Immortal Longings Quotes
"A living thing, when faced with a break or injury, is compelled to heal itself."
"Everyone in the kingdom of Talin wants to be in its capital—in these two cities masquerading as one."
"The needle-thin alleys between every building sag, the earthen ground always muddy because it is sweating with overexertion."
"High treason in the throne room tends to be frowned upon."
"I thought Leida summoned your help for the night."
"If you go pissing him off, he’ll disown you in an instant."
"Maneuvering the last few years to get the paperwork to exist was only the first part of the plan."
"There’s nowhere quite like the coliseum."
"San is a city of darkness. It is nighttime now, but even when the sun rises, the buildings are so densely packed that the streets remain shrouded in shadow."
"Forget the games. Forget justice. They’ll have the Weisannas drag her into a room and put her neck under a blade."
"To suffer in San-Er is not a punishment, only a way of life."
"If you mind other people’s business too much, a god will rush into your nose and take your body."
"The Palace of Earth went through a year of tragedy when August was fourteen."
"Don’t tell me that wasn’t why you enrolled in the games."
"You don’t need the execution papers at all. You have me."
"His wristband smacks against the linoleum ground with a discordant sound, followed by his body."
"The electric grid is always past its capacity. Residents steal from the various lines and boxes, just as they steal water, attaching their homemade pipes wherever there is a pump belowground."
"Empty vessels know how to fix themselves, just as a plant can regrow its bud."
"Strength is a conscious effort. First, you will be braver, and then you will be stronger."
"They trained her for war. And she rose up to wage it on them."
"No player would register unless they thought they had some chance of winning, and no player would think they had a chance of winning unless they were good at jumping."
"The alley is humming. The lightbulbs mounted to the walls flicker on and off, attracting small flying bugs that gather around the noise."
"She doesn’t look like herself. She’s never really looked like herself."
"Despite the jumble, no building in the capital climbs higher than fourteen floors."
"Sometimes, though, she feels the weight of loneliness shift and settle inside her rib cage."
"The quicker she does it, the quicker they are freed from this awful state of living."
"If there are gods, then they are cruel for letting Talin carry on like this."
"Calla breathes in deep, folding her arms over her chest to fight off the chill."
"Better to draw blood before it can be drawn from you; better to exert power and hold control—to seize power and maintain control."
"Before she is anything else, Calla is just… Calla."
"She thought there might be some shift. That the Palace of Heavens going down would rally the people to demand more."
"When he is king, he will care for them."
"People will be happy. No one will say otherwise."
What a pitiful sight," Kasa remarked. "She really ought to get up.
Of course they are," King Kasa said. "I offer them more than they could dare imagine possessing. I am this kingdom's greatest benefactor.
"Burn Eigi's capital down," King Kasa continues.
"Not making a fuss. That could have gone badly."
"But that is nothing to the palace, so I suppose it is nothing to us."
Yes, it is nothing to us," August replies. "Long live King Kasa, may his reign go on for ten thousand years.
"You have an advantage in the games. What is it? A revolution plot? A foreign-funded conspiracy?"
"We team up. Take everyone else down and get to the end faster."
"It's not like I'm actually buying into their religious cult."
"Of course, someone with very familiar eyes did try to attack me a while back…"
"How do you know my name, Princess Calla? I've done my research too."
"The sun has poked itself over the horizon, but San-Er's sun these days doesn't look anything like the images in their history books."
"I'm not ditching the body," Calla says wryly.
"Why is that your first thought? Maybe the palace wants to carve lacquerware and needs decorative powder."
"You can always leave the palace. It’s not so bad out here."
"He is more poisonous than all the cinnabar in the world combined."
"Use caution, my boy. That’s all I have to say."
"Maybe if couples these days went for matching bloodstains instead of wedding rings."
"Does anyone play with the intent of losing?"
"The palace will still be sitting pretty when the news clamors to cover this surprise player instead of the unrest swelling in the factories."
"This kingdom begs for him to be removed from the throne."
"Your Highness, do be careful, however. Poisoning has happened once before, eleven years ago."
"I’m watching you make it. No poison so far."
"That’s how he will save this damned kingdom."
"A promise is a promise, and he won’t ever abandon her."
"Stop swapping so often. I almost kicked you out."
"Why would I know how to navigate a Crescent Society temple?"
"I didn’t send them," he says evenly. "But you do, Calla. I can tell that you believe me. Why are you doing this?"
"Because you were allies," he says, "and allies rescue each other."
"Is this really what you want, Calla?" he whispers. "Do you want to fight me?"
"I was on a comfortable couch, thank you for asking."
"There are no gods in this world. Only kings and tyrants."
"I think we’ve reached the end of our alliance."
"I was so young that I wasn’t even expected to remember my—Calla’s identity number yet."
"You are mistaken," August says. "My reign hasn’t even arrived yet."
"Calla can handle pain. She can handle blood. But this—this is somehow all and none of that at once, a wrenching in her very soul."
"This is tenderness. And she is more afraid of it than anything else in their forsaken kingdom."
"You are Calla Tuoleimi. If you choose to be."
"Who cares if you stole her? You deserve this power more than the girl who was born into it."
You know who I am," he says. "I am Anton Makusa. It doesn’t matter what body I’m in.
"I am telling you quite vehemently that it’s a mistake to try to find an alternative when this is a very simple task."
I’m not ordering you around," he counters. "I am telling you quite vehemently that it’s a mistake to try to find an alternative when this is a very simple task.
"Kill me, Calla, but tell the truth. Kill me because you love your kingdom more."
I dreamt there was an emperor Anton," she whispers. "Let me slumber once more, to see him.