Rampion, Your Magesticness. Captain Carswell Thorne, at your service." He bowed. ~ Marissa Meyer

Dear God, help me. Do not forget me on this tiny cinder lost in a galaxy that is lost–a heart no bigger than a speck of dust beating, beating against death, against meaninglessness, against guilt, against sorrow. ~ Anne Rice

Billions of years from now our sun, then a distended red giant star, will have reduced Earth to a charred cinder. But the Voyager record will still be largely intact, in some other remote region of the Milky Way galaxy, preserving a murmur of an ancient civilization that once flourished - perhaps before moving on to greater deeds and other worlds - on the distant planet Earth. ~ Carl Sagan

I don't see that her being cyborg is relevant. ~ Marissa Meyer

She picked at the chiffon overlay of her skirt. "Do you think it was destiny that brought us together?" He squinted and, after a thoughtful moment, shook his head. "No. I'm pretty sure it was Cinder. Why? ~ Marissa Meyer

We're Cinder and Ella, woman! We're supposed to get our fairy-tale ending! ~ Kelly Oram

I know," said Iko with a dreaminess in her tone, though Cinder hadn't said anything. "He's fantastic. ~ Marissa Meyer

Annoyed?" said Sophie. "Why should I be annoyed? Someone only filled the castle with rotten aspic, and deafened everyone in Porthaven, and scared Calcifer to a cinder, and broke a few hundred hearts. Why should that annoy me? ~ Diana Wynne Jones

Hello?" A girl again. "I know you can hear me. I'm sorry my friend is such a wing nut. You can just ignore him."
"That's usually what we do," said the other feminine voice. ~ Marissa Meyer

Did you know that she was cyborg?" asked a woman in an unhidden tone of disgust.
Kai stared at her, appearing confused, then let his gaze dance over the crowd. He shuffled his feet
closer to the podium, a wrinkle forming on the bridge of his nose.
Cinder bit the inside of her cheek and braced herself for adamant disgust. Who would ever invite a
cyborg to the ball?
But instead, Kai said simply, "I don't see that her being cyborg is relevant. Next question?"
Cinder's metal fingers jolted. ~ Marissa Meyer

I have no idea what I'm doing. ~ Marissa Meyer

I stare at Hans.
Hans is shaped like an industrial-sized refrigerator.
His hands are like cinder blocks.
He should not be afraid of a little thing like the ocean. ~ Cyn Balog

Kai stared at the top of her head.
Linh Cinder.
The renown. The reputation. The approval rating.
New Beijing's best mechanic was ... a teenager?
Kai was intrigued. He was amused, but more than that, he was impressed. After all, he still needed help installing the software every time he upgraded to a new port. Meanwhile, this girl ran her own mechanic business. ~ Marissa Meyer

Bending his head, Kai pressed his lips to her knuckles. The plating had no nerve endings, and yet the touch sent a tingle of electricity along her arm.
"Cinder?"
"Mm?"
He lifted his gaze. "Just to be clear, you're not using your mind powers on me right now, are you?"
She blinked. "Of course not."
"Just checking."
Then he slid his arms around her waist and kissed her.
Cinder gasped, pressing her palms against his chest. Kai pulled her closer.
Seconds later, her brain began registering all the new chemicals flooding her system. INCREASED LEVELS OF DOPAMINE AND ENDORPHINS, REDUCED AMOUNTS OF CORTISOL, ERRATIC PULSE, RISING BLOOD PRESSURE ...
Leaning into him, Cinder sent the messages away. Her hands tentatively made their way to his shoulders, before stringing around his neck. ~ Marissa Meyer

Sergeant Hicks seemed to be laid out in squares as though he were constructed out of cinder blocks. There was a hardness to his body that made his uniform appear to be little more than a paint job. He walked as if each step he took was driving a hated enemy toward a precipice. ~ Pat Conroy

Tilting forward, Iko pressed her flat, cool face to Cinder's brow, no doubt leaving a smudge of lipstick. Cinder laughed. ~ Marissa Meyer

