LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City / Episode 2: We Hardly Knew Ye

Summary

Podcast Summary: LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City / Episode 2: We Hardly Knew Ye

Introduction

In the second episode of LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City, hosts Natalie Jean and Jackie Zebrowski delve deeper into Sarah J. Maas's popular adult science fiction novel series, Crescent City. Released on October 30, 2024, this episode titled "We Hardly Knew Ye" offers an engaging exploration of the intricate plot and complex characters introduced in the book's early chapters.

Overview of Discussed Chapters

The hosts primarily focus on the events unfolding in chapters six and seven, where the protagonist, Bryce Quinlan, experiences significant turmoil following the tragic loss of her close friends. Natalie and Jackie navigate through the narrative, discussing key plot developments, character motivations, and their personal reactions to the unfolding drama.

Key Plot Points and Character Analysis

1. Bryce Quinlan's Night Out and Tragedy

   • Bryce's Partying: Natalie and Jackie recount Bryce's decision to attend a night out despite her anticipated date with Connor. They highlight Bryce's yearning for fun and escapism amidst her inner turmoil.
     • Natalie Jean ([16:08]): “Life was good. Life was fucking good. And she couldn't goddamn wait to make the drop with Danika and do this until the earth crumbled into dust.”
   • Tragic Events: The episode covers the devastating turn of events where Bryce returns home to find her apartment destroyed and her friends brutally murdered by an unknown creature.
     • Jackie Zebrowski ([25:33]): “Fighting against the dulling from the drugs, she begins to run towards the street to find out what did this to her friends.”

2. Introduction of New Characters

   • Isaiah Tiberian: A detective-like character who interacts with Bryce following the tragedy. Natalie and Jackie discuss his role and his observations about Bryce's condition.
     • Natalie Jean ([35:22]): “God, can you imagine sitting there and being endlessly questioned while all of your friends had just been murdered?”
   • Hunt Athelore: An archangel with a formidable presence, introduced as part of the angelic defense team. The hosts explore his intimidating demeanor and his complex relationship with other characters.
     • Jackie Zebrowski ([37:04]): “So Hunt is wearing this batsuit with no nipples and he's apparently famous for this skull-faced helmet, which is a lot.”

3. Sabine’s Anguish and Blame

   • Sabine: Bryce’s mother, Sabine, is portrayed as being furious and unjustly blaming Bryce for the tragedy. The hosts analyze Sabine's reaction and its impact on Bryce.
     • Jackie Zebrowski ([52:14]): “She demands to know everything that's gone down. And as a powerful head of the Wolf Clan, she technically has the right to know.”
     • Natalie Jean ([56:19]): “Always staring at your phone. Learn a lesson from Crescent City.”

4. Rune Dannan’s Entrance

   • Rune Dannan: The Crown Prince of the Valbarian Fae, Rune makes a dramatic entrance demanding Bryce’s whereabouts. The tension between Rune and Hunt is palpable, adding layers to the protagonist's challenges.
     • Jackie Zebrowski ([61:54]): “Rune is cousins with Bryce. There is immediately tension between Rune and Hunt.”

5. Crescent City's Lore and World-Building

   • The episode delves into the rich lore of Crescent City, discussing the hierarchical structure of angels, the Asteri Godheads, and the history of the angel rebellion. Natalie and Jackie provide insightful annotations that enhance the listener's understanding of the complex world Maas has crafted.
     • Jackie Zebrowski ([47:14]): “During the angel rebellion, a bunch of the angels and the archangel Shahar decided they were done with the Asteri because they are servants, and they tried to overthrow everything.”

Notable Quotes and Reactions

Throughout the episode, Natalie and Jackie intersperse their discussion with personal reactions and memorable quotes, adding a dynamic and relatable layer to the analysis.

• Jackie Zebrowski ([31:06]): “So we're playing the ball busters. And if we're. If you're watching the cosplay happen.”
• Natalie Jean ([37:23]): “Maybe it'll have anything to do with anything. Not only. Probably not, guys.”

Their candid conversations reveal their enthusiasm, shock, and emotional responses to the intense developments in the book, making the summary both informative and entertaining.

Themes Explored

1. Grief and Loss: The profound impact of loss on Bryce's character is a central theme. The hosts discuss how grief drives Bryce's actions and her strained relationships with those around her.
2. Power and Authority: The dynamics of power between the Asteri, angels, and other supernatural beings are examined, highlighting the complexities of Crescent City's societal structure.
3. Friendship and Betrayal: The betrayal Bryce feels from her mother and the investigation into her friends' deaths underscore the fragile nature of trust and loyalty in high-stakes environments.

Conclusion

In "We Hardly Knew Ye," Natalie Jean and Jackie Zebrowski provide a comprehensive and engaging breakdown of Crescent City, capturing the essence of Bryce Quinlan's harrowing journey through loss and survival. Their detailed discussion, enriched with insightful quotes and personal reflections, offers listeners a deeper appreciation of Sarah J. Maas's intricate storytelling and vivid world-building.

Looking Ahead

The hosts tease upcoming episodes where they will continue to explore Bryce's quest for answers, her interactions with new allies and antagonists, and the evolving mysteries within Crescent City. Listeners can subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to stay updated and enjoy ad-free episodes.

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Note: This summary intentionally omits advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections to focus solely on the substantive discussion of the podcast episode.

Transcript

[Natalie Jean]

Welcome to Crescent City with your hosts, Natalie Jean and Jackie Zabrowski.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thinks this wig dances upon the edge of a Karen wig.

[Natalie Jean]

It does, but I think that you work it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's such a fine line, Honestly.

[Natalie Jean]

I hate to say it. If you were ugly, it would look bad, but you are very pretty. And it makes like. It makes it, like a sexy. It makes it a sexy Karen.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's the sides. It's really the sides. This wig needs the sides to be shorter because I think it's, like a little bit more faux hockey if it's shorter in the back and not poofy.

[Natalie Jean]

Gotcha.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't know.

[Natalie Jean]

That's my.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's my feelings.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. I feel like it needs, like, it. It needs, like, a curling iron at it or a flat iron.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't think you could. Because it's made of very flammable synthetic.

[Natalie Jean]

You don't want it to set on fire while it's on your scalp.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, it look pretty cool for a second.

[Natalie Jean]

Natalie, it's worth it for the hairstyle.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I could be Leheba.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my God. Oh.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Worth it to my skull.

