Chapter Quotes (Crown of Feathers)

There are 43 chapters in Crown of Feathers, the book, plus an epilogue. Each has a chapter quote from Avalkyra's perspective.

Chapter 1: *I had a sister once. If I had known then what I know now, I might have chosen not to love her. But is love truly ever a choice?*

Chapter 2: *I am a daughter of death. I killed by mother when I was pulled from her womb, like a phoenix from a pyre.*

Chapter 3: *In Pyra, death was celebrated as much as life. Only through endings could there be beginnings. That is the lesson of the phoenix and the lesson of my life as well.*

Chapter 4: *The death of our father marked the end of a dynasty a thousand years in the making. But it was not the end of us.*

Chapter 5: *We clung to each other in our grief. Her suffering was my suffering. Her pain was my pain.*

Chapter 6: *I promised her the throne would not come between us. Nothing would. How I long for the foolishness of youth.*

Chapter 7: *There was rot inside the empire, taking root in secret, unchecked places. I knew I could not unplant the seeds, but I could raze the crop to the ground.*

Chapter 8: *It was the death of her mother that ended us. Let me be more specific. It was the death of that regicide-committing, whorehouse-dwelling usurper queen regent that ended us.* (please excuse the language)

Chapter 9: *That was the day her loss became my victory, and everything changed between us.*

Chapter 10: *She had changed, but I had changed too. Bloody vengeance and righteous murder will do that to a person.*

Chapter 11: *She called it betrayal. I called it justice. A poisoned cup for a poisoned cup, a death for a death. A queen for a king.*

Chapter 12: *She knew my darkness better than anyone, and always, she had forgiven me. Always, she had seen the good in me. Until the day she didn't.*

Chapter 13: *The winner in any contest is the person who's willing to go the furthest, to do whatever it takes to succeed. That person is me.*

Chapter 14: *They called me the Feather-Crowned Queen, my brow decorated with phoenix quills, my right to rule written across the stars in fire. They called my sister the council's queen, for she was nothing more than their puppet.*

Chapter 15: *I wonder what they would call me now if they knew that I was the one who killed her.*

Chapter 16: *An arrow through the heart, and my world went up in flames.*

Chapter 17: *But fire forges weapons. Obsidian, steel... even phoenixes. All are tempered, fortified, and made stronger after passing through the flames. The same can be true of people.*

Chapter 18: *Long have the Ashfires bled - and burned - for our right to rule.*

Chapter 19: *Sometimes the title of queen is given; sometimes it must be taken. And sometimes the honor becomes so drenched in blood and betrayal that it slippery to the touch, but we reach for in nonetheless, poison on our fingers and vengeance in our hearts.*

Chapter 20: *It is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled. Win or lose.*

Chapter 21: *But victory does not come without consequences.*

Chapter 22: *I was banished, chased from the very empire my foremothers had built. Was I to give up then and fade into obscurity? Was I to fall onto my knees and beg?*

Chapter 23: *Surely my dear sweet Onia knew I'd never bow my head.*

Chapter 24: *We were Shadow Twins, half sisters, but we couldn't have been more different.*

Chapter 25: *We were night and day, moon and sun - darkness and light. We were nothing without each other.*

Chapter 26: *Together we would have been unstoppable.*

Chapter 27: *But apart we were lesser, weaker versions of ourselves. How they rejoiced to see us torn asunder.*

Chapter 28: *There is strength in unity, it is true. The bond of blood, the bond of magic. And love, the most powerful bond of all.*

Chapter 29: *But one must be cautious who they bond themselves to. Once fastened, those ties do not easily come undone.*

Chapter 30: *Like an anchor, love will hold fast in a storm, but it can also pull you under.*

Chapter 31: *I had known from the outset that we were doomed, that loving her would be the greatest mistake of my life. And I loved her still.*

Chapter 32: *I cared not for the romantic love of men and women. All I wanted was the throne that was my birthright and to have Pheronia by my side. She would have been my heir and her children after her.*

Chapter 33: *I would have given her everything. Everything.*

Chapter 34: *But I never had the chance. I made my decision; I chose my path, and there was no going back.*

Chapter 35: *The throne was mine, and I would seize it with both hands.*

Chapter 36: *Pheronia was not fit to rule, and the council manipulated her every move. I had to step in.*

Chapter 37: *Sometimes to protect those you love, you have to hurt them.*

Chapter 38: *Sometimes to achieve what you know is right, you must do what others say is wrong.*

Chapter 39: *War is costly. Even in victory, there is a price.*

Chapter 40: *I thought I lost my sister when a stray arrow pierced her chest, but I'd lost her long before then.*

Chapter 41:*There was so much blood. . . . My arrow, why did it have to be my arrow? The agony of regret, the sorrow of loneliness; I let the pain of it consume me.*

Chapter 42: *My heart ripped open, my soul bled, and my very being caught fire.*

Chapter 43: *I was frightened at first, but I knew I must not fear the flames. I am the flames.*

Chapter 44:  *I am daughter of death. . . . From the ashes I rose, like a phoenix from the pyre.*

Epilogue: *I had a sister once. . . .*