My net search is finding only a Cadet Carswell Thorne, of the American Republic, imprisoned in New Beijing prison on - "
"That's him," said Cinder, ignoring Thorne's glare.
Another silence as the heat in the engine room hovered just upside of comfortable. The, "You're ... rather handsome, Captain Thorne."
Cinder groaned.
"And you, my fine lady, are the most gorgeous ship in these skies, and don't let anyone ever tell you different."
The temperature drifted upward, until Cinder dropped her arms with a sigh. "Iko, are you intentionally blushing?"
The temperature dropped back down to pleasant. "No," Iko said. Then, "But am I really pretty? Even as a ship?"
"The prettiest," said Thorne. ~ Marissa Meyer

One by one, they went around the room, bowing and curtsying in turn. Suddenly panicked, Cinder looked at Kai. He gave her a one-shouldered shrug, suggesting that, yeah, it's weird, but you get used to it. When ~ Marissa Meyer

The stench of self-satisfaction is becoming quite suffocating. If you mean to kill me, blast me to a cinder now and let's be done, ~ Joe Abercrombie

Cinder crossed her arms over her chest. "You're an expert on the sound levels of spaceships now, are you?"
"Nah," said Kai. "I've just been waiting to hear that sound all day."
She smiled at him, feeling the hummingbird flutter of her own pulse. He smiled back.
"Aces," said Thorne with a low groan. "They haven't even kissed yet and they're already making me nauseous. ~ Marissa Meyer

We found a jewel in the desert,'" I quoted. "'And from it fashioned a charred cinder.
'Queen of Fire Pg 313 ~ Anthony Ryan

Leaning forward, Cinder spoke very clearly. "I have a computer in my brain," she said. "So while I'm not going to tell you that I am the smartest or, by any means, the most experienced person in this room, I would suggest that no one use my youth to believe that I am also ignorant. ~ Marissa Meyer

Hey, I liked my idea of bringer her along, but you already vetoed that idea, so now I'm resorting to Plan B, which is to interrogate her. And I am really looking forward to it. I used to play a game called interrogation with one of my old girlfriends where we-"
"That's enough." Cinder raised her hand, silencing him. ~ Marissa Meyer

Cinder," Iko said after a few silent minutes of explorations. "I'm enormous. ~ Marissa Meyer

You have no idea how to dance, do you?" Cinder fixed her gaze on him, mind still reeling. "I'm a mechanic. ~ Marissa Meyer

I don't like to think of it as 'stolen'. They have no proof that I didn't plan on giving it back."
"You're kidding, right?"
He shrugged. "You have no proof either."
She squinted back at him. "Were you planning on giving it back?"
"Maybe."
An orange light blinked on in the corner of Cinder's vision-her cyborg programming picking up on the lie. ~ Marissa Meyer

What about... Cinder?... It's an unassuming name, but also... powerful. Because of where she came from. She survived that fire. She was reborn from the cinders. - Michelle Benoit ~ Marissa Meyer

I thought it would be nice to look up at the night sky with you beside me for once, rather than just wishing you were beside me. Cinder ~ Marissa Meyer

you have too good a mind to throw away. I don't quite know what we're doing on this insignificant cinder spinning aay in a dark corner of the universe. That is a secret which the high gods have not confided in me. Yet one thing I believe and I believe it with every fibre of my being. A man must live by his light and do what little he can and do it as best he can. In this world goodness is destined to be defeated. But a man must go down fighting. That is the victory. To do anything less is to be less than a man.'
She is right. I will say yes. I will say yes even though I do not really know what she is talking about. ~ Walker Percy

She was pulling a rope out of the water and knew it was coming to the end when the barnacles started to appear and they became more think and clustered. Then it was strangely peaceful and the sound was turned off. She stood at the bow of a ship. If only she could have stood this way above the water and really breathed and let the waves go by like pages being turned and watched everything more closely and chosen things more carefully then she might have been able to read the spirit within herself and would not have spent her life as if she were only halfway in it.

