V.E Schwab Quotes & Sayings

Power required corruption, and corruption rewarded power. — V.E Schwab

After all, if you run far enough, no one can catch you. — V.E Schwab

I love being new places and hate getting there, and have been known to say on multiple occasions that I would give anything from a piece of my soul to a limb to a portion of my life savings to teleport. Especially when bad weather keeps me off planes. — V.E Schwab

One day you will be old and wrinkled, and I will still love you. — V.E Schwab

Look, everyone talks about the unknown like it's some big scary thing, but it's the familiar that's always bothered me. It's heavy, builds up around you like rocks, until it's walls and a ceiling and a cell. — V.E Schwab

The owner of the Stone's Throw was built like a brick wall - if a brick wall decided to grow a beard - tall — V.E Schwab

Killing you," he said. It was almost freeing, not being able to lie. — V.E Schwab

Dammit, Bard, you're going to set the cat on fire." Lila — V.E Schwab

I know where you sleep, Bard." She smirked. "Then you know I sleep with knives. — V.E Schwab

Lila Bard lived by a simple rule: if a thing was worth having, it was worth taking. — V.E Schwab

SYDNEY Clarke died on a cool March day. It was just before lunch, and it was all Serena's fault. — V.E Schwab

But Kell knew he couldn't break Holland.
Holland was already broken. It showed, not in the scars, but in the way he spoke, the way he held himself in the face of pain, too well acquainted with its shape and scale. He was a man hollowed out long before Osaron, a man with no fear and no hope and nothing to lose. — V.E Schwab

Lila had discovered that the hardest part of her charade was pretending that everything was old hat when it was all so new, being forced to feign the kind of nonchalance that only comes from a lifetime of knowing and taking for granted. Lila was a quick study, and she knew how to keep up a front; but behind the mask of disinterest, she took in everything. She was a sponge, soaking up the words and customs, training herself to see something once and be able to pretend she'd seen it a dozen - a hundred - times before. — V.E Schwab

Her hand slid beneath his shirt with all the practiced grace of a thief. But this time she wanted him to feel her touch, her palms gliding over his ribs and around his back, fingertips digging into her shoulder blades. — V.E Schwab

Next time I walk away," she whispered into his skin, "come with me." She let her gaze drift up to his throat, his jaw, his lips. "When this is all over, when Osaron is gone and we've saved the world again, and everyone else gets their happily ever after, come with me."
"Lila," he said, and there was so much sadness in his voice, she suddenly realized she didn't want to hear his answer, didn't want to think of all the ways their story could end, of the chance that none of them would make it out alive, intact. She didn't want to think beyond this boat, this moment, so she kissed him, deeply, and whatever he was going to say, it died on his lips as they met hers. — V.E Schwab

men who waded into waters claiming they could swim should not need a raft. — V.E Schwab

You must make time for that which matters, for that which defines you: your passion, your progress, your pen. Take it up, and write your own story. — V.E Schwab

Life is chaos. Time is order. — V.E Schwab

My point, continued Rhy, is for every ten that worship you, one wants to see you burn. Those are simply the odds when it comes to people like you and I. — V.E Schwab

I've found that watching is the quickest way to learn, and the safest way to stay alive." Alucard — V.E Schwab

The earth beneath your feet does not care you will be king. Nor the water in your cup. Nor the air you breathe. You must speak to them as equal, or even better, as supplicant. — V.E Schwab

We could be dead,' said Eli.
'That's a risk everyone takes by living. — V.E Schwab

His eyes were dark with pain and worry, — V.E Schwab

She had her eyes on one ship in particular, had been watching, coveting, all day. It was a gorgeous vessel, its hull and masts carved from dark wood and trimmed in silver, its sails shifting from midnight blue to black, depending on the light. A name ran along its hull - Saren Noche - and she would later learn that it meant Night Spire. For now she only knew that she wanted it. But she couldn't simply storm a fully manned craft and claim it as her own. She was good, but she wasn't that good. And then there was the grim fact that Lila didn't technically know how to sail. — V.E Schwab

