"...as the pair stood there with their arms wrapped around each other, and their heads leaning closer together, they looked like two halves of the same heart." pg. 15
"And her world transformed into a garden, a paradise made of blossoming flowers and bewitching romance. The walls were formed of moonlight. The ceiling was made of roses that dripped down toward the table in the center of the room, covered with plates of cakes and candlelight and sparkling honey wine.
But none of it was for Tella.
It was all for Scarlett. Tella had stumbled into her sister's love story and it was so romantic it was painful to watch.
Scarlett stood across the chamber. Her full ruby gown bloomed brighter than any flowers, and her glowing skin rivaled the moon as she gazed up at Julian.
They touched nothing except each other. While Scarlett pressed her lips to Julian's, his arms wrapped around her as if he'd found the one thing he never wanted to let go of.
That was why love was so dangerous. Love turned the world into a garden, so beguiling it was easy to forget that rose petals were as ephemeral as feelings, eventually they would wilt and die, leaving nothing but thorns." Pg 48-9
"Tella wasn't usually anxious. She liked the thrill that came with taking risks. She loved the feeling of doing something bold enough to make her future hold its breath while she closed her eyes and reveled in the sensation that she'd made a choice with the power to alter the course of her life. It was the closest she ever came to holding real power.
But, Tella also knew not every gamble paid off." Pg. 96
"He looked like a freshly woken storm, or a beautiful nightmare come to life so he could personally haunt her." Pg. 98
"According to myths, the stars weren't merely distant lights, they were beings older than the Fates, as terrible and powerful as they were mesmerizing and magical." Pg. 107
"'Why aren't you dressed like a leopard with butterfly wings, or a unicorn?'
A sliver of a grin. 'Not even Legend could make me dress like a unicorn.'
'But unicorns are magical, and then all the ladies would want to pet you.'
This time Dante's snort sounded more like a laugh he was trying to hold back.
Tella couldn't help smiling; she might not have liked him, but she enjoyed that he found her funny. She also appreciated that he seemed uninterested in all the ladies who looked his way and appeared as if they really would be willing to pet him, even though he wasn't dressed like a unicorn." Pg. 114
"Jacks's every movement was carelessly graceful, matching the musical cadence of his words as he murmured in her ear, 'The key to a charade like this is to forget it's an act. Invite the lie to play until you become so comfortable with it that it feels like the truth. Don't tell yourself we're pretending to be engaged, tell yourself that I love you. That I want you more than anyone.'" Pg. 130-1
"This dance wasn't about keeping his murderous reputation so he could win the throne; this was about winning her.
It was why he'd given her such a gorgeous gown.
Why he danced with her now.
Tella pretended love was a place she wanted to visit..." Pg. 131-2
"She was bold. She was brave. She was cunning. And she was going to come out of this triumphant--no matter the cost." Pg. 142
"Kisses were meant to be temporal, brief but exquisite moments of pleasure. But Tella could have kissed Jacks into eternity. It wasn't just the way his lips had moved over hers, it was the desire behind them, the wanting, the way Jacks had made Tella feel as if she were the one person on earth he'd spent his entire existence searching for. In that moment she'd managed to forget she'd been left by her mother and repeatedly suffered at the hands of her father, because Jacks had made her feel as if he'd hold on to her forever. It might have been the most convinceing lie she'd ever been told." Pg. 143
"Tella would destroy the world before she allowed anything to happen to her sister." Pg. 158
"His voice was soothing and commanding all at once, like the crackle of flames devouring wood. Fierce and fatal, yet somehow steady and reassuring. The type of voice a girl could have easily been consumed by... He looked as if he wanted to reach for her. If her unsteady legs so much as swayed his way, she imagined he'd capture her in his arms and hold her so close she'd willingly confess her every sin and secret." Pg. 165-6
"'I read about it in one of your wedding books. It was an ancient marital custom. People would drink each other's blood to synchronize their heartbeats. So that even when they were parted they could sense if the other was safe or afraid by the pace of their hearts. nThat's what I would want, someone who would give me a piece of himself rather than scraps of fabric.'" Pg. 179
"But Tella wanted love about as much as she wished to contract a disease. There were no kisses worth dying for. No souls worth merging with. There were many beautiful young men in the world, but Tella believed that none of them could be trusted with something as fragile, or valuable, as a heart." Pg. 183
"'I don't believe it's as hopeless as it seems,' Tella said. 'I think Julian is so used to lying it's all he knows how to do. Before now I don't imagine he's ever had a reason to change. But I believe he loves you; it's clear to anyone who sees the way he looks at you. You're the starlight to his darkness, and if you feel the same about him, you should give him another chance.'" Pg. 184
"His eyes stayed locked with hers, as if there was something unspoken he was trying to say. If another boy had looked at her that way she might have felt momentarily special. People rarely looked each other in the eye for prolonged periods of time. There was almost something more intimate about it than touching. When Dante looked in Tella's eyes he wasn't watching the rest of the world. He wasn't looking out for himself. He was risking part of his person to focus solely on her.