[Natalie Jean]

Worth it. You should have seen, man. I did try to get a lehaba skirt, and it. I was like, oh, it'll be great. It'll look like I'm on fire. And, man, sometimes you see these things on Etsy and you're like, this is gonna be it. I'm gonna look like I'm on fire. And it's like, no, it just looked like I was wrapped in crepe paper.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, did you get it?

[Natalie Jean]

I did, and I was like, yeah, I sent it back. I'm sending it back.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I. I have some thoughts about how I'm gonna do Le Hiba. We'll see how it works.

[Natalie Jean]

We'll see. But today, man, we are too busy having day. Sorry. You thought it was a regular day of the week, but it's not. It's your day. Bring your bitches.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We're playing the ball busters. And if we're. If you're watching the cosplay happen. But that's not.

[Natalie Jean]

That's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't know if it's appropriate for this episode.

[Natalie Jean]

Technically, it's not appropriate, but isn't it more fun being a little inappropriate, especially during tragedy? Yeah, not. Well, I mean, I know we're gonna get there, and yes, we are Jesiba and Sabine right now. And I will lay it out there for everybody in case you are looking at it going, I wonder who they are. Because if you remember you know, I feel like it's so weird to be Sabine but not dressed as a wolf in any way.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

True.

[Natalie Jean]

Because the wolf lives within me. In the same way that Jesiba is such a bad ass. But you do have a bit of a Karen wig.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I do. It's also because it's not a very good wig. But I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a wig. I knew I was not probably going to wear that often.

[Natalie Jean]

Completely understandable. Like, that's the thing. If you're buying a Bryce Quinlan wig, you invest.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Invest.

[Natalie Jean]

You got to make sure you look good. But you know, in this wig, I mean, I could be Manon. I could be. I could. I could. So many things.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

But yeah, we're just having a bit of a bitcher day today and. Which is upsetting if you know what's about to happen in this happening.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's happening.

[Natalie Jean]

I am already upset. And we may as well just continue on because I think that we've been doing a really good job so far pretending like we're not really upset. But y'all. Just so you guys know, you might get upset during this episode and we'll.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Have to talk about it.

[Natalie Jean]

So put your face on.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Because won't be affected. Right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Did not see this coming.

[Natalie Jean]

Don't shed a tear. No. We're badass. Badass. And you better be scared because she's about to turn you into whatever animal she wants. And I'm gonna rip it to shreds. I'm a wolf, but I'm not Alita. Bet she wishes she was.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We're gonna not. We don't know too much about Jesper right now.

[Natalie Jean]

And Sabine.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Nor Sabine.

[Natalie Jean]

But we were both excited to dress as them because there are. They're also really hot. And it's remembering. Oh, the beautiful world of Crescent City. Everybody's really hot.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sure.

[Natalie Jean]

No matter. I. I like that. Like, it doesn't matter what they are. However they show up, they are very, very attractive.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Would you have sex with the. The. Oh my God. What's the thing that kill. Almost kills Nesta. The sea man. The sea creature.

[Natalie Jean]

Semen. I don't think that's who killed her.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What's her. What's his name?

[Natalie Jean]

I forget I've dressed this Barraxis.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, the. The.

[Natalie Jean]

The.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The sea. The sea. The sea monkey.

[Natalie Jean]

Nothing beheads him. I remember. I don't remember the name of it, though.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Would you have sex with that?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I try it. If it wasn't. If it like promised it wasn't Gonna kill me. And I said, look me in the eyes. You better promise you not kill me.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Do you promise? Okay.

[Natalie Jean]

No. My brain is so fully invested in both Crescent City and Throne of Glass right now, it's almost as if Acotar never happened.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I. I will say I do remember almost everything in Acotar, however, Natalie, remember, the character list between these two series.

[Natalie Jean]

Is so vast, 100 million miles long.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't know if my mind can keep every character name from Acotar in my head.

[Natalie Jean]

And that's right now. Cuz now bitches don't have to remember shit.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We're going to be meeting some new characters today in this episode. And if you recall, when we last left off, Bryce had finally said no thank you to Mr. Human Reed, who.

[Natalie Jean]

Is a chode idiot rich boy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And we're all happy he's gone.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes, goodbye.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We never see him again.

[Natalie Jean]

We need Connor in our lives.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He disappears into the night. And we have Bryce now contacting her girls. They're about to go get lit. They're about to pop off with the night because they.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And they are in their 20s.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my God, Kesha would totally roll with them too, you know, Kesha would fit in so well. Fury and Juniper and Bryce.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, oh, and she does just keep appearing in my thoughts because sometimes I'm thinking about the scenes that have soundtracks, you know. Oh, yeah, she keeps showing.

[Natalie Jean]

Tick tock, tick tock.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So they are going to go meet at the White Raven, as mentioned, which is a converted nightclub from an ancient temple, which is dope. And she's agreed to go on a date with Connor.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my God, yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. But tonight is for the ladies. Except for Danika, because if you'll recall, Danika is with the other wolves in her wolf pack.

[Natalie Jean]

Sometimes when you're wolfing around, you just want to be with your wolves.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And Bryce knows and thinks about it, as she's waiting outside of the White Raven, that it's important for Danika as the leader to spend time with her wolf pack, because they have to have that kind of communication that you might have seen, if you've ever heard of the books, Twilight.

[Natalie Jean]

Whoa.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They all must contact one another and be, like, in sync together. Not the band, just in their minds, you know?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So she has to spend the time with her wolves. And she's like. Danica's, like, pissed about it, though. She wants to go party with her girls, but she's gonna hang out in the apartment, watch TV with her.

[Natalie Jean]

More important, she's got it you know, this is. It's important to their work to lay down this, you know, communication. This. This companionship. Yes. So that they're able to. Oh. Take care of everybody together.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Right. Because they in fact, certain level of control over the specific territory where they all live. And Bryce thinks about how she's not sure why things are set up this way, but where she is. Wolf shifters are sort of the. The protectors of their land. But also there's other lands that are protected by lion shifters and tiger shifters and falcon shifters, like all across the world of Midgard.

[Natalie Jean]

So cool.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know. So this is the wolf lands and Bryce is here in Crescent City, in Lunatheon, in the area of town where the white. The white raven is, which is called Four Roses. It's just a sort of nickname for the area. And she's waiting outside in line for all the people are waiting to be inside the white raven.

[Natalie Jean]

Wait a second. You want to fuck the wolves, right? Do you want to fuck the wolves? I guess I never asked. I just assume everyone wants to fuck.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, it's not like I don't want to.

[Natalie Jean]

Okay. I just didn't know if that was your thing, like if, you know, if you're thinking about different kind of shifters that are going to take over. I think I would rather the wolf shifters the most because those are the ones I want to kiss on the snout.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It would be hard to have sex with a falcon.