You want to live," he told his reflection. His reflection looked unconvinced. — V.E Schwab

Kell wore a very peculiar coat.
It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several, which was, of course, impossible.
The first thing he did whenever he stepped out of one London and into another was take off the coat and turn it inside out once or twice (or even three times) until he found the side he needed. Not all of them were fashionable, but they each served a purpose. There were ones that blended in and ones that stood out, and one that served no purpose but of which he was just particularly fond. — V.E Schwab

A myth without a voice is like a dandelion without a breath of wind.
No way to spread the seeds. — V.E Schwab

the gravity of want drew Sydney back. She couldn't break the orbit. — V.E Schwab

And Ulysses stopped up his ears against the siren's song," recited Victor, pulling the plugs from his own ears as Serena collapsed to the dirt lot, "for it was death. — V.E Schwab

The ability comes naturally," replied Kell. "The proficiency takes work. Just as I explained during every one of your lessons." The — V.E Schwab

I want to live, but getting close to death is the only way to feel alive. — V.E Schwab

Dead men can't hold grudges. — V.E Schwab

You remember me, and I'll remember you, and that way we won't be forgotten." "That's shit logic, Vic." "It's perfect. — V.E Schwab

Now he was going numb, and that scared him more than pain because it meant he might just...fade. Fade right into death without noticing. — V.E Schwab

Easy meant dangerous. Easy led to mistakes. — V.E Schwab

It was like cooking, not baking. Baking took a sense of order. Cooking took a flare, a little art, a little luck. — V.E Schwab

It was cowardice, he knew, but cowardice came so much easier than hope. And — V.E Schwab

No one suffers as beautifully as you do. — V.E Schwab

I have a hacker, a half-dead dog, and a child. It's hardly an arsenal. — V.E Schwab

You think that if you die, and manage to come back, you'll turn into what, one of the X-Men? — V.E Schwab

You can't kill me today," she called back. "I'm late for class. — V.E Schwab

The rich strutted around, assuming they'd be safe, so long as they stayed in the good parts of town. But Lila knew there were no good parts. Only smart parts and stupid parts, and she was quick enough to know which one to play. — V.E Schwab

little do these people know I am just a pawn" spat Kell — V.E Schwab

We don't choose what we are, but we choose what we do. — V.E Schwab

Scars are not shameful, not unless you let them be. If you do not wear them, they will wear you. — V.E Schwab

To clever plans,' said Kell, toasting his brother. 'And dashing princes.'
'To masked magicians,' said Rhy, swiping the wine.
'To mad ideas.'
'To the Essen Tasch.'
'Wouldn't it be amazing,' murmured Rhy later, when the bottle was empty, 'if we got away with it? — V.E Schwab

Death comes for us all, Brother. You cannot hide from it forever. We will die one day, you and I."
"And that doesn't frighten you?"
Rhy shrugged. "Not nearly as much as the idea of wasting a perfectly good life in fear of it. — V.E Schwab

I brought your son back from the dead!" shouted Kell, lunging to his feet.
"I did it knowing it would bind our lives, knowing what it would mean for me, what I would become, knowing that the resurrection of his life would mean the end of mine, and I did it anyway, because he is my brother and your son and the future king of Arnes." Kell gasped for breath, tears streaming down his face "What more could I possibly do? — V.E Schwab

The name of the place was Is Vesnara Shast, which translated to The Wandering Road. What Lila didn't know, not until she saw Lenos's unease, was that the Arnesian word for road - shast - was the same as the word for soul. — V.E Schwab

She went back to middle school, and tried not to touch anything dead. — V.E Schwab

I do not know why you two are circling each other like stars. It is not my cosmic dance. But I do know that you come asking for one another, when only a few strides and a handful of stairs divide you. — V.E Schwab

