The Wicked King

Once upon a time, there was a human girl stolen away by faeries, and because of that, she swore to destroy them.

Once upon a time, there was a human girl stolen away by faeries, and because of that, she swore to destroy them.

"So," I said. "You enjoy being my pawn?"
He grinned lazily..."For now."

“I’ve wanted this and feared it, and now that it’s happening, I don’t know how I will ever want anything else.”

It seems hopeless to fight something so vast. It seems ridiculous to believe we can win.

What has changed? Is he different because I have forced him to be?...Or is he no different at all and I am only seeing what I want to see?

"It seems I have a singular taste for women who threaten me."

Kiss me until I am sick of it.

Mortal girls do not become queens of Faerieland.

Power is so much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to.

Power is so much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to.

"For a moment," he says, "I wondered if it wasn't you shooting bolts at me."
I make a face at him. "And what made you decide it wasn't?"
He grins up at me. "They missed."

“Because, for a moment, when I was at my worst, I felt powerful, and most of the time, I felt powerless.”

“Because, for a moment, when I was at my worst, I felt powerful, and most of the time, I felt powerless.”

“A king is a living symbol, a beating heart, a star upon which Elfhame’s future is written.”

“The disturbing thing about Cardan is how well he plays the fool to disguise his own cleverness.”

“He is ridiculously beautiful as ever, mouth soft, lips slightly parted. Lashes so long that when his eyes are closed they rest against his cheek.”

“I hate you so much that sometimes I can't think of anything else.”

“I hate you,” I say, the words coming out like a caress. I say it again, over and over. A litany. An enchantment. A ward against what I really feel.

“I hate you,” I say, the words coming out like a caress. I say it again, over and over. A litany. An enchantment. A ward against what I really feel.

“Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to.”

“Things are always super dramatic around here,” Vivi tells Heather. “Epic. Everyone acts as though they just stepped out of a murder ballad.”

“Once upon a time, there was a human girl stolen away by faeries, and because of that, she swore to destroy them.”

“You’re unwinding yourself like a spool. What happens when there’s no more thread?”
“Then I spin more.”

“Have you never heard that virtue is its own reward?” Cardan says pleasantly. “That’s because there’s no other reward in it.”

“The three of you have one solution to every problem. Murder. No key fits every lock.” Cardan gives us all a stern look, holding up a long-fingered hand with my stolen ruby ring still on one finger. “Someone tries to betray the High King, murder. Someone gives you a harsh look, murder. Someone disrespects you, murder. Someone ruins your laundry, murder.”

“If you’re the sickness, I suppose you can’t also be the cure.”

“I have heard that for mortals, the feeling of falling in love is very like the feeling of fear. Your heart beats fast. Your senses are heightened. You grow light-headed, maybe even dizzy.”

“Kiss me again,” he says, drunk and foolish. “Kiss me until I am sick of it.”

“For a moment,” he says, “I wondered if it wasn’t you shooting bolts at me.”
I make a face at him. “And what made you decide it wasn’t?”
He grins up at me. “They missed.”

“Like the ant in the fable who labors in the dirt while the grasshopper sings the summer away.”
“And has nothing left for winter,” I say.
“I need for nothing,” he says, shaking his head, mock-mournful. “I am the Corn King, after all, to be sacrificed so little Oak can take my place in the spring.”

“I’m still your father.”
“You’re my father’s murderer,” I blurt out.
“I can be both,” Madoc says, smiling, showing those teeth.

“Your ridiculous family might be surprised to find that not everything is solved by murder,” Locke calls after me.
“We would be surprised to find that,” I call back.

“Revenge is sweet, but ice cream is sweeter.”

#1 The Cruel Prince ★★★★★
#2 The Wicked King ★★★★★
#3 The Queen of Nothing ???

After the shocking turn of events that finished off The Cruel Prince, Jude is fighting with everything she’s got to keep the kingdom of Elfhame from falling to pieces under its new rulers. Unfortunately for Jude, not only is a war brewing in the Undersea, but the court is full of traitors—and a few of them might be in her own home.

#1 The Cruel Prince ★★★★★
#2 The Wicked King ★★★★★
#3 The Queen of Nothing ???

After the shocking turn of events that finished off The Cruel Prince, Jude is fighting with everything she’s got to keep the kingdom of Elfhame from falling to pieces under its new rulers. Unfortunately for Jude, not only is a war brewing in the Undersea, but the court is full of traitors—and a few of them might be in her own home.

I’ve wanted this and feared it, and now that it’s happening, I don’t know how I will ever want anything else.

My body has acclimated, and now it craves what it should revile.

“The last room Cardan occupied caught fire. Let me rephrase. It caught fire because he lit it on fire.”

Angry was better than being scared. Better than remembering she was a mortal among monsters.

That I like him better than I’ve ever liked anyone and that of all the things he’s ever done to me, making me like him so much is by far the worst.

"Your ridiculous family might be surprised to find that not everything is solved by murder," Locke calls after me.

"We would be surprised to find that," I call back.

"Watching my back is the perfect opportunity to stick a knife in it."

"For a moment," he says, "I wondered if it wasn't you shooting bolts at me."
I make a face at him. "And what made you decide it wasn't?"
He grins up at me. "They missed."

"If you're the sickness, I suppose you can't also be the cure."

"We show her that I am no feckless High King."
"And how do we do that?" I ask.
"With great difficulty," he says.
"Since I fear she is right."