Renee Ahdieh Quotes & Sayings

Moments spent in idleness were moments left to thought. Moments left to memory. — Renee Ahdieh

He was good at that. Good at robbing the world of light, even in its barest measure. — Renee Ahdieh

Shahrzad closed her eyes in defeat and slid her palms to his chest. Then she reached behind him in an embrace of sandalwood and sun. Khalid wrapped both his arms around Shahrzad, and they stood together under the dome of the Grand Portico, with the indecipherable art of love poems giving silent testament. — Renee Ahdieh

Prove that a real man doesn't make a show of what's his. It just is." "Is — Renee Ahdieh

The air between them filled with all that remained unsaid. All that should be said.
Yet wasn't. — Renee Ahdieh

For this was untrammeled need; this was a body of water and a soul of ash. The — Renee Ahdieh

Her lips were hers one moment. And the they were his. — Renee Ahdieh

You are a disaster. You flinch at the slightest noise, and you nearly ripped that poor boy's head off for dropping his sword."

"The boy was stumbling about, wielding an unsheathed blade. I find it fortunate he didn't trip and impale himself on the cold steel of his own stupidity."

"Your sarcasm gets more brutal with age. And with arrogance. It's not nearly as entertaining now. — Renee Ahdieh

No. He was not here to wreak revenge.
For revenge was trifling and hollow.
No. He was not here to retrieve his wife.
For his wife was not a thing to be retrieved.
No. He was not here to negotiate a truce.
For a truce suggested he wished to compromise.

He was here to burn something to the ground. — Renee Ahdieh

And, with a kiss, Shahrzad let herself fall.
For the boy who was an impossible, improbable study in contrasts. The boy who burned her life to cinder, only to remake of it a world unlike any she had ever known. — Renee Ahdieh

You are first and foremost a person. A reckless, foolish person, but a person nonetheless. If I ever say you are not permitted to do something, rest assured that the last reason I would ever say so would be because you are a girl. — Renee Ahdieh

People fall in and out of love with the rising and setting of the sun. Rather like a boy who loves the color green one day, only to discover on the morrow that he truly prefers blue. — Renee Ahdieh

Sharzad was rewarded with one of his uncommonly effortless smiles. The kind that changed a face of shadows into one of light". — Renee Ahdieh

He would learn the truth. Tonight he would flout his own rules. Meet the girl alone. Ask her a single question. He could afford that. — Renee Ahdieh

For the wonder of a first love can never be matched. — Renee Ahdieh

In the end, there is only time for love. — Renee Ahdieh

Curious had been the word most often ascribed to her
when she was younger. She'd been the watchful sort of child. The one conscious of every mistake. When Mariko had erred, it had usually been intentional. An attempt to push barriers. Or a desire to learn. Usually it was that. A wish to know more. As she grew from a curious child into an even more curious young woman, the word she most often overheard at her back was odd. Much too odd. Far too prone to asking questions.
Far too apt to linger in places she wasn't meant to be. — Renee Ahdieh

You honestly expect me to breathe in a world without air? — Renee Ahdieh

It's much easier to hate a memory. I would know. — Renee Ahdieh

Do not live in fear, Khalid-jan, for that is not a life. — Renee Ahdieh

You're better than beautiful." Rahim took a careful breath. "You're interesting. Never forget that. — Renee Ahdieh

Today he'd intentionally wandered too far. Wandered away from those who hovered around him like flies to a carcass. — Renee Ahdieh

Now is easy. It's easy to say what you want in a passing moment. That's why a harem waits outside your door and the mother of your child won't have you. — Renee Ahdieh

Perhaps you should spend less time despising the game and more time building the patients necessary to win. — Renee Ahdieh

It must be said. These truths, no matter how harsh, must be said. — Renee Ahdieh

You have a beautiful laugh. Like the promise of tomorrow. — Renee Ahdieh

Shahrzad took a deep breath. "Tariq - " "I'm not leaving without you!" He spun around and pulled her against him. "This is not your fight! It never should have been your fight!" At — Renee Ahdieh

Being your sister is one of the best things about being me — Renee Ahdieh

Such is the way of rumors. We are often the last to know the ones in our honor. — Renee Ahdieh

With everyone else, he was chipped ice on a mountain. With her sister, he was a summer breeze across the sea. Alas, — Renee Ahdieh

