Our Dark Duet Quotes
"But here, she told herself, was exactly where she was supposed to be."
"Funny, she thought, that even monsters had fragile hearts."
"Friends wanted you to be honest. Friends wanted you to share. Friends wanted you to listen and care and worry and do a dozen other things Kate had no time for."
"Because she knew a secret: there were two kinds of monsters, the kind that hunted the streets and the kind that lived in your head."
"This is your place, said a voice in his head, smooth and hard as stone. This is your purpose."
"He’d spent four years trying to learn—to mimic—these human expressions, as if that would make him human."
"How much does a soul weigh? he wondered. Less than a body."
"They all had parts to play. And this was his."
"How many citizens, he wondered, were still across the Seam? How many had fled into South City or escaped into the Waste? How many had never made it out?"
"One of the first things Sloan and his monsters had done was round up as many humans as possible and trap them in makeshift prisons fashioned from hotels, apartment buildings, warehouses."
"A desire that held its breath until his focus slipped, and then surged up again, gasping for air."
"The difference, of course, was what happened when they hit the ground."
"Welcome to the Coffee Bean," she said with all the false cheer she could muster. "What can I get started for you?"
"Deep down, most people didn't want to make decisions. They liked the illusion of control, without the consequences."
"I only have ten minutes," she said. "Show me what you've got."
"Monsters," he said slowly, "all want the same thing: to feed."
"Somewhere, distantly, she felt the spike slip from her fingers."
"Names are powerful," he said. "But a movement shouldn't be built on, around, or for a single person."
"A shadow of a bloodstain turned vivid blue against the pavement."
"Every day of their shared existence, he had felt the threads of Callum's life, thin, invisible, impossible to be rid of."
"There was a misconception about Malchai. Most humans seemed to think the only way to kill them was to destroy their hearts."
"Music wasn’t the only way to bring a soul to surface—Leo had taught him that."
"The pure metal turned his stomach. His legs went weak, the chain wrenching him to his knees, and for one horrible second he was back in the warehouse in the Waste."
"August had always hated blood. It was the same color as a soul, but empty, useless the moment it left a person’s veins."
"Violence begets violence, and monstrous acts make monsters."
"Running was just like every other habit. It got easier with practice."
"He didn’t understand what she was trying to say, what she wanted from him."
"Her first thought was of reaching out and snapping his neck. Of how nice that would feel."
"The need won out—Kate held her gaze. 'Where are you?' she whispered."
"The only kind of trail you were supposed to leave was one you yourself could follow home."
"What a simple word that was, not messy at all."
"Corpse—another simple word that did so little work, failed to describe something that was once a person, and now was simply a shell."
"Funny, how simple things became when you didn’t have a choice."
"Corsai, Corsai, tooth and claw, Shadow and bone will eat you raw."
"It’s freeing, at first, like shedding a heavy coat. And then you get cold, and you realize life’s not a coat at all. It’s skin. It’s something you can’t take off without losing yourself, too."
"The moment you believe you’re safe is the moment you’re most vulnerable."
"Humans have free will. You chose to err. You chose to sin."
"People make mistakes. Not everyone deserves to die."
"There’s no cell signal, and hell, after what happened here, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole world’s gone dark."
"You are a sinner. You will never be on our side."
"The night was full of monsters, and he needed to hunt."
"The freedom was so shocking that he lost himself in the violence."
"I sent them home. I didn’t need them anymore."
"I don’t have to be invincible. I just have to be stronger than everyone else."
"But there was only August. No troops, no cells, nothing but August Flynn, looking so staggeringly normal, hands in his pockets, the tallies peaking out from his sleeves, that for a second, Kate felt her composure slip. The exhaustion and the fear laid bare. The swell of relief."
"No," he cut in, an edge in his voice. It was the same edge Kate had heard in her father’s tone a dozen times, one she herself had mimicked, an edge meant to silence, to quell. It sounded wrong coming from him. "We both have orders. Follow yours, and let me follow mine."
""I pleaded your case," said August. "Convinced Henry to release you into my custody, at least for the night, so try not to do anything rash.""
""Things change," he said. "I’ve changed with them. And so have you.""
""One hundred and eighty-four," she said. "That’s how many days since I left Verity. The same number since you fell. In case you couldn’t remember.""
""Since when do monsters take nights off?" said August. "Find me a job.""
""This new you—" "—is none of your business," he snapped."
""I’m right here." "No, you’re not. I don’t know who this is, but the August I knew—" "Doesn’t exist anymore.""
""You’re lying." "I can’t lie." "You’re wrong," said Kate, turning her back on him. "There’s one kind of lie even you can tell. Do you know what it is?" She met his gaze in the steel doors. "The kind you tell yourself.""
"Sometimes it’s not about the food," she’d said. "It’s about finding normal."
"You might not want to fight your monsters, August. But I’m fighting mine."
"It’s not about what you are, August, it’s about who, and that stupid, dreaming boy—that wasn’t a mistake, or a delusion, or a waste of energy. It was you."
"We’re all going to die," he murmured, and then, voice rising: "It’s a mercy. I’ll make it fast—"
"I know it hurts," she said. "So make it worth the pain."
"You cannot win unless you’re willing to fight."
"War is not a game," said the bearded soldier.
"You are in control," she told herself, the words like weights in her pockets, anchoring her down.
"I’ve summoned you because you are among the fiercest, the strongest, and the most bloodthirsty humans in my employ."
"Do any humans really possess the strength to rise above their mediocrity? To become monstrous? To become more?"
"Some will see your presence as an insult. Others might take it as a challenge."
"We are not equals, you and I. We are not family. We are not blood."
"It’s worth some dazed bystanders, if it helps with their pain."
"You would risk these lives, and yours, for a sinner."
"This is your purpose. And doesn’t it feel good?"
"Doesn’t it?" challenged Kate. "Maybe he wanted his death to mean something."
"Actually," said Paris. "I think that’s exactly what we need."
"What if we’re wrong?" she murmured softly. "What if this is a mistake?"
"Sometimes—" she said through gritted teeth, "I wish you could lie."