I didn't think about being king,” he said, his voice hoarse.
Eddis stared. “Your capacity to land yourself in a mess because you didn't think first, Eugenides, will never cease to amaze me. What do you mean you didn't think about being king? Is Attolia going to marry you and move into my library?

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.

Ambiades, I realized, was the kind
of person who liked to put people in a hierarchy, and he wanted me to
understand that I was at the bottom of his. He was supposed to treat me
politely in spite of my subservient position, and I was supposed to be
grateful.

For my part, I wanted Ambiades to understand that I considered
myself a hierarchy of one. I might bow to the superior force of the
magus and Pol, but I wasn't going to bow to him. Neither of us moved.

I love stupid plans.

Were you lying?"
"I never lie," he said piously. "About what?"
"The sand, the snake."
For a young man who never lied, he seemed surprisingly unoffended by the question.

I know that if you don't look for an alternative, Sophos, you certainly won't find one.