Flustered by the budding understanding of why her sister might have chosen to love this supposed monster, Irsa fumbled for her satchel. — Renee Ahdieh

If you are just one girl, I am just one boy." Shahrzad — Renee Ahdieh

I wish I possessed your particular brand of optimism," Rahim grumbled.
"And what brand would that be?"
"Idiotic. — Renee Ahdieh

Tonight is a night to turn heads. Make them remember you. Make sure they never forget. You are the Calipha of Khorasan, and you have the ear of a king." Despina put her hand on Shahrzad's shoulder and grinned at their shared reflection. "More important, you have his heart." She bent forward and lowered her voice. "And, most important, you are a fearsome thing to behold in your own right. — Renee Ahdieh

When she wound her fingers in his hair to draw her body against his, he stilled for breath, and she knew, as he knew, that they were lost. Lost forever. In this kiss. This kiss that would change everything. — Renee Ahdieh

The darker the sky, the brighter the stars. — Renee Ahdieh

As always. As ever. As a rose to the sun. — Renee Ahdieh

I believe the stars align so souls can find one another. Whether they are meant to be souls in love or souls in life remains to be seen. — Renee Ahdieh

You could always go home."
"To my brothers and their screaming children?" Rahim scoffed. "To the constant attempts to marry me off to a cousin's friend's ugly sister? I think not. — Renee Ahdieh

Beauty fades. But a pain in the ass is forever. — Renee Ahdieh

Get up, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. You kneel before no one. Least of all me. — Renee Ahdieh

I never lose, nor am I afraid to spill blood. — Renee Ahdieh

He had only began to process his confusion when Captain al-Khoury seized him by the arm.
Tariq knocked away the arrogant boy's hand. "What - "
"Do you still love her?" He spoke in a urgent whisper.
"That's none of your business."
"Answer me, you fool. Do you?"
Tariq clenched his teeth, returning the captain of the Royal Guard's fierce glare.
"Always."
"Then make sure she never comes back. — Renee Ahdieh

All our lives are forfeit, sayyidi. It is just a question of when. And I would like one more day. — Renee Ahdieh

The worst kind of lie - the kind shrouded in good intentions. The kind cowards use to justify their weakness. — Renee Ahdieh

You sent Shahrzad away with a boy I would not trust with a dying snake. — Renee Ahdieh

Her own awareness had risen like the dawn on her back.Like a leaden sunrise veiled in a swirl of storm clouds. It was no longer enough to have answers for Shiva's sake. Indeed, it had ceased to be about mere vengeance the moment Khalid's lips touched hers in the alley by the souk. She had wanted there to be a reason for this madness, needed there to be a reason, so that she could be with him. So that she could be by his side, make him smile as she laughed, weave tales by lamplight, and share secrets in the dark.So that she could fall asleep in his arms and awaken to a brilliant tomorrow.
But it was too late. He was the Mehrdad of her nightmares. She had opened the door. She had seen the bodies hanging from the walls, without explanation. Without justification.
And without one, Shahrzad knew what must be done. Khalid had to answer for such vile deeds. Such rampant death.
Even if he was her air.
Even if she loved him beyond words. — Renee Ahdieh

When will you tell him?' 'When I muster the courage or when I'm left with no choice - whichever comes first. — Renee Ahdieh

Her conviction wavered further. "I told you; don't try to own me."
"I don't want to own you."

She swiveled her neck to meet his gaze. "Then never speak of sending me away again. I am not yours to do with as you will."

Khalid's features smoothed knowingly. "How right you are. You are not mine." He dropped his palm from the door. "I am yours. — Renee Ahdieh

Destiny was for fools. Sharzad would not wait for her life to happen. She would make it happen. — Renee Ahdieh

When I was in the desert, I woke each day and carried on with my life, but it wasn't living; it was merely existing. I want to live. You are where I live. — Renee Ahdieh

We are as a rose unfurling, becoming more clearly ourselves — Renee Ahdieh

Beautiful words were beautiful words, even to the most practical of minds. — Renee Ahdieh

