A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty (Kingdom of Lies, #2)

by Stacia Stark

I felt no sympathy for her. Every woman eventually understood the truth of powerful men. She had more than enough winters behind her to learn such a lesson.

Nothing hardened a woman like betrayal from a man she’d trusted. And then men had the audacity to call us cold.

When it came to men and their need to display their egos in public, it was rarely about women.

“The way someone worships their gods—and the gods they choose to worship—is a personal choice for most. But a clever ruler will use religion to play on their emotions. Their desires. And their fears. They will promise either eternal happiness or the avoidance of suffering—here or in the afterlife. You will find it is surprisingly easy for someone to use a population’s fear of the unknown—and their poor education—to control them with lies.”

I kept assuming other people held the same values I did. A quiet, peaceful life. Family. Close friends. Laughter.

but his sly, self-deprecating humor meant that he fit right in with the rest of us.

But I was becoming less and less interested in whether the powerful men I was coming into contact with found me acceptable.

“Why is it that men are considered to be cunning planners, while women are usually called conniving schemers, do you think?”