[Natalie Jean]

I know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Too much bee, lot of claw.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. I don't think it's be worth it in the long run.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. I don't know. I've never thought about which animal I'd rather have sex with. You're welcome.

[Natalie Jean]

This is where these questions become really, really important.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. I don't know. Wolves. Yeah. I mean, if I. I don't want to choose an animal. Never mind. I don't want to choose. This is getting bad.

[Natalie Jean]

All right. You don't want to join my monster. We all know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know. This is. I leave it to you.

[Natalie Jean]

Thank you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. But right now, Bryce is outside the white raven and she is probably quite tipsy already based on how much she drank waiting for Reed to the date. So she's like ready to God.

[Natalie Jean]

You do bring up Kesha in the notes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I do.

[Natalie Jean]

Tick tock, bitch. Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So she is preparing to let even more loose the way only she and Kesha Rose Siebert.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Don't stop, make it pop. Dj, blow my speakers off.

[Natalie Jean]

Beep beep, bitch. I'm outside. Step inside for the joy ride.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So encounters so Then as she's waiting, she encounters the famous Fury Axtar. Finally, we meet this best friend that she's mentioned before. And Fury greets her by coming up behind her and pressing a knife to her throat.

[Natalie Jean]

Which is like scary, but like also a little sexy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, especially because she's making a point.

[Natalie Jean]

I know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Showing Bryce that she needs to be more careful. She's trying to make her protected.

[Natalie Jean]

I shouldn't be turned on. Buy her as Sabine, because we all know Sabine definitely doesn't want to be kissing Fury. But like, I don't need to remain in character.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sabine might want to kiss Fury.

[Natalie Jean]

You know what? You're right. I've never asked Sabine.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You've never asked?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No one's ever asked her, actually. Maybe that's why she's so mad all the time.

[Natalie Jean]

It's always bitcher day in my world.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So Fury's arrived and she's wearing. We have some fascia and she's wearing black leather leggings, a tight velvet top, ass kicking boots, and bold red lip because she is an assassin. Her black hair is in a long ponytail. She has light brown skin and is in some. She's some kind of mystery veneer that Bryce doesn't even know. She's. Again, all mystery intrigues.

[Natalie Jean]

We don't know what she does, where she goes, who she is.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But many people have speculated that she may have a connection to a character from a different series. If you've read a gord Florence Roses, you might know who we're talking about.

[Natalie Jean]

But not talking about that yet.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, but. So she is. She is a form of veneer. We know that she's not a human, but Bryce doesn't know what she is and she never really asked. Because you don't really want to know. You don't want to ask. Fury doesn't want to know, doesn't want to tell you.

[Natalie Jean]

She'll.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

If she wants to tell you something, she'll tell you. Okay, so she's here to hang out and they have a bunch of drugs between them.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It really is gonna be a Kesha kind of night.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, dude, it is. Yeah. In. In Riverdale, we've got our jingle jangles. No, no, no. I love that they've got made up fun drugs in this world. Yeah. Let's get to snow. You know, without the fentanyl strips. Everyone in here?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, please. The fatal. Not funny.

[Natalie Jean]

That's not funny, everyone.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's not funny. That's very intense. Please do not do these sorts of drugs without fentanyl strips. That is Not a joke, please.

[Natalie Jean]

It is too. It's rough, but fatal. Is.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But faint.

[Natalie Jean]

And all that does work.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But here they have something called. Bryce has a baggie of something called mirth root, which looks like cigarettes. So I think it's supposed to be sort of like a weed.

[Natalie Jean]

All right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And then Fury flashes a baggie of sparkle powder.

[Natalie Jean]

Bro, you're gonna show me sparkle powder and you're gonna tell me not to snort it?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You know, the drugs are even better in their world.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my God. With magic and brood in them, I would assume.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I would assume as well. And that's big. I don't mess with this kind of stuff anymore.

[Natalie Jean]

But not anymore.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I gotta say, I'd be pretty tempted if I saw the sparkle powder.

[Natalie Jean]

If it was sparkle powder, I. And it was Fury. And she would think I was cool. I hate to say it. I am 37 years old and I'd be like. I mean, if you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, me.

[Natalie Jean]

You talking to.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You want me to do the same Mysterious drug off of your chest.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, God.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I just assume she would, like, put a line on her boob.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Or like, down a big knife she's got, you know, Like, I think that's. I never. Like, you're scary and I like it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I think you're right. It would be a knife. So. Yeah, I might. I might.

[Natalie Jean]

Right?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But Bryce wants to know if this. She doesn't exactly know what this powder is at first. And she asks if it's something that she calls Synth because Bryce was offered it by somebody else earlier. And Fury very quickly tells her to stay the. Away from that. That it's really bad. But I guess sparkle powder, which we find out is called Lightseeker, is chill.

[Natalie Jean]

Also a fun drug name. Like, very fun.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It would make me want to do.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Unfortunately, I regret to say that I would want to do that.

[Natalie Jean]

I. I know I can be convinced. It would take a lot of convincing. But again, fury. Anyway, I'll. I'll read this now. Bryce linked elbows with the slender assassin.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Then let's go make our ancestors roll over in their graves. Cut to a montage of the three of them. Juniper has also made her debut, by the way. Okay, this is what I heard.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, what did you. Oh, what is you? Are you. What is you. What did you have. Yes, I got this feeling On a summer day when you were born I crashed my collar to the bridge I was a little bit. I don't get into a bag and you sit downstairs. I wash my car into a bridge. I don't care. I Love it. I don't care. I love it. I love it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

All right.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, man. Such a good song.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Such a good breakdown banger.

[Natalie Jean]

All right, let's go do drugs, Natalie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, no. But they are, and that's what they're doing. And there's songs playing, and they're drinking, smoking, they're doing lines, they're hooking up.

[Natalie Jean]

Whoa.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The three of them. So Juniper's also shown up, but June is ballet business in the morning. So she is only hooking up, but she's there and she's partying. Bryce is thinking accurately, in my opinion, that even though she has agreed to a date with Connor, she doesn't owe him anything that night. And so she's going to do what she's going to do. You know she's going to do what.