Daughter of a whore," he muttered. Khalid froze, his knuckles turning a perilous shade of white. Shahrzad grabbed his arm and dragged him away. She could see the muscles ticking along his jaw. "You know, you have quite a temper," she remarked after they had cleared some distance. He said nothing. "Khalid?" "Is that kind of disrespect . . . normal?" Shahrzad lifted a shoulder. "It's not normal. But it's not unexpected. It's the curse of being a woman," she joked in a morose manner. "It's obscene. He deserves to be flogged. — Renee Ahdieh

Every day, I think I am going to be surprised by how remarkable you are, but I am not. Because this is what it means to be you. It means knowing — Renee Ahdieh

I love you, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. There is nothing I would not do for you. Nothing I would not consider if it meant keeping you safe. The world itself should fear me if it stands between us. — Renee Ahdieh

had always been like that - incapable of withholding the truth but incapable of cruelty. A rare kind of person. The best kind of friend. — Renee Ahdieh

Is it so arrogant to want something that doesn't change with the wind? That doesn't crumble at the first sign of adversity?"
"You want something that doesn't exist. A figment of your imagination."
"No. I want someone who sees beneath the surface--someone who completes the balance. An equal. — Renee Ahdieh

Everything was cold, and she chewed from habit rather than enjoyment, but she knew she would regret it later if she went to bed hungry as well as angry. — Renee Ahdieh

A boy who'd thrived in the shadows.
Now he had to live in the light.
To live . . . fiercely.
To fight for every breath. — Renee Ahdieh

Are you finally starting to breathe in a normal fashion?" Shahrzad teased. "I must confess I find your behavior rather odd, considering you said only a child would be afraid to fly."
"I wasn't afraid." Khalid wrapped a forearm of corded muscle around her. She slanted a disbelieving look his way. "You just lied to me."
"I wasn't afraid," he repeated. "I was terrified. — Renee Ahdieh

A trickle of blood slid down his arm.
He felt nothing. He only saw it.
Because nothing hurt like missing her.
He suspected nothing ever would — Renee Ahdieh

It was because they were two parts of a whole. He did not belong to her. And she did not belong to him. It was never about belonging to someone. It was about belonging together. — Renee Ahdieh

Do you know why I adore roses?" Shahrzad untied the knot of his tikka sash with deliberate slowness. "I've always loved them for their beauty and their scent, but--"
"It's because of their thorns." His muscles tensed at her touch. "Because there's more to them than first meets the eye. — Renee Ahdieh

You are free to leave, as well." Khalid resumed his trek toward his chamber.
Jalal cut it front of Khalid. "You look terrible." His eyes were bright, and his forehead was lined with worry. — Renee Ahdieh

Some things exist in our lives for but a brief moment. And we must let them go on to light another sky. — Renee Ahdieh

A girl willingly donning a crown of death. A small girl with immense courage. Immense hate. Why — Renee Ahdieh

It was never about belonging to someone. It was belonging together. — Renee Ahdieh

She was not a half. She was wholly her own. — Renee Ahdieh

I could see her daring a cobra to strike, swearing her venom would kill first. — Renee Ahdieh

In her ear, he whispered, "Do better than this Shazi. My queen is without limitations. Boundless in all that she does. Show them. — Renee Ahdieh

Sometimes we must fall forward to keep moving. Remain motionless - remain unyielding - and you are as good as dead.
Death follows indecision, like a twisted shadow. Fall forward. Keep moving. Even if you must pick yourself up first. — Renee Ahdieh

But I do know I can't remember the last time I wanted something so much," he finished in a quiet voice. — Renee Ahdieh

Sharzad had not intended to torment Khalid with the magic carpet. Not at first. But he brought it on himself. Truly, he did. — Renee Ahdieh

Games? War is not a game, my friend. Games are for small children and old men like me. War is a young man's blighted delight — Renee Ahdieh

Shazi,

I prefer the color blue to any other. The scent of lilacs in your hair is a source of constant torment. I despise figs. Lastly, I will never forget, all the days of my life, the memories of last night -
For nothing, not the sun, not the rain, not even the brightest star in the darkest sky, could begin to compare to the wonder of you.

