Victoria Aveyard Quotes & Sayings

Wish him a happy birthday for me. And assure him it will be his last. But yours is coming, isn't it? I don't doubt we'll spend it together. Until we meet again, Maven — Victoria Aveyard

To stand in front of a person who is your whole world and be told you are not enough. You are not the choice. You are a shadow to the person who is your sun. — Victoria Aveyard

A king should know his people. That's why I sneak out,' he murmurs. 'I do it in the capital too, and at the war front. I like to see how things really are in the kingdom,instead of being told by advisers and diplomats. That's what a good king would do. — Victoria Aveyard

Flame and shadow. One cannot exist without the other. — Victoria Aveyard

But our mercy has a cost, and it might be our lives. — Victoria Aveyard

He's hunting newbloods not to protect his throne but to hurt you. To find you. To make you come back to him." His fist clenches on his thigh. "Maven wants you more than anything else on this earth."
Would that Maven were here now, so I could rip out his horrible, haunting eyes. "Well, he can't have me." I realize the consequences of this, and so does Cal.
"Not even if it stops the killing? Not for the newbloods?"
Tears bite my eyes. "I won't go back. For anyone."
I expect his judgment, but instead he smiles and ducks his head. Ashamed of his own reaction, as I am of mine. — Victoria Aveyard

I live in a shrinking world where the only thing I can trust is Maven's obsession. Like the manacles, it is a shield and a slow, smothering death. — Victoria Aveyard

'Jurassic Park' and 'Star Wars' shoved me into loving sci-fi and film in general when I was a barely coherent 3-year-old. And 'Lord of the Rings' took me to another planet entirely. Before that series, I knew I loved writing, but after, I knew that I had to write. — Victoria Aveyard

This is how children are at first, when they can't control themselves. Their abilities present in times of stress or fear, until they learn to harness those emotions and use them to their advantage. There's a trigger, and you need to find yours. — Victoria Aveyard

The only person in my head is me.
Tibe is not the same. The crown has changed him, as you feared it would.
The fire is in him, the fire that will burn all the world.
And it is in your son, in the prince who will never change his blood and will never sit a throne.
The only person in my head is me.
The only person who has not changed is you. You are still the little girl in a dusty room, forgotten, unwanted, out of place. You are the queen of everything, mother to a beautiful son, wife to a king who loves you, and still you cannot find it in yourself to smile.
Still you make nothing.
Still you are empty.
The only person in your head is you.
And she is no one of any importance.
She is nothing — Victoria Aveyard

The lightning girl is easier to read than the pages of a children's book. — Victoria Aveyard

It's our nature. We destroy. It's the constant of our kind. No matter the color of blood, man will always fall. — Victoria Aveyard

From now until the end of your days, you must lie. Your life depends on it, little lightning girl. — Victoria Aveyard

Another round," she goads, and holds out a hand for the cards. "I bet a week of laundry."
Across from us, Cal stops his preparatory stretching to snort. "You think Mare does laundry?"
"Do you, Your Highness?" I snap back, grinning. He just pretends not to hear me. — Victoria Aveyard

If you die, I'll kill you. — Victoria Aveyard

The crown is in the heart, and the heart do not change — Victoria Aveyard

I can only watch as the officer lays my sister next to me. Her eyes are on mine as he brings the butt of his gun down, shattering the bones in her sewing hand. — Victoria Aveyard

Risk is part of the game. — Victoria Aveyard

He's already given up. I will not. — Victoria Aveyard

If only we had more time. One more week, or even one more day. — Victoria Aveyard

That's my girl." Again, — Victoria Aveyard

I've done this a thousand times before, watching the crowd like a wolf does a flock of sheep. Looking for the weak, the slow, the foolish. Only now, I am very much the prey. — Victoria Aveyard

They've spent so long at the top, protected and isolated, that they've forgotten they can fall. Their strength has become their weakness. — Victoria Aveyard

...when Cal ceased to be a prince and became an inferno. — Victoria Aveyard

I'm a visual writer, so it's fitting that my first brush with 'Red Queen' was an image. I had the idea of a teenage girl in an arena, a bit like 'Gladiator,' and she's about to be executed. But instead of being killed, she kills her executioner with lightning. — Victoria Aveyard

The best thing I can do is tell you the truth, or at least, what I think is the truth. — Victoria Aveyard