For a moment she felt an astonishing brilliance and heat and light and all of herself flared up and the vibration after sixty-five years was not weakened by time but more dense then suddenly it was as if the flame had caught the flimsiest piece of paper for it flickered up and flew into the air then quickly sank down withered into a thin cinder of ash which blew off, inconsequential. Her life had not been long enough for her to know the whole of herself, it had not been long enough or wide. ~ Susan Minot

He scowled at her. "That's it, Cinder. No more secrets. I don't know if I can survive any more big reveals from you, so if you have anything else to tell me, out with it. Right now."
Cinder rocked back on her heels, pondering.
Cyborg. Lunar. Princess.
No more secrets. No more lies.
Well, just one.
She though she might be a tiny bit in love with him.
But there was no way she could tell him that. ~ Marissa Meyer

You deserve better than some thief who's going to end up in jail again. Everyone knows it. Even I know it. But you seem determined to believe I'm a actually a decent guy who's halfway worthy of you. So, what scares me most" - he twisted a lock of hair between his fingers - "is that someday even you will realize that you can do better." "Thorne ... " "Not to worry." He kissed the lock of hair. "I am a criminal mastermind, I have a plan." Clearing his throat, he started to check things off in the air. "First, get a legitimate job - check. Legally buy my ship - in progress. Prove that I'm hero material by helping Cinder save the world - oh, wait, I did that already." He winked. "Oh, and I have to stop stealing things, but that's probably a given. So I figure, by the time you realize how much I don't deserve you ... I might kind of deserve you ~ Marissa Meyer

What was Cinder like? She hadn't known her for all that long. She was a brilliant mechanic. She seemed to be honorable and brave and determined to do what needed to be done ... but Scarlet suspected she wasn't always as confident as she tried to appear on the outside. Also, she had a crush on Emperor Kai as big as Winter had on Jacin, although Cinder tried a lot harder to pretend otherwise. But ~ Marissa Meyer

I love you," Journeyman said to the lift crystal. He kissed it and spread his arms across its surface in an embrace. "I love you, you big, beautiful beast. I want you to marry me. I want you to bear my children."
"Chief," Grimm said, reproachfully, but his heart wasn't in it. ~ Jim Butcher

THE LOOK ON ADRI'S FACE WHEN CINDER ENTERED THE apartment almost made the whole ghastly ordeal worthwhile. ~ Marissa Meyer

Linh Cinder. The renown. The reputation. The approval rating. New Beijing's best mechanic was ... a teenager? Kai was intrigued. He was amused, but more than that, he was impressed. ~ Marissa Meyer

To my surprise, I have an Emmy nomination, and I have never even been to the Emmys! So it's like I am Cinderella. But actually having thought about it, I am Cinder-elder! ~ Randee Heller

Cinder made a special trip to Paris for this girl?"
"My logic aptitude suggests this is a possibility."
"What else do we know about this ... Scarlet? ~ Marissa Meyer

barns. Hinged on their sides and latched in the center, the old garage doors swung open into the alley. No electric door openers, no remote controls. Drivers parked in the alley, got out and opened the swinging doors, then returned to their cars to pull inside. Beside each garage were garbage cans, waiting for the garbage trucks that still rumbled down the cinder alleys. Molded plastic garbage cans, some with small plastic wheels, had replaced the dented sheet metal cans that our parents had used. The plastic cans lasted longer, and they didn't rust, but you lost ~ Tom Robertson

Kai shrugged and turned to Cinder. His eyes softened a little with a polite bow of his head. "I hope our paths will cross again."
"Really? In that case, I guess I'll keep following you. ~ Marissa Meyer