[Natalie Jean]

She'S going to do. Bryce reduced herself into the pulsing beat of the music, to the euphoria glittering through her blood faster than an angel diving out of the sky to the sweat sliding down her body as she writhed on the ancient dance floor. She would barely be able to walk. Tomorrow would have half a brain, but holy shit. More, more, more. Life was good. Life was fucking good. And she couldn't goddamn wait to make the drop with Danika and do this until the earth crumbled into dust.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes. Been there, man.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, dude. Yeah. Yeah, I've had a couple drugs before.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I've had a drug or two in my time, but, you know. You know when you, like. Like, I don't know if you like going to dance parties or anything, but, like, when you're in that moment, you're just like. The euphoria is hitting you the right.

[Natalie Jean]

Way, and you're just, like, going, going.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

This is gonna be like this forever.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes. Yeah, I've. I've. I've attended a couple of raves in my day.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So she's vibing, she's covered in sweat. We know the feeling. Euphoria. But the thing about euphoria is that.

[Natalie Jean]

It does not the show. Cause that makes you sad.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes. But also, euphoria doesn't last in real life, either.

[Natalie Jean]

And when it ends, sometimes tumbling down.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It ends with a crash.

[Natalie Jean]

I think it usually ends with a crash.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, usually does. Unfortunately, that's why the drugs actually aren't great.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

For hours, she dances and lets Joy take her over in her body. But the hours move on and the bar closes down. And soon she finds herself walking back home. In the wee hours, she's still three sheets, but she stumbles her way back to the front door of her building, still smiling and fantasizing about Connor. Because when you're high as a kite, the hesitation about what such a momentous partnership would mean fades away. The anxiety about screwing it up dissipates.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And all you're left with is hope and excitement.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. It's the magic. It's the magic of falling in love.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And of course, the. The lust. Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She'S definitely lusting after Connor and her thoughts as she clumsily figures out the way past her front door, even if it took her an embarrassing amount of time to recall the door code to the outside entry.

[Natalie Jean]

And thank God they didn't have the. You know, the doorbells that have the cameras on it now that. Can you imagine in your 20s having one of those, seeing yourself come home at the end of the night? I don't want to know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You know, maybe it would have helped.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Maybe it would have stopped it many years earlier. Or it wouldn't have.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You know, what it. What did sort of help, or at least make me feel bad about myself, is back when I was in college, Facebook was the thing. Didn't just. On Facebook, people didn't just upload choice photos, like, on Instagram.

[Natalie Jean]

No, no, no, no.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It was like they did photo dumps of Whole40 pictures.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

From the night. And, you know, it would just. As the. The hours went by, by the end of the party, you're just like. Your eyes are like, all right.

[Natalie Jean]

And all of those. All of my pictures, I never went back on and, like, untagged them or got. I did years ago. Oh, man. Good for you. I didn't. They're all still there.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I honestly don't care. But it's. It is. You know, they're not flattering. Yeah. It just. A lot of. A lot of head tips, sweat.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

A lot of unfortunate faces being made.

[Natalie Jean]

I forget how much dirtier you are at the end of a night like that. And then you, like, see a picture and you're like, why was I covered in sticks?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Like, what. What is this green dust all over me? Where was I?

[Natalie Jean]

Who knows?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Did I fall into some sort of vat? I don't know why.

[Natalie Jean]

And then you pick yourself up, you doze yourself off, and you start back over again.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I really did start back over again a lot.

[Natalie Jean]

Every day. But she made it home.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She made it. Bryce has made it back to her building, and she's thinking about Connor and about how they met. Freshman. Shortly after she and Danica had become undetachable. And now she felt ready for that big step.

[Natalie Jean]

Finally know you're ready when you, like, fall in love with someone, realize you love them back, and then go out and do a bunch of drugs and hook up with a bunch of strangers. That's when you know you're ready to grow up and to, like, start a very stable relationship.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It was the last hurrah. It's. It's. She was having a hen party. Even if it was just the lightseeker doing the talking, she felt ready. She thinks fondly of Danica and how much she's going to tease her for missing this epic night out while she sat around with the wolves watching boring tv. She leaves her cheap heels at the front entrance and she stumbles like a newborn pony through the foyer up into the first flight of stairs. The lights need replaced in this junky apartment building, so she imagines she must look like a fool while feeling her way through the dim hallway.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm sure you did.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Fumbling through her key ring to locate the right one, to finally be able to open that front door to her apartment, get back to her bed, and collapse face first.

[Natalie Jean]

The brass keys tinkled and swayed, shining in the first lights, then blending with the painted metal of the hall, they slipped out of her, slackening fingers clanking on the tile. Fuck. The word was a long exhale. Bracing a hand on the door frame to keep from falling clean on her ass, Bryce stooped to pick up the keys. Something cool and wet met her fingertips. Bryce closed her eyes, willing the world to stop spinning when she opened them. She focused on the tile before the door. Red. And the smell. It wasn't the reek of before. It was blood.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh no. Looking up, she realizes that her front door is already open. Blinking and confused, she wonders if the drugs have really done a number on her. The door can't be ripped open. The locks mangled. She had let Danika spend a fortune on spells and enchantments meant to block anyone or anything from getting past that door uninvited. But she stares and stares at her hand and the blood doesn't go away. Fear thrumming through her, she pushes the cracked door open into a sea of darkness.

[Natalie Jean]

But her fae eyes adjusted to the dark, revealing the apartment. What was left of it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Danika.

[Natalie Jean]

The word was a raw, broken sound. The wolves had fought. There wasn't a piece of furniture that was intact, that wasn't shredded and splintered. There wasn't a body intact either. Piles and clumps were all that remained.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Beyond words, beyond help. Bryce stands and stands, her Eyes pour over the scene in front of her, unable to understand what she's looking at. But she sees her bedroom door open, sees her belongings in shreds, and the blood, the pieces on her bed. She knows what she sees is no longer Danika, but it once was. And below it, even in the massacre the body was put through. She knows Connor lay there on the floor as if the two of them fought together until the last blink, frozen in shock and terror. Bryce tries to make this go away. She doesn't know how long time goes by until a noise shakes her from her fugue. Realizing that what had ever done this may still be here, she manages to wrap her hand around a table leg. And as the scent of their blood fills her nose, she realizes that she must force her body to move. Then there is screaming from the street and glass shattering.

[Natalie Jean]

Jesus.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Fighting against the dulling from the drugs, she begins to run towards the street to find out what did this to her friends. Still barefoot, she barrels through the front entryway. She sees people on the street gasping and looking towards a nearby alleyway. And she aims for it without thinking. For blocks and blocks, she can only follow whatever this is at breakneck speed. Smelling an awful, otherworldly reek coming from whatever has done this. She chases it almost all the way to the water's edge that frames the southern end of the city. As she rounds a final corner, she passes the pools of blood in the alleyway. And she sees it.

