The King of Attolia (The Queen's Thief, #3)

by Megan Whalen Turner

It wasn’t what the king saw that was important, it was what he couldn’t see when he sat at the window with his face turned toward Eddis.

After one moment of gripped immobility, the queen bent to kiss the king lightly on one closed eyelid, then on the other. She said, “I love your eyes.” She kissed him on either cheek, near the small lobe of his ear. “I love your ears, and I love”—she paused as she kissed him gently on the lips—“every single one of your ridiculous lies.”

“He didn’t marry you to become king. He became king because he wanted to marry you.”

“No man can choose to serve only himself when he has something to offer to his state. No one can put his own wishes above the needs of so many.”

If we truly trust no one, we cannot survive.”

“The Basileus was a prince of his people, what we call a king now,” Teleus explained. “That one”—he nodded toward the closed door—“will rule more than just Attolia before he is done. He is an Annux, a king of kings.”