#attolia

A late night and an expected guest. An illustration based on The King of Attolia, depicting a stolen moment between Eugenides and Irene.

"Please," he whispered. His voice was low but clear. "Don't hurt me anymore." Attolia recoiled. Once, as a child, she'd thrown her slipper in a rage and had knocked an amphora of oil from its pedestal. The amphora had been a favorite of hers. It had smashed, and the scent of the hair oil inside had lingered for days. She remembered the scent still, though she didn't know what in the stinking cell had brought it to mind.

attolia, early in her reign

"She is brilliant and beautiful and terrifying. It’s a fine way to feel about your queen, not your wife."

And of course we know Gen really did want to marry her and really does love her, but I don't think Aris is completely wrong either. He does find her brilliant and beautiful and terrifying. You don't wake up screaming from nightmares about what she's said and done to you if you aren't still a little scared of her.

But the difference for Gen is that he doesn't just see those as qualities of a queen, he sees them as qualities of Irene. The person. Gen is consistently one of the only people to who sees how very human she is. We see this after the assassin attack, when she faints and he says her name. That's the first time Costis thinks of her in any way other than Attolia. We see it in his influence in the pardoning of Relius and Teleus. He knows she needs these people, these friends, even when commonsense might say it would be safer to execute them.