Shahrzad Quotes

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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

Tonight is a night to turn heads. Make them remember you. Make sure they never forget. You are the Calipha of Khorasan, and you have the ear of a king." Despina put her hand on Shahrzad's shoulder and grinned at their shared reflection. "More important, you have his heart." She bent forward and lowered her voice. "And, most important, you are a fearsome thing to behold in your own right. ~ Renee Ahdieh

It was a vain attempt at indifference, on both their parts.

For Shahrzad bore silent witness to the truth. It was only for an instant, and they never glanced at each other. Yet, she wondered how anyone could miss it - the subtle shift in Jalal's shoulders, and the telltale tilt to Despina's head.

Shahrzad smiled knowingly. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

I know very little, and I still know more than you, Khalid-jan. I know love is fragile. And loving someone like you is near impossible. Like holding something shattered through a raging sandstorm. If you want her to love you, shelter her from that storm . . ."
Jalal rose to his feet, straightening the insignia of the Royal Guard at his shoulder. "And make certain that storm isn't you. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

This dangerous girl. This captivating beauty.
This destroyer of worlds and creator of wonder. ~ Renee Ahdieh

I never lose, nor am I afraid to spill blood. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

You are not weak. You are not indecisive. You are strong. Fierce. Capable beyond measure. ~ Renee Ahdieh

She was a dangerous, dangerous girl. A plague. A Mountain of Adamant who tore the iron from ships, sinking them to their watery graves without a second thought. With a mere smile and a wrinkle of her nose. ~ Renee Ahdieh

These were not the words of a madman. For the first time, Tariq saw what Shahrzad saw when she looked at Khalid Ibn al-Rashid. He saw a boy. Who loved a girl. More than anything in the world. And he hated him all the more for it. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

Are you finally starting to breathe in a normal fashion?" Shahrzad teased. "I must confess I find your behavior rather odd, considering you said only a child would be afraid to fly."
"I wasn't afraid." Khalid wrapped a forearm of corded muscle around her. She slanted a disbelieving look his way. "You just lied to me."
"I wasn't afraid," he repeated. "I was terrified. ~ Renee Ahdieh

When she wound her fingers in his hair to draw her body against his, he stilled for breath, and she knew, as he knew, that they were lost. Lost forever. In this kiss. This kiss that would change everything. ~ Renee Ahdieh

Shahrzad closed her eyes in defeat and slid her palms to his chest. Then she reached behind him in an embrace of sandalwood and sun. Khalid wrapped both his arms around Shahrzad, and they stood together under the dome of the Grand Portico, with the indecipherable art of love poems giving silent testament. ~ Renee Ahdieh

A warmth settled upon her.
All Shahrzad wanted was before her. All Shahrzad needed was within her.
She woke to each dawn with a grateful heart. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

Get up, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. You kneel before no one. Least of all me. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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 ~ Renee Ahdieh

Do you understand, Brat Calipha?" Despina continued.
Shahrzad glanced over her shoulder at her handmaiden, in stalwart silence.
Despina sighed. "On pain of death…you are as important to him as his own life. ~ Renee Ahdieh

You have a beautiful laugh. Like the promise of tomorrow. ~ Renee Ahdieh

The warm sound of her laughter stole through Khalid's skin, heating the coldest reaches of his soul. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

Cease with the displays of false modesty. The entire palace knows about it."
A feeling of warmth crept up Shahrzad's neck. "Knows about what?"
Despina grinned. "The Caliph of Khorasan going into the gardens at dawn alone. And returning with a single rose. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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? ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

The mighty Caliph of Khorasan. The King of Kings. Her beautiful monster. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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

Shahrzad took a deep breath. "Tariq - " "I'm not leaving without you!" He spun around and pulled her against him. "This is not your fight! It never should have been your fight!" At ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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. ~ Renee Ahdieh

Her own awareness had risen like the dawn on her back.Like a leaden sunrise veiled in a swirl of storm clouds. It was no longer enough to have answers for Shiva's sake. Indeed, it had ceased to be about mere vengeance the moment Khalid's lips touched hers in the alley by the souk. She had wanted there to be a reason for this madness, needed there to be a reason, so that she could be with him. So that she could be by his side, make him smile as she laughed, weave tales by lamplight, and share secrets in the dark.So that she could fall asleep in his arms and awaken to a brilliant tomorrow.
But it was too late. He was the Mehrdad of her nightmares. She had opened the door. She had seen the bodies hanging from the walls, without explanation. Without justification.
And without one, Shahrzad knew what must be done. Khalid had to answer for such vile deeds. Such rampant death.
Even if he was her air.
Even if she loved him beyond words. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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

The moment I saw him running toward you that morning, I knew you were going to save him, just as he saved you. ~ Renee Ahdieh

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

As always. As ever. As a rose to the sun. ~ Renee Ahdieh