Leah Cypess Quotes & Sayings

She knew that Evin thought she had chosen because of him. Because somewhere, deep down, she loved him. And maybe someday - if she did end up loving him - she would tell him the truth.
That it hand't been about love.
It had, in the end, been about death. About who needed it, and who was ashamed of it, and who celebrated it. About who might, someday, move past it. — Leah Cypess

Because this, as it turned out, was her destiny. Not to be the powerful sorceress her people had been waiting for, not to be the ruthless killer the assassins needed. Her destiny was to save one person at a time, change things one tiny step after another.
It still hurt, a tinge of loss. Her life wouldn't be grand, or dramatic, or momentous. There would be no great choices to make, no moments when everything would change. It would make a dull story if she was ever called upon to tell it.
It hurt, yes. But it was also something of a relief. — Leah Cypess

She had learned to pay attention to the variations in Rokan's smiles. There was the sideways half-smile when he found something amusing; the slow, contented smile that appeared only rarely these days; and the wide, dazzling, unrestrained smile she had so far seen only twice, when he first came for her in the Mistwood and when they watched the hawk soar against the sky. And then there was this one, the reason for her watchfulness: the impish grin that meant he wanted to do something he knew was stupid and was going to do it anyhow. — Leah Cypess

A shivery, delicious Southern Gothic with feuding families, dark spirits, ancient curses and caught up in the middle, a young girl learning to live and love for the first time. Atmospheric and suspenseful, Compulsion will draw you in and hold you until the very last page. — Leah Cypess

I don't want you to be the shifter. Rokan's voice was quiet , and her human sense of smell told her nothing about how he felt. I haven't wanted that for a long time. since before i knew it was possible for you to not be the shifter. a pause then - so quirtly that even she could barely hear him - since before i knew i loved you — Leah Cypess

How to throw assassins off balance: cry in front of them. — Leah Cypess

It was always disconcerting to discover that you shared opinions with someone you had no respect for. — Leah Cypess

His dark eyes searched her face. "But you love me," he said finally.
She had no reason to deny it. Ileni lifted her shoulders. "I'll recover. — Leah Cypess

She's my /sister./" He had no doubt that Clarisse was telling the truth: that Darri was down here in the caves, that she was trying to end the spell. And that she was about to die. "If you kill her, I'll tear this country down. I'll grind silver into the soil. I swear it."
Clarisse blinked at him, completely unconcerned. "Why? You don't love her."
"I don't like her," Varis snarled. "I /do/ love her. — Leah Cypess

The assassin crouched atop one of the shorter, thicker pillars, his body a curve of taut muscles beneath nondescript gray clothes. He looked more like a weapon than a person. — Leah Cypess

Every person we assassinate dies to serve a greater purpose."
"I'm sure they would be happy if they knew it," Ileni said sarcastically, but her voice sounded weak even to her. "If you would explain it to them, perhaps they would volunteer for your knives. — Leah Cypess

It's not hard to kill," Ileni said softly, as if discovering it all over again. "Not if you hate someone. It's so very easy."
But it shouldn't be. — Leah Cypess

She didn't trust herself to pull off a seductress act, not with Sorin. He would probably just throw her out. — Leah Cypess

What I enjoy most are those times when I get an idea and it just flows - the words coming so fast that I'm scribbling to keep up with my characters. I don't have any writing must-haves; this is a good thing, since I've done a lot of my writing in random places like the playground or the subway. — Leah Cypess

Ileni swallowed hard.
"Yes," she said. "I am. But it's all going to be the same, for a very long time. The sorcerers will have all the power, and the assassins will eventually regather and start attacking again ... and I haven't made any difference at all."
"Well," Evin said, "I think you've made quite a bit of difference to the people whose lives you saved. Speaking as one of them."
She stepped away from the edge, closer to him.
"Do you regret it?" he asked evenly.
His face was half-shadowed, but his eyes were bright and piercing. Not wide with pain and devoid of hope. She felt again his hand, limp and helpless in hers. Felt it tighten as Sorin plummeted past the gray rock.
"No," she said. And for at least that moment, it was entirely true. — Leah Cypess

Not all dangers are obvious. — Leah Cypess

So you won't help me." She didn't bother to hide her anger. Anger felt a lot better than guilt or shame.
"I am helping you."
"Are you? Remind me to thank you later." She started toward the door. — Leah Cypess

It had been an attack, of sorts, and people did fight who lived in castles like these. Not with fists and feet and claws, but with words and whispers and influence. Isabel couldn't remember having been here before, but she knew. It was a fight, or rather a game, with many players and many rules and many strategies.
She smiled suddenly, feeling her blood pump through her veins. She didn't know how, and she didn't know why, but she was suddenly sure it was a game she knew how to play. — Leah Cypess

His eyes met hers, cold and deadly, and the dagger's edge pressed against her skin. Then his expression shifted into horror. He lowered the dagger and stepped back. "Ileni. That was not smart."
"I know. I'm sorry ... " And this time, she didn't even try to stop the tears. — Leah Cypess

Bitch!"
"Under the circumstances," Rokan commented in an almost steady voice, "that's really just a statement of fact, you know. — Leah Cypess

Ileni."
She didn't stop.
"You could stay."
Almost, he managed to keep his voice expressionless. She stopped walking. He sat poised and powerful, both hands clenched at his sides.
"No," she said. — Leah Cypess

And then he hesitated. He turned his head and looked across the chasm at Ileni. Their eyes met, and his weren't deadly and focused at all. They were ... afraid.
This thing between us wouldn't survive my watching you murder someone. — Leah Cypess

His voice was so quiet she almost didn't hear it. I'll be here, Ileni. When you do come back. — Leah Cypess