Kill the queen
Summer queens are fine and fair, With pretty ribbons and flowers in their hair. Winter queens are cold and hard, With frosted crowns made of icy shards. —Bellonan fairy-tale rhyme

I’d learned long ago that someone was always ready, willing, and eager to take away what little that I had. Not because they needed or wanted it, but just because they could, just because that sort of pettiness amused them

Sometimes in the arena, you killed your opponent in an instant. But other times, most times, you had to wait and plot and plan. You had to cut down your enemy one small, shallow slice at a time. Playing the long game meant being patient, inflicting the wounds you could along the way, and waiting for that perfect moment to strike and finally finish off your enemy.

Protect the prince

I knew exactly how important it was to spend time with the people you loved before they were taken away. I didn’t want to stand in the way of Sullivan reconnecting with his father, especially since Heinrich was so ill.

I wondered who would win in the end—or if the currents, people, and agendas that went along with them would suck me under and drown me for good.

Even though Gemma had survived, she had the same sort of scars on her heart as I did.

Whether you were rich or poor, noble or common, royal or not, someone always coveted what you had, even if they already had more than you. That was just the way the world worked,
Because life can be a cruel, heartless bitch,” Helene snapped. “Because we should hold on to the happiness we have and not worry about what other people think of it, or especially of us. Because caring about someone occasionally means compromising something about yourself for their benefit and not your own. That’s what real love is,

Sometimes, the only thing you could do was decide who you could hurt the least.