He suffered," added Athos softly. "But not like you." He brought his mouth closer. "No one suffers as beautifully as you." There it was, in the corner of Holland's mouth, the crease of his eye. Anger. Pain. Defiance. Athos smiled, victorious. — V.E Schwab

We still have time," Kell assured him, getting to his feet.
"How do you know?" asked Hastra. "We can't hear the bells down here, and there are no windows to gauge the light." "Magic," Kell said, and then, when Hastra's eyes widened, he gestured to the hourglass sitting on the table with his other tools. "And that. — V.E Schwab

Are you afraid yet? he would ask when the floor was slick with Eli's blood. Are you afraid? — V.E Schwab

Magic was a living thing---that, everyone knew---but to Kell it felt like more, like a friend, like family. It was, after all, a part of him (much more than it was a part of most) and he couldn't help feeling like it knew what he was saying, what he was feeling, not only when he summoned it, but always, in every heartbeat and every breath. He was, after all, Antari. — V.E Schwab

Are you as famous in your world as Kell is here?"
Lila thought of the wanted posters lining her London. "Not for the same reasons. — V.E Schwab

What do you want to know?"
Lila returned to the chair and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. "Everything — V.E Schwab

Of all the ways to die, only a fool chooses pride. — V.E Schwab

There were a hundred shades between a truth and lie, and she knew them all. — V.E Schwab

It is an arrogant man that thinks himself a god.
And an arrogant god, thought Tieren, looking to the window, that thinks himself a man. — V.E Schwab

I am a firm believer that a good plot makes for a fun enough read, but it's not what binds us. If we don't care about the characters, we won't care - not in a lasting way - about what's happening to them. — V.E Schwab

She used to think that if she stole enough, the want would fade, the hunger would go away, but maybe it wasn't that simple. Maybe it wasn't a matter of what she didn't have, of what she wasn't, but what she was. — V.E Schwab

And after ten years of waiting, it was Victor's turn, to get into Eli's head and do some ruining. — V.E Schwab

A respectable prison is still a prison. — V.E Schwab

This new calm was becoming unsettling. Victor struggled to assess it. — V.E Schwab

(he thought it particularly foolish to endow inmates with a detailed sense of the positions of vital organs, but there you go), — V.E Schwab

Some people steal to stay alive, and some steal to feel alive. Simple as that. — V.E Schwab

What is that?"

Something bobbed on the surface, a piece of driftwood. And then another. And another. The boards floated past in broken shards, the edges burned. An unpleasant chill went through Alucard.

The Ghost was sailing through the remains of a ship.

"That," said Alucard, "is the work of Sea Serpents."

Lila's eyes widened. "Please tell me you're talking about mercenaries and not giant ship-eating snakes."

Alucard raised a brow. "Giant ship-eating snakes? Really?"

"What?" she challenged. "How am I supposed to know where to draw the line in this world?"

"You can draw it well before giant ship-eating snakes... — V.E Schwab

I'd grown up an athletic child, a competitive soccer player since age 4, with stints ranging from months to years in gymnastics, softball, volleyball. — V.E Schwab

I put my life into His hands." "Well," said Victor, earnestly, "let's hope He gives it back. — V.E Schwab

All of them screamed by the end. — V.E Schwab

Mysteries are always more exciting than truths. — V.E Schwab

Thud. Thud. Thud. — V.E Schwab

Magic bent the world. Pulled it into shape. There were fixed points. Most of the time those points were places. But sometimes, rarely, they were people. — V.E Schwab

Everyone has a mix of humanity and magic in them. — V.E Schwab

As for advice for aspiring authors, the best I can give is to be brave. It sounds like a simple enough thing, but it's not. Rejection is such an integral part of this journey, and it never goes away. — V.E Schwab

Because too little of something is just as dangerous as too much. — V.E Schwab

If he weren't currently in the back of a cop car, he would have wanted to make a thesis note. — V.E Schwab

