Iron Widow

THE CROWNLESS KING, THE HEARTLESS QUEEN

An earthquake could shake the ground, and I wouldn’t teeter. I am the force that quakes the earth.

does she? Sometimes, my mother’s so good at pretending nothing’s wrong that it scares me into suspecting I’m the one with the head full of false memories.

“The entitled assholes of the world are sustained by girls who forgive too easily.

You cannot appease someone into loving or respecting you

“Some people have learned the unfortunate lesson that causing pain to others alleviates their own. But maybe they truly haven’t been taught anything else. Maybe they can change, if given the opportunity. A little compassion goes a long way.”

How do you take the fight out of half the population and render them willing slaves? You tell them they’re meant to do nothing but serve from the minute they’re born. You tell them they’re weak. You tell them they’re prey.

You tell them over and over, until it’s the only truth they’re capable of living.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned so far, it’s that brute strength means nothing on its own. It just makes everyone else want to strike you down

I swear, people cannot make up their minds about who are supposed to be the clueless infants who can’t live without supervision: men or women.

“So, no.” Li Shimin’s voice cracks with pained amusement. “I would never rape anyone. That is something done by cowards of the highest degree. And I am not one of them.”