[Natalie Jean]

The thing halfway down the alley. Not Vanir. Not one she'd encountered before. A demon. Some feral thing with smooth, near translucent gray skin. It crawled on four long, spindly limbs, but looked vaguely humanoid. And it was feasting on someone else. Dude, I just needed to, like, let you read. I was like, I can't. Don't make a joke. This is not a time for a joke because. Did I have to go back and read this scene multiple times? I was so shocked.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I was, too.

[Natalie Jean]

I was so shocked.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Expecting. Because she builds this up really well.

[Natalie Jean]

So well, to.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

To make you think that this is the main cast of people you're going to be with and it's not. They are all killed, like, everyone in Bryce's life.

[Natalie Jean]

I was like, already shipping Bryce and Connor. I was like, you know, I love, love, like. I was like, levitating as I read it. And she's thinking about him and she's. That. And also dealing with all of this while being hammered out of your gourd and coming down off of a bunch of drugs.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Good Lord. All of her Friends.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Like her best friends. I would say, of fury Juniper.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You know, I would say in that moment, maybe it would be better to be on a bunch of drugs because you can dis the pain, like, from running and like, all of that, like, you wouldn't feel any of it. And maybe the adrenaline would push you to try to chase down whatever did this.

[Natalie Jean]

I just, like, I, I, I was so upset.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah. That all of the people you just started to establish were just ripped into pieces.

[Natalie Jean]

Especially in a world that so, like, it takes so much to build this world that all of a sudden, like, four chapters in, you already rip it all down. You minx. S.J.M.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You little minx. So now she's.

[Natalie Jean]

So.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Bryce has now witnessed the bodies of her, her best, closest friends, and she is chasing this creature through the city. And she's found it. This thing, this really scary, creepy sounding thing is feasting on. She realizes it's an angel. You'll recall angels are of the governing body in this world. So the angel is not an uncommon sight. It's somebody who she might see on a regular basis. But the thing that is feasting upon the angel is not something she's familiar with.

[Natalie Jean]

The fact that it can overpower an angel, which in this world, they are very, very powerful. So whatever this, and obviously whatever could rip to shreds a bunch of wolves that are attacking it, I wouldn't be running after this thing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, she's insane. Like, this is the worst idea.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, I also have never been experienced that level of grief before, so I, I can't imagine how I would act.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I do think most professionals would recommend if something rips your family apart, to not, like, follow them on their feet.

[Natalie Jean]

Probably not by yourself. Yeah, we're hammered. Yeah, it's probably not the time, but.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She'S just in, like a hysteria. She's like, I can't let this thing escape.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. And also, wouldn't you want to, like, see it? Well, yeah, I want to, like, what did this?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. And so this thing that she's found is out of place in time in this city. It's not something she would see even in this world of all these different creatures. The angel before her has white wings and is currently being mauled. But she can't see much else about the angel. His face is covered in blood and mangled, and she can't see much of him. In that moment, though, the greatest threat is the hole being dug out of his chest by this creature.

[Natalie Jean]

Damn.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Against rational thought, she just decides to run towards It.

[Natalie Jean]

She moved fast, like Randall had taught her. Brutal, like he'd made her learn to be. She slammed the table leg into the creature's head so hard that bone and wood cracked.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It falls away long enough for Bryce to see that this creature is eyeless and its blood is clear like a viscous water. Pretty fun, but it's not deterred. And it seems to only have interest in this angel. So even though Bryce knocks it off the angel, it doesn't go for Bryce. It goes right back to this angel. And as it returns to the feast of the chest of this angel, the dazed and drugged Bryce swings again. And this time the creature, as it's being hit, lunges at her and rips into her upper thigh. Even in the haze, she knows it's bad. Even still, it leapt. Even as she knows that it's. It's bad and she's probably being poisoned. As it leaps for her throat, she gets the table leg that she's been carrying to make contact with its mouth. And it screams, hell yeah, bitch. And then suddenly, it's gone. Leaping and scrabbling away, the dazzled Bryce tries to clear her thoughts enough to make a choice. Chase after it again or stay and help the angel. The latter groans, and she makes her choice. Leaning over, she can feel the burning in her thigh and knows there is something very bad coursing through her body.

[Natalie Jean]

Lord knows what that. I mean, just think of how dirty its paws are. I don't want.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Probably got claws, venom in it, you know? But she sees the angel's chest wound is bleeding out rapidly. Even if he's already made the drop and has super fast healing, it's going too fast. And so she thrusts her hand over the hole, trying to slow the bleeding. She finds the angel cell phone and gets a hold of Midgard 91 1, which is called Crescent City Rescue.

[Natalie Jean]

It is also just kind of funny even just thinking about it. Like, where would an angel keep its phone? Like, does the angel have a purse? I feel like in my brain they're not wearing a whole hell of a lot, but I guess maybe I'm just being angelist right now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I think you're being. You are sexualizing that angel. Yeah, that angel is respected.

[Natalie Jean]

Sorry you dying, but you still sexy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think a lot of the angels wear suits and stuff because they're like the government.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We're just like their wings, but they just wear like. Like displays are like this. Both just a full chest out.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Seeing their rippling muscles. Yeah, we're not sexy right now. Jackie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. Even as she gives the operator their location, even as she's aware she likely has poison in her bloodstream. Now, the thrum of knowledge of what happened to Danika overrid everything. She stumbles through what she must to get through to the operator. And then she drops the phone. She fights against the drugs as she holds the angel's blood inside him. They're all dead. They're all dead.

[Natalie Jean]

Guys.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

At the start of chapter six, we.

[Natalie Jean]

Were falling in love.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Don't matter no more.

[Natalie Jean]

I need him. I dream of Gartner and what could have been.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You're gonna have to go to heaven if you want to see him.

[Natalie Jean]

I will go to heaven, Natalie. You'll see.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Actually, I don't think they have heaven here. We'll find out more about the afterlife in this book. Oh, at the start of chapter six, we're with the thoughts of somebody new. So we're at a new pov. It's still third person, but it's not Bryce. Right now we are, however, still in the aftermath of what's just occurred. Because this new person is staring at Bryce, who's now slouched over at some kind of police like station, seemingly just hours after all of this went down. Because she's still wearing the same ratted clothes she doesn't wearing. She's not shoes. She's all beat up. So we understand that this just happened. Isaiah Tiberian is the name of the person we're with. And we get through context that he is something akin to a detective or a cop. He's watching Bryce as she sits inside of something that looks like an interrogation room. He reflects on how he had found her earlier in that alleyway. Hysterical and manic. But now she seems broken and drained.

