Thank you Lisa for hosting this great meme!

Welcome to Thursday Quotable! This feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week.  Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotable is where my favorite lines will be, and you’re invited to join in!

They were survivors, like me. This world had more life in it than I’d originally thought, and there was even a beauty to it that I found I could love … if I could forget why I was here in the first place.

Soren growled low in his throat. “What exactly is a monster to you, Janneke? You hunt down a doe, and she believes you’re a monster with her dying breath. A dog kills a rabbit and a mountain lion kills the dog. Which is the monster there?” He jerked his head to where Rekke rode. “Is she a monster because she’s on the Hunt, or is Elvira, because she’s trying to kill her? Or are the monsters the ones who tried to slay you for attempting to save their lives? What exactly is a monster?” A shadow of doubt flickered across my face, but I said nothing, instead looking away from him. “My point is we’re all monsters to someone or something by some definition. It’s the context of the situation that matters.” His eyes rested on mine as the gnawing feeling from before grew in the pit of my stomach. There was a beat of silence before he continued. “You know I’m right. I can see your jaw clenching. You always do that when you don’t want to admit you’re wrong.” I breathed out hard and slowly unclenched my jaw. “Do not.”

My father’s blood drenched my hands as a million pairs of eyes judged me, the daughter who chose the future over her past. But the shame that washed over me was nothing compared to the rage burning me up. We are all monsters even if we choose not to believe it. And the worst type were those who didn’t understand that. I was not a blood traitor for surviving and thriving. I was not damaged or broken or twisted beyond repair. No dead, mocking voices could tell me otherwise.

I breathed in his scent of woodsmoke and pine needles. “You know,” I murmured, letting the scent overwhelm me, “you were wrong.” “What could I possibly be wrong about?” I didn’t see the smile, but I knew it was there, just like I knew there’d be a twinkling light in his eyes. “You’re not a heartless monster,” I said. “You’re a monster with a heart.” He laughed.

I’d love to see some of your favorite quotes!