Megan Whalen Turner > Quotes

“Are you badly hurt?"
"Hideously," said the king, without sounding injured at all. "I am disemboweled. My insides may in an instant become my outsides as I stand here before you.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“No 'Glory shall be your reward' for me. Oh, no, for me, it is, 'Stop whining' and 'Go to bed.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“I'm dying of boredom. Or maybe just dying.”
― 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 would do. Better to trust in the moon's promises than in the word of the Thief of Eddis. He was famous in three countries for his lies.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“I'll be your minister--"
"Of the exchequer? You'd rob me blind."
"I would never steal from you," he'd said hotly.
"Oh? Where is my tourmaline necklace? Where are my missing earrings?"
"That necklace was hideous. It was the only way to keep you from wearing it."
"My earrings?"
"What earrings?”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“This is the stupidest plan I have ever in my career participated in,' Xenophon said.
I love stupid plans,' said Eugenides.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“Why did you come if not to murder my king?"
"I came to steal his magus."
"You can't," said the magus in question.
"I can steal anything," Eugenides corrected him, "even with one hand.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“All I wanted to do was lie in the dry grass with my feet in a ditch forever. I could be a convenient sort of milemarker, I thought. Get to the thief and you know you're halfway to Methana.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Thief

“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.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead in the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“I am not sure I trust you."
"You can trust me with your life, My King."
"But not with my wine, obviously. Give it back.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“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. "We were very lachrymose... Would you like to hear more romance of the evening? He told me the Guard should be reduced by half, and I threw an ink jar at his head."
"Is that when he cried?"
"He ducked," said Attolia dryly...
"I had not pictured you for a fishwife."
"Lo, the transforming power of love.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“Your Majesty, please get down. My friend Aris is really a very good man, and if you fall off that wall he's going to hang for it, and so will his squad, most of whom are also nice men, and though I can't say I really care if your attendants hang, there are probably many people that do care, and would you please, please get down?"

The king looked at him, eyes narrowed. "I don't think I've ever heard you say that many words in a row. You sounded almost articulate.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“That is ridiculous," she said.
The king agreed. "Like falling in love with a landslide. Only you could fail to notice.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“Will there be poppy juice in it?'
Phresine shook her head.
'Good. My wife and I agreed that only my wine was to be poisoned.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“Sometimes, if you want to change a man's mind, you have to change the mind of the man next to him first.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“He lies to himself. If Eugenides talked in his sleep, he'd lie then, too.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“I knew I would be in the story somewhere," Eugenides interjected.
"Oh no," said Phresine, "This was a humble servant."
"Ouch."
"Though very courageous."
"Not me," whispered Eugenides to his pillow.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“Sophos turned red, and I wondered about the circulation of his blood; maybe his body kept an extra supply of it in his head, ready for blushing.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Thief

“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.
Well," said Eugenides, "it's a challenge.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“You'll have to pardon me," the magus said. "But with your country at war I can't see how any of it really matters."
Standing up, Eugenides pulled the papers from the magus's hands. "It matters, because I can't do anything, anymore, for this country, and it matters," he yelled as he threw the papers back to his desk, "because I only have one hand and it isn't even the right one!" Turning, he picked an inkpot off the desk and threw it to shatter on the door of his wardrobe, spraying black ink across the pale wood and onto the wall. Black drops like rain stained the sheets of his bed.

...Eddis sighed. "Will you sit down and stop shouting?" she asked.
"I'll stop shouting. I won't sit down. I might need to throw more inkpots.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“You're awake," he said.
"Phresine is not," pointed out the queen.
"Oh?"
"You gave her lethium."
"She gave it to me first.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“There are a lot of things a person with two hands couldn't steal," Eddis said.
"So?"
"If it's impossible to steal them with two hands, it's no more impossible to steal them with one. Steal peace, Eugenides. Steal me some time.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“From shadow queen to puppet queen in one rule," he whispered. "That's very impressive. When he rules your country and he tells you he loves you, I hope you believe him."
He anticipated her blow and leaned back. Her hand only brushed his cheek in an entirely unsatisfying manner. "At least that's one lie I didn't tell you.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“... I wanted Ambiades to understand that I considered myself a hierarchy of one.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Thief

“Who am I, that you should love me?

You are My Queen' said Eugenides. She sat perfectly still, looking at him without moving as his words dropped like water into dry earth.