Khalid. — Renee Ahdieh

You are - remarkable. Every day, I think I am going to be surprised by how remarkable you are, but I am not. Because this is what it means to be you. It means knowing no bounds. Being limitless in all that you do. — Renee Ahdieh

Jalal," she said, "I can explain."
"There's no need."
"I'm not - "
"I told you; there's no need." He spoke simply. "I trust you. — Renee Ahdieh

In what world did you think you could get away with this?" Jalal seethed. "To my cousin? To my family?" His gleaming hilt continued its punishing onslaught. — Renee Ahdieh

In this age of decadence that we live in, people's minds are twisted and only words are loved but not preactial deeds. — Renee Ahdieh

The moment I saw him running toward you that morning, I knew you were going to save him, just as he saved you. — Renee Ahdieh

Perhaps it was the lure of marrying a king. Or the vain hope you might be the one to stay the course and win the heart of a monster. — Renee Ahdieh

The more a person pushes others away, the clearer it becomes he is in need of love the most. — Renee Ahdieh

You are ridiculous, Khalid Ibn al-Rashid. I am just one girl. You are the Caliph of Khorasan, and you have a responsibility to a kingdom."
"If you are just one girl, I am just one boy. — Renee Ahdieh

Despina edged closer. "When I was a little girl in Thebes, I remember asking my mother what heaven was. She replied, 'A heart where love dwells.' Of course, I then demanded to know what constituted hell. She looked me straight in the eye and said, 'A heart absent love.'" Despina studied Shahrzad as she spoke. — Renee Ahdieh

For his children, he would move mountains. — Renee Ahdieh

This destroyer of worlds and creature of wonder. — Renee Ahdieh

In your honesty, I saw a reflection of myself. Or rather, of the man I longed to be. So I failed you. I didn't stay away. Then, later, I thought if I had answers, it would be enough. I would no longer care. You would no longer matter. So I continued failing you. Continued wanting more. And now I can't find the words to say what must be said. To convey to you the least of what I owe. When I think of you, I can't find the air to b r e a t h e. — Renee Ahdieh

So that she could be by his side, make him smile as she laughed, weave tales by lamplight, and share secrets in the dark. So that she could fall asleep in his arms and awaken to a brilliant tomorrow. — Renee Ahdieh

Words are foolish. Promises are useless. Anyone can say anything to get what it is they desire. Believe in actions and actions alone. — Renee Ahdieh

One hundred lives for the one you took. One life to one dawn. Should you fail but a single morn, I shall take from you your dreams. I shall take from you your city. And I shall take from you these lives, a thousandfold. — Renee Ahdieh

For it was easy to be good and kind in times of plenty. The trying times were the moments that defined a man. — Renee Ahdieh

We women are a sad lot, aren't we?"
"What do you mean?"
"Strong enough to take on the world with our bare hands, yet we permit ridiculous boys to make fools of us."
"I am not a fool."
"No, you're not. Not yet. — Renee Ahdieh

It's inevitable. When you meet the one who makes you smile as you've never smiled before, cry as you've never cried before... there is nothing to do but fall. — Renee Ahdieh

The only power any man has over you is the power you give him. — Renee Ahdieh

I am just curious at heart, and my curious heart has quite a fondness for love stories. — Renee Ahdieh

So you would have me throw Shazi to the wolves?"
"Shazi?" Jalal's grin widened. "Honestly, I pity the wolves. — Renee Ahdieh

...I love her. I think I want to be with her."
"Be careful, Captain al-khoury. Those words mean different things to different people. Make sure they man the right things to you."
"Don't be an ass. I mean them."
"When did you mean them?"
"I mean them now. Isn't that what matters?"
A muscle worked in Khalid's jaw. "Now is easy. It's easy to say what you want in a passing moment. That's why a harem waits outside your door and the mother of your child won't have you."
He strode back toward the palace.
"Then what is the right answer, say yidi? What should I have said?" Jalal called out to the sky in exasperation.
"Always. — Renee Ahdieh

Jalal shook his head and moved toward Khalid. "She is. Please give her a chance to explain."
"Leave," Khalid commanded quietly.
"Don't let your fear and your distrust ruin this."
His uncle took Jalal by the shoulder.
"She loves you!" Jalal continued, his tone heedless. "This is not what it seems. Maybe it began as something else, but I would bet my life on what it is now. She loves you. Please don't fall to hate. You're not your father. You are so much more. She is so much more. — Renee Ahdieh

My favorite color is violet. The scent of roses makes me feel at home, wherever I am. I do not enjoy fish, but I will eat it to make a loved one happy, suffering through my smile. — Renee Ahdieh