[Natalie Jean]

God, can you imagine sitting there and being endlessly questioned while all of your friends had just been murdered?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. And their fairies will get into very mean to her.

[Natalie Jean]

They are very mean to her.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He also knows she's the only witness to whatever has happened beyond that angel. And it seems as though that angel won't be able to be talking tonight. He hears a male's voice behind him and turns, feeling an instinct to go into protection mode. Even though he knows that voice belongs to a colleague of his and that they're fighting for the same side.

[Natalie Jean]

Predator, killer, monster.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's what Isaiah's thoughts are running through as this male approaches him. Hunt Athelar is this angel's name.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh. Oh.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Who strikes such alarm in Isaiah?

[Natalie Jean]

If you don't.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

If you haven't read the Book. Maybe you can get a sense of how Jackie feels about Hunt Athlor. I see. A is an angel like Hunt is.

[Natalie Jean]

But Isaiah has born to be a devil.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Though Isaiah has white wings to hunt gray. So not all angels have white wings here. Though Hunt is merely asking Isaiah basic debriefing questions about their witness here.

[Natalie Jean]

What are they taking off his panties? Yeah. I made the joke again. You like it? Do you like the second time?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Every time it's better. Bryce, who is in front of them? Neither angel seems to know personally. But Isaiah's thoughts keep returning to why he feels so much fear towards Hunt.

[Natalie Jean]

Maybe it's because he's so big.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think Isaiah is also big, though.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. And what if they start kissing? Oh, no, no. Oh, no. They're so big. They're so upset and they start kissing. There's no Jackie. Not a horny time. Not a horny time. I start thinking about Hunt Athelore. It's very difficult for me to not feel horny.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay, so Hans and Isaiah in the other. They're on the other side of this interrogation room, like those windows, you know, that they have where you can see one side or whatever. And they're watching her. She can't see them, that she can't hear them. And they're discussing her and trying to kind of piece together what's gone on this evening. And Isaiah is dressed in a suit and tie like a detective. However, Hunt is in what Isaiah calls a black battle suit. And Isaiah silently wonders where Hunt's skull faced helmet is scary, which he is famous for. That sounds very intense.

[Natalie Jean]

I know. It sounds really intense. And I know that technically that's very, very scary, but also very badass and very cute.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It is. It makes me think of like Batman and Robin. Like the. The 90s. Like the, you know, Batman Forever.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, yeah. Like the nipples.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. That's kind of what I'm picturing a little bit.

[Natalie Jean]

Hopefully without the nipples.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Nipples. Yeah. I don't really want the nipples on it.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I would. I. In my brain. The battle suit definitely is Batman esque. And I think that is a portion of my sexual attraction towards Hunt Athel art.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That makes complete sense.

[Natalie Jean]

I. I mean, if you don't want to bang Batman, I don't know what to tell you. I know he's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

There's a Batman for every taste.

[Natalie Jean]

I know, I know he's very moody.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But, like, there's a. Just pick your Batman era. There's one Batman.

[Natalie Jean]

Exactly. I had always said I never wanted to bang Superman. And then I Read like Jeff was like, okay, you should read the I for what name of like this one. Graphic. Com Graphic novel. He's like read this. It's like oh, like. Like a dicier Superman. And I was more into that and I think he's just like a bad boy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. I like a. I like a sad boy. A mood boy.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Which is kind of like. I kind of like the Robert Pattinson one.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Misunderstood.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't like a jock one.

[Natalie Jean]

No, that's not usually my jams either. But again, Ben Affleck does nothing for me. No, no, no. But if you're gonna play like a sunball and you're going to go play it and you're going to never talk to me about it and I don't have to give a about it. You can be as athletic as you want to be.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Whatever. Well, so Hunt is wearing this batsuit with no nipples and he's apparently famous for this skull faced helmet, which is a lot. The umbra mortis. Isaiah thinks the angel of death. Okay, that is also very scary. But pretty metal.

[Natalie Jean]

Pretty metal man.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Despite his internal thoughts, Isaiah speaks in a measured and emotionless tone to Hunt, giving him the facts of the evening. Bryce Quinlan. 23 years old. Half Fae, half human. Blood tests from 10 years ago confirmed she'll have an immortal lifespan. Power rating near negligible. Hasn't made the drop yet. Isaiah had watched Hunt staple up Bryce's leg earlier in the alleyway. He was frankly surprised she hadn't bled out yet because that monster had hit an artery. Which we know if you hit the upper thigh artery that you are going to die pretty quick.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, it goes pretty fast.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But Hunt got to her in time and when he began working on her leg, technically saving her life, which is, I guess, she simply shut down. And that's how she remains now in these police rooms. The two angels look over Bryce's file and Hunt mocks her and Danica, dismissing Bryce as a spoiled party girl, and calls Danika the party princess. Something only he and his comrades would call her in secret so they wouldn't get killed by. By wolves. And they. Their little unit is called the 33rd. And that's the per the. They are very important. They're the governor's personal angel defense team. Which. Big deal.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, big scary deal.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So these two angels are part of that.

[Natalie Jean]

But also it makes sense because on the outside, Bryce does look like a spoiled party girl and Danika did seem like a party princess. Like it did seem like she was not. She was more interested in partying and having fun with her friends. Oh, my God. What, is she busy being in her early 20s and didn't want to necessarily, like, give her all towards the pack just yet because I'm sure she knew soon her entire life was just gonna be packed, so she probably was trying to have a good time.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. And. Yeah. So even though they're being dicks, they don't know much else about these. These young females, and so they're sort of just being judgy. And as glib and cold as Hunt is being about all of this, he and Isaiah are stunned that Danika and her pack have been destroyed. It's not like they're happy about it.

[Natalie Jean]

No. No. Because also, this is very, like. Like they don't know what this creature is either, where it comes from.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Obviously a big threat.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Through their exchanges, we get a sense that Hunt is big and strong.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And is essentially the governor's hired killer.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, he's bad.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's not hired.

[Natalie Jean]

Exactly.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I guess as we'll find out. As they mull over what has happened, Isaiah informs Hunt that they have re arrested Philip Briggs, and he is being assumed as the killer.

[Natalie Jean]

This human dude.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know. I mean, it's kind of a long shot. I don't know this. They never fully seem to offer any sort of theory as to how this human could have pro. Like, procured this creature or, like, how he could have killed this, like, impossible to kill group of people.