Do you believe me?' he asked.

Yes,' she answered.

Do you love me?'

Yes.'

I love you.'

And she believed him.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“Calf love doesn't usually survive amputation, Your Majesty.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“I was listening," the king said, aggrieved. "I closed my eyes to listen better."
"What did you hear?"
"I'm not sure," he said." That's why I was listening so closely. I may have to ask the baron to repeat some parts of his report on his grain tax."
"I am sure you can arrange an appointment."
"I am sure I can too.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“...'You learn something new everyday.'
'What are you learning?' Sophos asked.
'To keep my mouth shut, I hope.”
― Megan Whalen Turner

“What kind of man refers to himself as safely dead?”
― Megan Whalen Turner

“Oh, that," said the king with a shrug. "That isn't your honor, Costis. That's the public perception of your honor. It has nothing to do with anything important, except perhaps for manipulating fools who mistake honor for its bright, shiny trappings. You can always change the perceptions of fools.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT!”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“It isn't deep," The Eddisian Ambassador said from the other side of the bed. He was leaning over the wound, looking critical and mildly disappointed. Eugenides didn't miss a beat.
It is...too...deep!" he insisted, outraged.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“All my life they had made choices for me, and I had resented it. Now the choice was mine, and once it was made, I would have no right to blame anyone else for the consequences. Loss of that privilege, to blame others, unexpectedly stung.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, A Conspiracy of Kings

“Dying would have been so much easier.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Thief

“...her queen danced like a flame in the wind, and the mercurial king like the weight at the center of the earth...”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“I didn't really care much about anything, so I guess I felt fine.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Thief

“One of us might be assassinated and then my heir will be king. Don't give up hope just because chances are slim."
"For the assassination or the heir, your majesty?”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“Then come out," said the king, helping him, "knowing you'll never die of a fall unless the god himself drops you.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“I think a good book is a good book forever.
I don't think they get less good because times change.”
― Megan Whalen Turner

“I love stupid plans.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“If you are feeling more yourself, there is a problem best addressed immediately," said the queen.

"In my nightshirt?" The king wriggled, as ever, out of straightforward obedience.

"Your attendants. I have spoken to them. You will speak to them as well."

"Ah. They have seen me in my nightshirt." He looked down at his sleeve, embroidered with white flowers. "Not in your nightshirt, though.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“I hate horses. I know people who think that they are noble, graceful animals, but regardless of what a horse looks like from a distance, never forget that it's as likely to step on your foot as look at you.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Thief

“My beautiful queen. Your entire court is staring at you, and I can't blame them."
They were, too. The queen turned to look. Her glance swept through the crowd like a reaping sickle through grain. Mouths slammed shut on every side. There was a scuffling sound as the people in the back shifted, trying to screen themselves from view. The queen looked back at the king, who was broadly smiling.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“He looked at her and tilted his head very slightly in wonder. He had forgotten, as he always forgot, how beautiful she was. Her hair was held away from her face by the ruby and gold headband that crossed her dark brows. Her skin was flawless and so fair as to be translucent. She dressed as always in an imitation of Hephestia, but it was far easier to imagine the impersonal cruelty of the Great Goddess than to see cruelty in the face in the Queen of Attolia. Looking at her, Eugenides smiled.
Attolia saw his smile, without any hint of self-effacement or flattery or opportunism, a smile wholly unlike that of any member of her court, and she hit him across the face with her hand. His head rocked on his shoulders. He made no sound but sank to his knees...”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia

“The king relented. "Safety is an illusion, Costis. A Thief might fall at any time, and eventually the day must come when the god will let him. Whether I am on a rafter three stories up or on a staircase three steps up, I am in my god's hands. He will keep me
safe, or he will not, here or on the stairs.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“A thief never makes a noise by accident.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Thief

“How do you know that, Philo, dear?"

But Philologos had had enough of being condescended to. "Because, Lamion, I am not as dumb as you think I am, even if you are."

By the time Lamion had parsed this to make sure that there was in fact an insult at the end of it, Hilarion had laid a restraining hand on his arm.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The King of Attolia

“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.”
― Megan Whalen Turner, The Thief

“Sounis had been thinking of Ambiades. "He would have been a better man under different circumstances."

Gen looked at him. "True enough," he said. "But does a good man let his circumstances determine his character?”
― Megan Whalen Turner, A Conspiracy of Kings