“What kind of man refers to himself as safely dead?”

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

“I inherited this country when I was only a child, Nahuseresh. I have held it. I have fought down rebellious barons. I've fought Sounis to keep the land on this side of the mountains. I have killed men and watched them hang. I've seen them tortured to keep this country safe and mine. How did you think I did this if I was a fool with cow eyes for any handsome man with gold in his purse?”

“He lies to himself. If Eugenides talked in his sleep, he'd lie then, too.”

“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.”

“If I couldn't be Eddis, I would be Attolia. If they needed to see my uncle in me, then I would show him to them. And I would take Attolia's advice because if I identified my enemy and destroyed him, Sounis would be safe.”

“Then come out," said the king, helping him, "knowing you'll never die of a fall unless the god himself drops you.”