Tella wondered if this was the true allure of Caraval, not the magic or the mystery, but the way Legend's players knew how to make people feel. During the last game, Julian had constantly pushed Scarlett outside of her comfort zone. Dante was doing the same thing to Tella, but instead of pushing, he was pulling her toward him, attempting to reel her into his intoxicating sphere by pretending he cared, and that he didn't merely want her, but a part of him needed her. She sensed it in the subtle way he held his breath as he waited for her answer. It was terrifying how such a small thing could hold so much power...
And yet, she couldn't completely dismiss the idea, because as much as it might hurt later on, and as foolish as it could make her in the end, a part of her wanted it to be true, wanted to believe that something inside of her burned bright enough to capture Legend's uncapturable attention...
And maybe Tella liked the way Dante responded when she challenged him, the way his eyes shimmered and his fingers tightened around her wrist, as if he didn't plan on letting her go until he had the last word." Pg. 198-201
"'When you truly care about someone, aren't you supposed to be honest, even if it means you might lose that person?'" Pg. 232
"'I shouldn't have kissed him,' she mumbled. 'I don't even know why I kissed him. I didn't really care if he kicked me out of the palace for lying. I think I wanted to make you jealous.'
'It worked,' Dante said roughly.
Tella might have smiled if everything didn't hurt so much.
Dante held her closer and smoothed back a piece of hair that had fallen across Tella's face. Then his fingers returned, gently tracing the curve of her mouth as he said, 'I've never wanted to be someone else until that moment I saw him kiss you on the dance floor.'
'You should have asked me to dance first.'
'I will, next time.' His lips swept a kiss across her forehead. 'Don't give up on me, Donatella. If you stay with me long enough to get you somewhere safe and warm, then I promise I won't let go of you like I did that night. Together we'll fix all of this.'" Pg. 279
"He gazed at her as if he wanted her to lose herself somewhere in his eyes, so that he could be the one to find her...
Tella wanted to know what it would be like to lose herself in someone like Dante and trust that he would find her. But the only person she could trust was herself." Pg. 334
"'Fate is only an idea, but I think by believing in it we turn it into something more.'" Pg. 352
"Tella pictured the word 'good' withering next to Dante. 'Good' was the word people used to describe how they slept at night and bread fresh out of the fire. But Dante was more like the fire. No one called a fire good. Fires were hot, burning things children were warned not play with." Pg. 355
"She used to think it was ridiculous, the idea that a girl would give her heart to a boy even though she knew it would also give him the power to destroy her... she was also beginning to understand how hearts could be slowly given away, without a person even realizing. How sometimes just a look, or a rare moment of vulterability like the one Dante had just shared with her, was enough to steal a fraction of a heart." Pg. 355
"'If you're the hero, what does that make me?'...
Heat spread across her chest. This would have been the moment to pull away; instead, she let a hint of challenge slip into her voice. 'I'm still trying to figure that out.'
'Would you like my help?'
Tella's breathing hitched. 'No. I don't want your help.... I want you.'
Dante's gaze caught on fire and he took her mouth with his...
This kiss fle t like a confession, brutal and raw and honest in a way kisses rarely were. Dante wasn't trying to seduce her; he was convincing her just how little goodness mattered, because nothing he was doing with his hands could have been considered good. Yet every brush of his lips was sweet. Where others had demanded, Dante asked, slowly sweeping his mouth across hers until she parted her lips, letting his tongue slip inside as he pulled her onto his lap...
Tella imagined by the time she finished kissing Dante, she'd forget every other boy who'd ever touched her mouth...
They hadn't even broken apart and Tella was already thinking of kissing him again, and again, tasting not merely his lips but every single one of his tattoos and scars, until the world ended and they were nothing but shadows and smoke... how it tasted when his lips spoke words against her mouth that felt like promises she hoped he'd keep.
And for the first time in her life Tella wanted even 'more.' She wanted the night to strech into forever, and for Dante to tell her more stories about Fates, and his past, and anything else he wanted to say. In that moment, inside of that kiss, she wanted to know everything about him. She wanted him, and it no longer scared her...
