Costis, I am speechless!" "Not noticeably, Your Majesty.

I've never been noticeably reticent about talking on subjects about which I know nothing.

— Prince Philip

She's like a prisoner inside stone walls, and every day the walls get a little thicker, the doorways a little narrower." "And?" Eddis prompted.…

— Megan Whalen Turner

Would you have your hand back, Eugenides? And lose Attolia? And see Attolia lost to the Mede?' Eugenides's eyes were open. In front of…

— Megan Whalen Turner

He didn't marry you to become king. He became king because he wanted to marry you.

— Megan Whalen Turner

The pain was as unexpected as a thunderclap in a clear sky. Eddis's chest tightened, as something closed around her heart. A deep breath…

— Megan Whalen Turner

Please," he whispered. His voice was low but clear. "Don't hurt me anymore." Attolia recoiled. Once, as a child, she'd thrown her slipper in…

— Megan Whalen Turner

“Treachery," said the Mede. "Diplomacy," said Attolia, "in my own name.”

— Megan Whalen Turner

Are you badly hurt?" "Hideously," said the king, without sounding injured at all. "I am disemboweled. My insides may in an instant become my…

— Megan Whalen Turner

Irene-" "Don't call me that." "You were the princess Irene the first time we met." "It means 'peace'," Attolia said. "What name could be…

— Megan Whalen Turner

Relius looked away. "He said that you...cried," he said softly. "But not that he cried as well," said the queen, amused at the memory.…

— Megan Whalen Turner

From shadow queen to puppet queen in one rule. That's very impressive. When he rules your country and he tells you he loves you,…

— Megan Whalen Turner

“Lilies, I rule, heads, you do," he [the King] said, and threw the coin into the air. "Lilies, you rule, heads, you throw again,"…

— Megan Whalen Turner

He could tell her he loved her. He ached to shout it out loud for the gods and everyone to hear. Little good it…

— Megan Whalen Turner

The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a…

— Megan Whalen Turner

“He looked at her and tilted his head very slightly in wonder. He had forgotten, as he always forgot, how beautiful she was. Her…

— Megan Whalen Turner