Cal's eyes flicker, out to the trees. But he's not looking at the leaves. His gaze is in the past, to something more painful. "She killed my true mother as well. And she'll kill all of us if we let her." The words come out hard and harsh, a rusty blade to saw f lesh. They taste wonderful in my mouth. "Not if I kill her first." For all his talents, Cal is not a violent person. He can kill you in a thousand different ways, lead an army, burn down a village, but he will not enjoy it. So his next words take me by surprise. "When the time comes," he says, staring at me, "we'll flip a coin. — Victoria Aveyard

Maven lies as easily as he breathes, and his mother holds his leash but not his heart. — Victoria Aveyard

What I need and what I want are two very different things. — Victoria Aveyard

you are poor, rude, immoral, unintelligent, impoverished, bitter, stubborn, and a blight upon your village and my kingdom. — Victoria Aveyard

There is no greater pain or punishment than memory. — Victoria Aveyard

One dark night I spilled my secrets to him, on a road thick with summer heat. I was the girl who tried to steal his money then. Now, winter looms, and I'm the girl who stole his life. — Victoria Aveyard

His eyes, bloodred, hold an apology I will never accept. — Victoria Aveyard

It does no good to dream. — Victoria Aveyard

Strange, my enemies know me best, and my family doesn't know me at all. — Victoria Aveyard

I'm a shadow, and no one remembers shadows. Midnight — Victoria Aveyard

An all-too-familiar ache rises in my chest as I settle onto my throne. I do my best to keep composed, quiet, and dutiful. Loyal to my blood. It's all I know. — Victoria Aveyard

I do not fear pain. — Victoria Aveyard

I stare at the polished metal, examining my reflection. The girl I see is both familiar and foreign, Mare, Mareena, the lightning girl, the Red Queen, and no one at all. She does not look afraid. She looks carved of stone, with severe features, hair braided tight to her head, and a tangle of scars on her neck. She is not seventeen, but ageless, Silver but not, Red but not, human - but not. A banner of the Scarlet Guard, a face on a wanted poster, a prince's downfall, a thief... a killer. A doll who can take any form but her own. — Victoria Aveyard

Time moves slowly when you're waiting for something good — Victoria Aveyard

Even with an army at my back, I am still alone. Maybe — Victoria Aveyard

And you're late."
"I prefer chronologically challenged. — Victoria Aveyard

I am a shadow, and no one remembers a shadow — Victoria Aveyard

They never miss an opportunity to lord over the others. Either they're very vain or very aware. To look powerful is to be powerful. — Victoria Aveyard

Like any wife, she hates her husband for challenging her. — Victoria Aveyard

I didn't have a desk to write 'Red Queen' on, so I got a nice writing desk. — Victoria Aveyard

Once, I was afraid of these walls, frightened by such beauty. But I see the cracks now. It's like the day of the bombing, when I realized Silvers were not invincible. Then it was an explosion - now a few bullets have shattered diamondglass, revealing fear and paranoia beneath. Silvers fleeing from Reds - lions running from mice. The king and queen oppose each other, the court has their own alliances, and Cal - the perfect prince, the good soldier - is a torturous, terrible enemy. Anyone can betray anyone. — Victoria Aveyard

Men are not meant to be at war for long. — Victoria Aveyard

we're thieves, we're rats. We know when to fight and when to run. — Victoria Aveyard

While we are together, I will never suffer a prison again. — Victoria Aveyard

I thought I knew Cal's heart, but now I realize that is impossible. No heart can ever be truly understood. Not even your own. — Victoria Aveyard

Instead of trying to hold on, to push myself into this force, I let go. And I fall into what I can't explain, into a sensation that is everything and nothing, light and dark, hot and cold, alive and dead. Soon the power is the only thing in my head, blotting out all my ghosts and memories. — Victoria Aveyard

Attend to your own fate. — Victoria Aveyard

Glad? You're jealous, plain and simple. You're not used to sharing. And you don't like being useless. — Victoria Aveyard

It seems princes make me blind. The — Victoria Aveyard

We all have scars and ghosts of our own. Some drove us to the Scarlet Guard, and some were because of it. I know the sting of both. — Victoria Aveyard

Don't cry in front of Mom, apologize to Farley, figure out how to save five thousand children, nanny a bunch of Silvers, put my head through a wall. Seems doable. The — Victoria Aveyard

He almost looks like the boy I imagined. A second prince, content with his place, unburdened by a crown that was never his. — Victoria Aveyard

He's only seventeen and already a monster. — Victoria Aveyard

For their lives, for their children's lives, they will give up what little freedom they had left. — Victoria Aveyard

Everything is wrong.
I am alive. — Victoria Aveyard

I definitely have the screenwriting itch. — Victoria Aveyard

I've always loved massive worlds, whether in fantasy or science fiction. I like the idea of making my own rules as well as utilizing everything that I love or inspires me. It's very freeing to know you can write a story that can be as big as your own imagination. — Victoria Aveyard