Cinder gaped at her stepmother, her own anger eclipsed with a surprising jolt of pity. This woman was full of so much ignorance it was almost like she wanted to stay that way. She saw what she wanted, believed anything to support her limited view of the world. ( ... )Five years she had lived with this woman, and never once had she seen Cinder as she was. As Kai saw her, and Thorne and Iko and all the people who trusted her. All the people who knew her.
She shook her head, finding it easier than she'd expected to dismiss her stepmother's words. I'm done trying to explain myself to you. I'm done seeking your approval. I'm done with you. ~ Marissa Meyer

Sacha snaked one arm out from beneath the blankets and reached toward Cinder, grasping her wrist where skin met metal. Cinder squirmed, trying to pull away, but Sacha held tight. Her hand was marked by bluish pigment around her yellowed fingernails. ~ Marissa Meyer

He leaned forward to inspect her closer. "Is that all hair?"
... Sudden, overwhelming panic clawed up Cress's throat. With a squeak, she ducked out of view of the camera and scrambled beneath the desk. Her back struck the wall with a thud that rattled her teeth. She crouched there, skin burning hot and pulse thundering as she took in the room before her - the room that he was now seeing too, with the rumpled bedcovers and the mustached man on all the screens telling her to grab her imaginary partner and swing them around.
"Wha - where'd she go?" Thorne's voice came to her through the screen.
"Honestly, Thorne." A girl. Linh Cinder? "Do you ever think before you speak?"
"What? What did I say?"
" 'Is that all hair?' "
"Did you see it? It was like a cross between a magpie nest and ball of yarn after it's been mauled by a cheetah."
A beat. Then, "A cheetah?"
"It was the first big cat that came to mind. ~ Marissa Meyer

Predator is not property," Grimm said in a calm, level tone. "She is not my possession. She is my home. Her crew are not my employees. They are my family. And if you threaten to take my home and destroy the livelihood of my family again, Commodore, I will be inclined to kill you where you stand. ~ Jim Butcher

Thorne and Cress were waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp, and when Cress and Iko spotted each other they shared a squeal. Thorne and Cinder shared a cringe, and then they were all smiling and embracing as if they hadn't seen each other in years - even though they still got together with some regularity. ~ Marissa Meyer

You are totally Cinderella," Gwen said, undeterred. "You're a big-eared, trouser-wearing, penis-having, magic-wielding Cinderella, if ever there was one." "I – you – what are you like ? I'm not Cinderella!"

"You're Cinder-fella. ~ FayJay

But I'm... How can I... No hand, no visual sensor, humongous landing gear... Are those supposed to be my feet?"
" Well, no. It's supposed to be landing gear."
"Oh, what's become of me? I'm hideous!"
"Now hold on just a minute there, Miss disembodied voice." Throne strode into the engine room and crossed his arms. "What do you mean 'hideous'?"
"Who's that? Who's speaking?"
"I am Captain Carswell Thorne, the owner of this fine ship and I will not stand to have her insulted in my presence!" Cinder rolled her eyes.
"Captain Carswell Thorne?"
"That's right."
A brief silence, "My net search is finding only Cadet Carswell Thorne."
"That's him." Said Cinder
Another silence as the heat in the engine room rose. "You're rather handsome, Captain"
"And you my fine lady, are the most gorgeous ship in these skies, and don't let anyone tell you other wise."
"Iko, are you intentionally blushing?"
"But am I really pretty? Even as a ship?"
"The prettiest. ~ Marissa Meyer

I think it's meant to be thought provoking, said Cinder. Iko frowned, looking unprovoked. They ~ Marissa Meyer

I'll go see what it was," said Cinder, slipping into the hallway and darting down the stairs. Jacin was siting at the bottom, hunched over something and working intently.
"That was Thorne," he said, without glancing up at her.
"What did he do? Knock down a wall?" Cinder stepped past Jacin, but hesitated when she saw the vase of white flowers on the floor at his feet. He was meticulously pulling the flowers out of the water, one by one, and wiring their stems together. His brow was knotted in concentration.
"Are you making a bouquet?" she asked incredulously.
"Shut up." He held the cluster in one hand and turned it a few different directions, before plucking out a white hydrangea and adding it to the mix. ~ Marissa Meyer

She then pulled him to the ground and clasped him in her arms.

