“The queen!" someone shouted in alarm, and the King erupted like a wild animal caught in a snare.”

“Sex was a trap, a snare. It was for animals.”

“It's like chess, you know. The Queen saves the King.”

“Magnus began to be truly alarmed. Will's voice would have shaken, betraying that his cruelty had been part of his playacting, but his son's laugh was that of someone genuinely delighted by the chaos erupting all around him”

“And Max, the king of all wild things, was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all.”

“I want to be spontaneous like a wild animal”

“… her queen danced like a flame in the wind, and the mercurial king like the weight at the center of the earth…”

“They done
Wrong
Like ink from a busted pen
Thrown away 'cause of someone else
Used up
But he come back
Dressed in night
Fine as a king
With his queen
The wrong
Made right
So right.”

“In the afternoon, the king and queen sat to hear the business of their kingdom. At least, the queen sat to hear the business; Costis was still not sure what the king was doing.”

“The wife of a king is well known as the queen. But the queen's husband is mostly scorned to the title of prince.”