I am only human, and humans are not supposed to deal with days like today — Victoria Aveyard

There are worse things than pain, Miss Barrow, — Victoria Aveyard

She looks like hell in a
party dress, her jewelry mangled and
teeth on edge. — Victoria Aveyard

...and who looks at a shadow when then have a flame? Who would ever choose a monster over a god? — Victoria Aveyard

Shade appears behind her, solidifying out of thin air, and wraps her up in an expert military hold. — Victoria Aveyard

Now I'm in a king's cage. But so is he. My chains are Silent Stone. His is the crown. — Victoria Aveyard

I'm Barrow. Shade Barrow. And you better not get me killed. — Victoria Aveyard

I wrote a lot of 'Red Queen' wrapped in a blanket, cramped up while watching the snow come down. — Victoria Aveyard

I can only imagine how that went. Oh, hello. Your daughter is a Silver now, and she's going to marry a prince. You'll never see her again, but we'll send you some money to help out. Even trade, don't you think? — Victoria Aveyard

Even one small thing can go right in a world so wrong ~ Mare Barrow — Victoria Aveyard

You're a special kind of stupid — Victoria Aveyard

I'm a child of the Disney Renaissance, so the new classics are near and dear. I suppose this is a legend more than a fairy tale, but 'Mulan' is easily my favorite. Not only is it a fun, action-packed, beautiful movie, but it's so important for young girls to have. — Victoria Aveyard

And his eyes are worst of all. Her eyes, Elara's eyes. Once I thought them cold, made of living ice. Now I know better. The hottest fires burn blue, and his eyes are no exception. — Victoria Aveyard

I am finally learning my lesson. Anyone can betray anyone. — Victoria Aveyard

Remember the person you're supposed to be, and remember well. — Victoria Aveyard

Even through the haze of summer you can see the cleared pockets of land that were once forest, now logged into oblivion. They look like a disease, but to the north and west, the untouched hills are a calm reminder. — Victoria Aveyard

I know life all too well. But I turned from that path. I'm not a rat anymore. I'm the lightning girl, and now I have too many ideas to count. Freedom, revenge, liberty, everything that fuels the sparks within me, and the resolve that keeps me going. — Victoria Aveyard

We seem weak because we want to. — Victoria Aveyard

I'm a Silver, sir."

"No you are not, Mare Barrow, and you must never forget it. — Victoria Aveyard

We will rise up red as the dawn. — Victoria Aveyard

Their methods are your own fault. You make us work, you make us bleed, you make us die for your wars and factories and the little comforts you don't even notice, all because we are different. How can you expect us to let that stand? — Victoria Aveyard

Okay is no longer a word in my vocabulary. — Victoria Aveyard

I fear being alone more than anything else. So why do I do this? Why do I push away the people I love? What is so very wrong with me?
I don't know.
And I don't know how to make it stop. — Victoria Aveyard

My heart breaks for him; my heart hardens against him. — Victoria Aveyard

What if you're wrong? What if Norta is the beginning? The change the others need? You don't know where freedom leads. — Victoria Aveyard

He's strong, he's talented, he's powerful - and I'm his shadow. The shadow of the flame. — Victoria Aveyard

Power is a dangerous game — Victoria Aveyard

I can only nod. We've faced worse, I tell myself. — Victoria Aveyard

The war never leaves — Victoria Aveyard

The truth doesn't matter. It only matters what the people believe. — Victoria Aveyard

I start out giving characters archetypes and parameters. Once I know the basics and have a rudimentary model, it's easier to carve unique curves and edges. It's quite easy to guess how a character is going to react if you know their background, and at a certain point, you realize you understand them personally. — Victoria Aveyard

A lie will raise me up, and one day another lie will bring me down. — Victoria Aveyard

My favorite part about Mare Barrow is her almost selfish survival instinct, as well as her increasingly gray morality. Her character arc in 'Glass Sword' is a lot deeper and more emotional than before, so I'm glad I got to write this sequel and that people want to read it. — Victoria Aveyard

I'm standing on the balcony a full ten seconds before I realize it's raining, washing me clean of my boiling anger. — Victoria Aveyard

Silvers don't mind pain, but we are proud. Pride, dignity, honor; those are things no ability can replace. — Victoria Aveyard

I don't necessarily set out to teach or say anything in particular in my writing. Morals and themes come out as I'm telling the tale. — Victoria Aveyard

But I need him. And I can't find the strength to let him go. Though — Victoria Aveyard