❝If it makes you feel better, you can kick me again.❞
❝Don't tempt me, Lantsov.❞
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
RIDING IN THE coach left me restless from the slow pace and eager to get to the Little Palace. Still, it gave Nikolai a chance to help prepare me for our arrival in Os Alta. He had a considerable stake in my success as the leader of the Second Army, and he always seemed to have some new bit of wisdom he wanted to impart. Some of it I already knew
The less you say, the more weight your words will carry.
Don't argue. Never deign to deny. Meet insults with laughter. (I already knew this one.)
"You didn't laugh at the Fjerdan captain," I observed.
"That wasn't an insult. It was a challenge," he said. "Know the difference."
Weakness is a guise. Wear it when they need to know you're human, but never when you feel it.
Don't wish for bricks when you can build from stone. Use whatever or whoever is in front of you.
Being a leader means someone is always watching you.
Get them to follow the little orders, and they'll follow the big ones.
It's okay to flout expectations, but never disappoint them.
"That's a lot," I murmured.
"You don't think too much about it, you just do it."
"Easy for you to say. You've been groomed for this since the day you were born."
"I was groomed for lawn tennis and champagne parties," Nikolai said. "The rest came with practice."
