If I couldn't be Eddis, I would be Attolia. If they needed to see my uncle in me, then I would show him to them. And I would take Attolia's advice because if I identified my enemy and destroyed him, Sounis would be safe.

Sometimes, if you want to change a man's mind, you have to change the mind of the man next to him first.

We are not philosophers, we are sovereigns. The rules that govern our behavior are not the rules for other men, and our honor, I think, is a different thing entirely, difficult for anyone but the historians and the gods to judge.

That prison," I said with heartfelt sincerity, "Was absolutely the most awful thing that has happened to me in my entire life." I could tell by the way he looked at me that he thought my life had been filled with one awful thing after another.

Being six feet off the ground does give one a sense of superiority.

The queen!" someone shouted in alarm, and the King erupted like a wild animal caught in a snare.

If I am the pawn of the gods, it is because they know me so well, not because they make my mind up for me.