Tella claimed she didn't want love--she liked to say love trapped and controlled and ripped hearts apart. But the truth was she also wanted it more than anything. She enjoyed the kisses, but a part of her always wished that whenever she walked away from a boy he'd run after her, beg her to stya, and then promise he'd never leave." Pg. 356-7
"Dante spoke against her mouth, this time loud enough for her to hear his words. 'I think I'd like you even if you were the villian.'
She smiled against his lips. 'Maybe I'd like you even if you were a hero.'
'But I'm not the hero,' he reminded her.
'Then perhaps I'm here to save you.'" Pg. 358
"'What makes something real, Tella?... Does seeing something make it real?... Or does hearing something make it real?... What about feeling something, is that enough to make it real?...
'I swear to you, this--'us'--we were never a part of Legend's plan. The first time I kissed you I did it because I'd just died and come back to life, but I wasn't feeling alive. I needed something real. But tonight I kissed you because I wanted you. I haven't stopped wanting you since the night of the Fated Ball when you were willing to risk your life because you wanted to make me angry. After that, I couldn't stay away...
'I kept coming back to you, not because of Legend, or the game. But beause you're so real and alive and fearless and daring and beautiful and if what's between us isn't real, then I don't know what is.'
...But it upended her. It made her wonder if jewels hidden away safely in boxes sometimes longed to be stolen by thieves--because now he was definitely stealing her heart, and she wanted him to take even more." Pg. 362-3
"When Dante was gone she wanted him there. When he was there she wanted him close. She liked the feel of his hands and the sound of his voice. She liked the things he said, and she wanted to believe them. She wanted to trust him." Pg. 364
"'Every curse has a way to be broken, and a loophole.'" Pg. 365
"She wanted to prove... that she wasn't just a useless ornament to be given away, that she was fearless and clever and brave and worth loving." Pg. 374
"'...Paradise merely said she loved trouble. But I believe what she really loved was life...
'Paradise could have been so much more than a picture in a Wanted poster shop. She was intelligent and clever, quick to laugh, and to love. Though she tried not to let people know how deeply her feelings went. 'Criminals don't love,' she once told me. But I think Paradise was afraid of love because when she loved, she did it as fiercely as she lived.'" Pg. 389
"'...Don't be like me and settle for the ease of an almost-ending, when you could have the true ending...
'Not everyone gets a ttue ending. There are two types of endings because most people give up at the part of the story where things are the worst, where the situation feels hopeless. But that's when hope is needed most. Only those who persevere can find their true ending.'" Pg. 391
"They kissed as if the world were ending, lips crashing together as if the heavens were breaking and the ground was crumbling, as if a war raged all around them and this kiss was the only thing mighty enough to stop it. As long as they kissed, only she and Dante existed.
Tella never wanted to open her eyes; as soon as she did, the world would shift. Dante would be gone and there would only be Legend.
It was so brutally unfair. She'd only just decided how much she wanted Dante, but even if he made it through the night, Legend was someone she could never have. He was like a moment in time; he could be experienced but never held on to.
His lips pressed harder as one hand threaded through her hair and the other went lower around her hips, digging in and pulling her closer, as if he didn't want the kiss to end, either." Pg. 404
"'What did you promise them?' Tella asked.
'It doesn't matter. I did it for you and I'd do it again.' Dante rotated his wrist until somehow he was holding her hand. He still hadn't even looked at the cards. He dark eyes stayed fixed on her as if she were his prize.
And, damn her, she believed him.
It was so very wrong.
If he was Legend, he wasn't supposed to care. He wasn't supposed to still gaze at her as if she'd just shattered his world with a kiss. He was supposed to laugh at her for being foolish enough for fall for him. He wasn't supposed to lean in closer, as if he'd fallen for her, too. He was supposed to rip the cards from her hands and abandon her on the moonstone steps. He was supposed to break her heart.
She wasn't supposed to break his." Pg. 405-6
"But perhaps love was an otherworldly entity like Death. And since Tella had now opened herself up to the possibility of Love, it would not stop coming after her, and it felt far more powerful than Death.
She'd underestimated Love in the past. She'd imagined the romantic sort to be a stronger type of lust--but this moment had nothing to do with lust and everything to do with caring more about saving Dante and her mother than saving herself. It made her fearless in a way she'd never been." Pg. 408
"'I can't belive you did this for me.' She looked up from Legen's wounded palm to his beautiful face. 'I think that means you're the hero after all.'
His expression darkened at the word 'hero,' as if it was something he'd rather not be called. But she didn't care. He was her hero." Pg. 414
"Her heart was still a little heavy, but she'd decided carrying it around would only make her stronger." Pg. 441
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