He wished for the first time in his life that he believed in God. — V.E Schwab

Eli, who believed in God and had a monster inside just like Victor, but knew how to hide it better. — V.E Schwab

Mother... fucker... — V.E Schwab

Don't get yourself killed."
"I'll do my best," said Kell, and then he was going.
"And come back," added Rhy.
Kell paused. "Don't worry," he said. "I will. Once I've seen it."
"Seen what?" asked Rhy.
Kell smiled. "Everything. — V.E Schwab

All right," she said. She got to her feet and crossed to his desk, where her knife still sat atop the maps. She thought of the way he'd plucked it out of her grip. "But I want a favor in return."
"Funny, I thought the favor was allowing you to remain on my ship, despite the fact you're a liar, a thief, and a murderer. But please, do go on. — V.E Schwab

If anyone could make the strange seem ordinary, the impossible look easy, it was Delilah Bard — V.E Schwab

Sometimes you had to pretend, everyone knew that. Pretend to be happy. Pretend to be brave. Pretend to be strong. If you pretended long enough, it eventually came true. Pretending — V.E Schwab

No," he muttered, running a hand through his copper hair. "No. No. There are dozens."
"Kell?" she asked, moving to touch his arm.
He shook her off. "Dozens of ships, Lila! And you had to climb aboard his."
"I'm sorry," she shot back, bristling, "I was under the impression that I was free to do as I pleased."
"To be fair," added Alucard, "I think she was planning to steal it and slit my throat."
"Then why didn't you?" snarled Kell, spinning on her. "You're always so eager to slash and stab, why couldn't you have stabbed him? — V.E Schwab

Kell frowned deeply. It is amazing, thought Lila, that he doesn't have more wrinkles. — V.E Schwab

A knife struck the docks between Kell's feet, and he jumped.

"Lila!" he shouted.

"Leaving!" she called from the deck. "And bring me back that knife," she added. "It's my favorite one."

Kell shook his head, and freed the blade from where it had lodged in the wood. "They're all you favorite. — V.E Schwab

She dragged her head up and saw Kell standing in the road, the strange magical boy in his black coat, looking breathless and angry. Lila couldn't believe it. — V.E Schwab

But time isn't the same for the mad and the blind. — V.E Schwab

Magic ran between them like a current, a cord, and he wondered who she would have been if she'd stayed in Grey London. If she'd never picked his pocket, never held the contents ransom for adventure.
Maybe she would never have discovered magic.
Or maybe she would have simply changed her world instead of his. — V.E Schwab

I apologize for anything I might have done. I was not myself."
"I apologize for shooting you in the leg." said Lila. "I was myself entirely. — V.E Schwab

And bring me back that knife," she added. "It's my favorite one."
Kell shook his head, and freed the blade from where it had lodged in the wood. "They're all your favorite. — V.E Schwab

She handed back the cigar and dug the silver watch out of her vest pocket. It was warm and smooth, and she didn't know why she liked it so much, but she did. Maybe because it was a choice. Taking it had been a choice. Keeping it had been one, too. And maybe the choice started as a random one, but there was something to it. — V.E Schwab

And while that seemed to be true, Holland knew that assumptions were made to take the place of facts, — V.E Schwab

Even glass can be strong," said Rhy, "if it is thick enough. — V.E Schwab

Stay with me," said Kell. "Stay with me. Rhy. Listen to my voice." "Such a nice voice," said Rhy quietly, his head lolling forward. "Rhy. — V.E Schwab

I still get rejections - frequently - and my goal isn't to never fail, to never be turned down, but simply to succeed more often than I don't. And in order to do that, I have to constantly put myself out there, to judgment, critique, and rejection. — V.E Schwab

You know, Miss Bard, there is such a thing as being sharp enough to cut yourself. — V.E Schwab

Sometimes he worried that the coat had a mind of its own. The only other person who'd ever managed to find what they wanted in its pockets was Lila. He'd never managed to find out how she'd done that. Traitorous coat. — V.E Schwab