[Natalie Jean]

But I also wonder if that goes to show how often, like, people would so much rather point a finger and have somebody to blame than, say, being, like. Have being forced to say, I don't know what this is, and I don't know where it came from. Truth. Interesting truth. Whether it's real or not.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So they don't know for sure, but it's being discussed. They think it's probably Philip Briggs somehow, because Danica and her pack were the ones who caught him and put him in jail.

[Natalie Jean]

And he just got out before they.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes. And he had just gotten out. Before they can go any further, we're introduced to a character that we've only heard tale of so far, one who practically kicks the door down to the two. To the room the two angels occupy.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, it's me kicking down the door. Yeah. I'm showing up, and I would. Man, I'd kick. I'd kick real high, But I'm worried I'm gonna hurt myself, and that's fine. I'm fine with admitting that. Thank you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sitting down. Kick injury would be A lot.

[Natalie Jean]

You would be allowed to judge me if I got hurt while trying to make a funny, silly kick while sitting down. Sabine looked barely older than Bryce Quinlan, with her fine boned face and long silvery blonde hair. But there was only an immortal's rage in her blue eyes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Where is that half breed whore?

[Natalie Jean]

She simmered as she spotted Bryce through the window.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'll kill her. That's Sabine being angry.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, yeah, that's me being upset. But also, I'm real hot. And again, remind yourself, whenever it's like, I hate Sabine the entire time, but then I forget she's also really hot.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, a lot of the villains are hot in these books.

[Natalie Jean]

No, dude.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But we get a sense of. We really don't like her. She uses a couple of words I.

[Natalie Jean]

Don'T care for, including, we certainly don't like it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Which then means we. Okay, we're not doing a. Oh, it's an antihero. Because she's saying a horrible thing that is kind of unforgivable right now.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. And you'd think, like, well, I mean, it is her mom, so she'd probably be really upset, but this is not the way to Also, yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

As we'll talk about kind of misguided, misdirected anger. So at this.

[Natalie Jean]

Because again, you really think Bryce, like, ow.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She's blame. Okay, so she's blaming. So at her temper tantrum, we see Hunt has his own temper. And it shows via lightning power. Lightning power. Lightning power. Lightning power. I hope, Ian, if you're still the editor. Yeah, let me down.

[Natalie Jean]

We need lightning power.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Lightning power. Isaiah observes this and thinks about how all angels were capable of some level of power connected to the sky, rain, wind, etc. But Hunt is the only angel Isaiah had ever known to possess lightning. And this train of thought in Isaiah's mind gives us a boatload more of backstory. This time we're in regards to the angels lore, so pay attention.

[Natalie Jean]

All right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Wake up.

[Natalie Jean]

All right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

See, Isaiah and Hunt are working together and the 33rd because they are both sort of indentured servants to the government.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, cool. Fun.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They are marked so physically in several ways. One way is that witches in this world are tasked with dampening the power of indentured angels with halo tattoos across their foreheads. A quote, mockery of the divine auras early humans had once portrayed angels as possessing. Interesting. That's like Earthlore.

[Natalie Jean]

How dare you do this to them? Don't you do this to them.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So they have these halo tattoos on their foreheads, and it makes them Makes it so their. Their magic is, like, dulled. Kind of like what happened with the Amarantha under the mountain A little bit, yeah. These two, along with around 2,000 other angels, bore these halos as a form of punishment, because 200 years prior to this current time, they had attempted an angel rebellion.

[Natalie Jean]

The Asteri had created the angels to be their perfect soldiers and loyal servants. The angels gifted with such power had relished their role in the world. Until Shahar, the archangel they'd once called the Daystar, until Hunt and the others, who'd flown in Shahar's elite 18th Legion.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Daystar's a badass nickname.

[Natalie Jean]

It is.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So have we talked about the Asteri? We have. We brought the Asteri up already in one of the episodes.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I'm fairly sure. I know. Well, I know we definitely brought up the archangels, so I would assume in the episode zero, we may have brought up the Asteri.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay, Asteri, guys, you got this. We're gonna go through a starry.

[Natalie Jean]

We're world building together, guys.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

There are. They are godheads. There's seven, right? Yeah, there are seven Asteri, and they are the Godheads of this world, and they created the angels. Obviously, the Asteri came through this rift because it used to be a human world.

[Natalie Jean]

Right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The Asteri are here now, and they are essentially God of this planet. They created the angels, and they are supposed to be servants. Archangels are the most powerful Astari, anointed angels. And so that's. The archangels are the ones who are the governors. They run the land of different areas. The one that runs over Crescent City is Micah. Then there are angels, the regular angels, who are still above most creatures and are sort of the law keepers of the over everybody else. And they are created by the Asteri. However, during the angel rebellion, a bunch of the angels and the archangel Shahar decided they were done with the asterisk it because they are servants, and they tried to overthrow everything.

[Natalie Jean]

Overthrow it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It did not work.

[Natalie Jean]

No, no, no, no. Really didn't work.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I feel like it'd be incredibly difficult because they are literally Godheads. So I don't know how you beat them. Yeah, maybe we'll maybe find out. I don't know.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't know. Not for a very, very, very long time.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So their rebellion did not work, and now the angels who participated in the rebellion are living in even to the others as punishment. So that includes Hunt and Isaiah, who we just met, and they're slaves. Isaiah also Thinks about how foolish he thinks the human rebellion is because they tried to do it 200 years ago and not even angels could do anything.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, if angels can't do it, how the hell are humans going to do it?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But they're gonna keep trying. They never learn. No man history repeats treats itself.

[Natalie Jean]

They never look at the ruins. The history is still there.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's true. One of their other markings is that that of the Asteri as well. But this other marking that both Hunt and Isaiah have extends beyond just the rebel angels. Any creature, in fact, who is deemed below enough to become servants to the Asteri are branded with the letters spmq.

[Natalie Jean]

Zippini, My Queenie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, wait, I did it wrong. S, P, Q, M, Z, D, Beanie.

[Natalie Jean]

Queenie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What was that?

[Natalie Jean]

Me trying to figure out what as.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Spaghetti pomodoro matz, please. Yes, question mark.

[Natalie Jean]

I will say, if you are talking the food of my people, I am always here to discuss.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So the letters SPMQ are branded on the wrist of all Asteri servants, the ones who are owned by the Asteri. And it stands for Senators Populus, Q Midgard, or the Midgard Senate. And people.

