An Unkindness Of Magicians Quotes
"The young woman cut through the crowded New York sidewalk like a knife."
"The sun stark, the sky a harsh blue, cloudless and broken only by the glare of reflections."
"Sydney walked to the center of the intersection and raised her arms like a conductor about to begin a symphony."
"If there had been eyes somewhere above that rushing city that were able to watch, they would have seen her lips moving."
"A smile stretched, bright and wild, across her face."
"Simply flight, where that shouldn’t have been an option."
"Miranda Prospero was a magician, and she knew precisely what had just landed on her desk."
"Miranda had the sort of face that had been too strong-featured for beauty until she had aged into it."
"Once contracted, a champion cannot be substituted."
"The actions of a champion, contracted or otherwise, during the course of a duel are final."
"The House ranked highest at the end of the Turning will become the head of the Unseen World."
"Grey poured whiskey, heavy with smoke and peat, for both of them."
"An outsider with that kind of power? That ought to make things interesting."
"If she could just get a little bit closer, then she’d be able to find her way into the Unseen World."
"Sydney set her glass down and breathed into the shaking, the ache, the hollowness in her bones."
"She raised her glass, toasting its destruction."
"Miranda gathered defensive magic, spindling the power around her fingers."
"Ian’s voice changed, becoming an exaggeration of Miranda’s pitch and cadences."
"She planned to drag all those dirty little secrets out of the shadows and into the light."
"Sydney held them there, rust-stained taxis and sleek black sedans with tinted windows."
"Her earliest memories were of those rooms. Phantom scars ghosted across her skin."
"Grace Valentine lay in the darkness of the House of Shadows."
"I am a Shadow. I have some experience in siphoning power."
"If tradition holds us back, we need to think outside of it."
"Because I can hear the blood in your veins, and I can taste the flavor of your magic on my tongue, and I could call them both to me in the space between one breath and the next."
"He’s in here all the time. The hair thing is his one party trick."
"Magic is only truly yours if it comes from your own pain, your own sacrifice."
"Shadows had not been a place of comfort. Now that she could indulge, she did, and felt no qualms over it."
"The quiet she liked, more than anything else, was the quiet. The House of Shadows had been loud, had been constant."
"She had quiet, but she was close enough to hear the whispers of the Unseen World when she wanted to."
"She relearned who she was when there was no one who had the power to force her to be someone else."
"One of the things she had learned about herself was that she liked her enemies where she could see them."
"It was a terrifying thing, having hope again."
"I left Shadows this summer. I’d seen snow, of course. There are rooms now, open to the sky."
"I’d never thought snow was beautiful before. It was just another form of cold."
"I can’t leave the house without chocolate in my purse."
"Forgive me. I shouldn’t have asked. What did you want to talk about?"
"I tried to date, when I first got out. But there was a very nice man—he was kind, and he was handsome."
"It isn’t. Really. I’m just mentally transitioning from, ‘Hey, I feel like a spy, this is kind of cool,’ to, ‘Those fuckers might blow up my cat,’ and it’s a bit of an adjustment."
"I swear to you, Madison, I will not let anyone—fucker or otherwise—blow up Noodle."
"Maybe we need to have this conversation outside after all."
"I was given away to suffer, to be used up, and then at the end, I was supposed to die."
"I know who I am and I trust myself, and I do not need to trust anyone else."
"It feels wrong—like it’s bound into the magic from Shadows, but that instead of allowing magic to flow through, it’s being consumed. Fed on."
"I’m not supposed to. It’s not like I have some sort of claim on you."
"This is what you came here to do, remember? This will help Rose."
"I made you dance, just like almost every other damn magician the night of the first challenge."
"She says a lot of words that sound like promises."
"I’d rather have a life without magic than to kill someone."
"The small part of him not focused on controlling his magic registered the sounds of weeping from somewhere in the room."
"It’s useful for people to be uncertain of me, so I haven’t publicly confirmed it."
"We were taught. Trained. Housed. And so we owe."
"Because her magic should still be in there. She took it with her when she left, and now we can’t use it."
"Prospero should be mine, and I’m going to take it from her."
"But she’s made it quite clear that she thinks Prospero should be his."
"It’s a good thing you won’t make it through the Turning."
"I’m sure you’re right. I’m sorry—I’ve just remembered that I have a meeting."
"It’s only an indication of weakness inherent in your magic; it’s just part of the process of relearning."
"I am also aware of the fact that there was outside interference in the Beauchamps-Prospero duel."
"I’m going to give Fortune’s Wheel a fucking push."
"Did someone challenge you already? Is it Merlin? That bastard."
"He could try. I’d tie him up in filings until the next Turning."
"The Angel of the Waters hadn’t been repaired yet, the lily still missing from its hand."
"Good. When he took my hand, I could tell. Shadows make you very good at sensing magic."
"This was never a home. And I made myself what I am."
"I’m going to pretend like I believe you and ask you one more thing: Are you sure what you’re doing is worth it?"
"It’s just more intense because the magic has been bigger, and I’ve used more of it than I normally do."
"Magic was who I was. I felt it in my blood and my bones, Ian. It was me, and now it’s gone, and I don’t know who the fuck I am anymore."
"I don’t think it ever was, and it certainly isn’t now."
"I can still light a candle. Still do, every day, still try to find some scrap of magic left inside me."
"Much like you, my friend," Madison said. "Drinks?"