Immediately, the cry went up: "Tam Lin is away!" The Elf Queen's black horse reared and she pulled him to a halt. Turning, she cast her mesmerizing emerald eyes toward Janet and Tam Lin. As Janet held Tam Lin fast, the Elf Queen put a spell upon them. Tam Lin shrank and became a small, scaly lizard which Janet clutched to her breast. Janet then felt a slithering sensation through her fingers. The lizard had become a cold, slippery snake which she gripped tightly, even as it coiled around her neck. Suddenly, a searing pain ran through her hands. The snake had been turned into a red-hot cinder. Tears of agony ran down her cheeks, but still, Janet held on to Tam Lin and would not let him go.

At last, the Elf Queen knew that she had lost Tam Lin because of the steadfast love of a mortal woman. She then shaped him in Janet's arms in his own form - as naked as the day he was born. In triumph, Janet covered Tam Lin with her cloak. ~ Bridget Haggerty

I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I want to marry you, and, yes, I want you to be my empress." Cinder gaped at him for a long moment before she whispered, "That's a lot of wanting." "You have no idea." She ~ Marissa Meyer

Konn Torin bowed to her. Diplomatic respect, Cinder thought, remembering all the many glares she'd received from this man since she'd first seen him at the annual ball. But when he raised his head, he was smiling. In fact, he seemed downright friendly. ~ Marissa Meyer

While Cinder walked down the endless black-carpeted aisle, she tried not to think of all the people in the universe who were watching her. She tried not to wonder whether they were judging her or admiring her, afraid of her or impressed by her. She tried not to guess how many saw her as the lost princess or a pathetic cyborg, a vigilante or a criminal, a revolutionary or a mechanic that had gotten lucky.
She tried not to think about the smear of yellow frosting on her priceless gown.
Kai and Winter stood at the altar encased in the light of glowing orbs, Winter holding the queen's crown and Kai a ceremonial scepter. Together, they represented how both Earth and Luna would accept her right to rule. The rest of her friends were in their reserved seats in the front row. Thorne, on the aisle, held out his hand as Cinder passed. She snorted and accepted the high five before floating up the stairs.
Winter winked at her. "Well done, Cinder-friend. You didn't trip. The hard part is over."
Kai gave a smile meant for only Cinder, even though the entire universe was watching. "She's right, that really is the hard part."
"Thank the stars," Cinder whispered back. "Now let's get this over with."
Taking a long shaky breath, she turned to face her kingdom. ~ Marissa Meyer

You said yourself that the people of Luna need a revolutionary." She lifted her chin, holding his gaze. "So I'm going to Luna, and I'm going to start a revolution. ~ Marissa Meyer

Well," Cinder finally grumbled. "I guess that was pretty fast thinking."
A relieved grin filled up Thorne's face. "We're having another moment, aren't we?"
"If by a moment, you mean me not wanting to strangle you for the first time since we met, than I guess we are. ~ Marissa Meyer

There is a larger lesson here, because the book encompasses not just the lives of prisoners in a Soviet prison camp, but every one of us. Shukhov squeezes everything he can out of a mouthful of soup or a bite of bread ... So frozen that he can't even feel his feet, he trowels cement and lays a cinder block wall with care and patience ... Shukhov takes pride in his work. In fact, even though he is starving, he can barely tear himself away at the end of the long day to go eat. He cares about his work and in that way he remains a man. Isn't this kind of pride and gratitude and ironic detachment valuable for all people? ~ Eric Bogosian

Oh, my stars! Think about Prince Kai! You could dance with Prince Kai!"
This made Cinder pause and squint into Iko's blinding light. "Why would the prince dance with me?"
Iko's fan hummed as she sought an answer. "Because you won't have grease on your face this time. ~ Marissa Meyer