[Natalie Jean]

It's probably for the best. So they just shortened it for the tattoo. I mean, take too long to tattoo all of that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

If it didn't mean you are, like, essentially a slave. It would be a cool tattoo to have, for sure. Back at the station, Sabine is fuming. Hysterical, obviously, because of Danica's death, but strangely more angry than grieving because I'm a. It's almost like she feels more slighted than, like, feeling emotion towards the death of her father.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, yeah, Nothing you can tell that she's more. Yeah, she's more upset about, like, being put out.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. And like, the idea that it looks bad.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She blames Bryce for all of this occurring and wants her head. There's no real reason she knows of for blaming Bryce for this. But again, mothers be doing this sometimes.

[Natalie Jean]

Also, she just didn't like Bryce. So no matter what Bryce was going to do, she was gonna hate her.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Right. My offspring would never have gotten into this mess without this influence. Or that harlot. In this case, Sabine screams that Bryce is, quote, a stupid little bitch. We, as the reader, don't.

[Natalie Jean]

Lady, we know yours. Yeah, you gotta. We gotta. We got a lot to figure out.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

This is not helping anything. No, we as the reader, don't have any evidence of any of this being Bryce's fault so far. And the two angels also seem confused about why Sabine is blaming Bryce. They tried to ask her, but she's not hearing it. She demands to know everything that's gone down. And as a powerful head of the Wolf Clan, she technically has the right to know.

[Natalie Jean]

Although interesting that she wasn't asked to be the next pack leader. But we don't need to talk about that right now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, interesting. We'll talk about that in the book a little bit more. But she wasn't going to get that.

[Natalie Jean]

Maybe again, too much of a I've got bitches disease.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But who was going to be Danica?

[Natalie Jean]

Danica.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Interesting. As this argument pursues, the Angel's colleague, a wraith named Victoria that we learned from Isaiah's thoughts, is named Victoria, enters the interrogation room with Bryce. So now they're all sort of watching Victoria enter this room, where Bryce is just sitting in a stunned state. Victoria, apparently was also part of the angel rebellion as some other creatures joined in. So she is the same as them. They all stop to watch. Victoria tries to get through to Bryce, but Bryce appears to be catatonic at this stage.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, God, I feel so bad for her.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know. The angels convince Sabine to go upstairs to fill out paperwork, and she's still in a rage, so they want her out of there. And then the two angels watch as Victoria tries and fails to pull any information out of Bright. As they watch, Isaiah comments that for all the bluster from Sabine about how Bryce is such a bad influence, Bryce, in fact, only had one infraction in her file for indecent exposure, which he mentions was because she was hooking up in public.

[Natalie Jean]

You know, sometimes it happens. Don't get caught.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Danica, on the other hand, has a huge record predating her knowing Bryce by years.

[Natalie Jean]

Interesting. Mommy has a lot of decisions she's made over who made her whom bad, who made whom a bad girl. And you should look at your own daughter. But you know what? Let's be real. She didn't really like her own daughter either. So.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, she doesn't like the appearance that her daughter could be the bad one. She doesn't care about her, in my opinion.

[Natalie Jean]

No. But, like, look at how hot I am.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, who. How could you care about your kid if you were that hot? I mean, honestly.

[Natalie Jean]

Right?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Isaiah figures it's much more likely that Danika was the influence on Bryce, and that Danika had quieted down quite a bit since buddying up with Bryce.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, interesting. Mummy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

As they try to pry the lid off of Bryce. In this moment, Victoria begins to scroll through Bryce's text, trying to get her to speak. And this. These texts are on some kind of projector so everybody in the precinct can read them. It's in these texts we learn a painful truth. The text from that night at the reading through that, while Bryce was partying it up, Danika was texting her over and over.

[Natalie Jean]

The show's over. Where are you assholes? Why aren't you picking up your phone? I'm calling Fury. Where the fuck is Fury?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Text after text.

[Natalie Jean]

Where are you?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm coming. Were you guys. We're bringing Connor. And it ends with Danika telling Bryce that she and Connor are coming out to find them. But Bryce didn't see any of these. She was too busy living in the moment.

[Natalie Jean]

You found the heartbeat of the drum.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's why you should never, ever be off your phone.

[Natalie Jean]

Always staring at your phone. Learn a lesson from Crescent City.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

This book is brought to you by Verizon Wireless.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes. Thank you for our sponsorship.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

See what happens when you're not on your phone?

[Natalie Jean]

Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

All your friends die.

[Natalie Jean]

Everyone will die if you ever look away from it. I does. I'm gonna say, as someone that does have an anxiety disorder, it does make me terrified of ever, like, putting my phone on do not disturb. It makes me fruitfully terrified because, like, what if I just look back? And even just. If I'm not looking at my phone for a while, if I'm, like, running late, even that would, like. Like, end my mental capacity.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, I get it. It probably. This will probably not happen, though, if you don't want to.

[Natalie Jean]

You think so?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I hope not. And then Victoria does something so cruel. I don't know why they would do this.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't. Why? Maybe. I think they were trying to spurn her into saying anything. But obviously, she didn't know anything.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So the surveillance cameras in her apartment building didn't work, but the audio did. And so she plays the audio of all of her friends being mauled to death.

[Natalie Jean]

Why would you do it? I mean, yeah, you guys got to listen to it to go, like, figure out what happened, like, if. Yeah, I'm glad you have the evidence, but why would you play that for her?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

To what end? Victoria, why do you think this would help you and your cause? I'm sorry, but this was insane. And this does succeed in breaking Bryce out of her catatonia for you, Victoria.

[Natalie Jean]

Do you feel good about yourself?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But also it does is then make her flip the table and start freaking out because she just had to listen to her friends being murdered. Her hunt screams for Victoria to turn the audio off, Bryce vomits all over herself and crumples into a ball. Way to go. Victoria Hunt walks towards her and tries to comfort Bryce. All the Bryce says is that she wants to go home. They get a message from Naomi, the 33rd's captain. She is to be released. It turns out Rune Danan, a higher up in the Fey realm, has made claim to Bryce as she is a half Fae in the House of Sky and Breath. And they basically say Rune says she can't stay, she needs to get out of here. And that the Fay are pissed that they weren't informed that this happened. Bryce is informed that she can leave and without another word, the still barefoot Bryce begins to shuffle out of the room. As if being summoned, a dark haired.

[Natalie Jean]

Female burst through the interrogation room door. Even with a silver hoop through his lower lip, even with one side of his long raven black hair buzzed, even with the sleeves of tattoos beneath the leather jacket, there was no disguising the heritage. The strikingly handsome face broadcasted Rune Dannan, Crown Prince of the Valbarian Fae. Son of the Autumn King and the current possessor of the Star Sword. Fabled dark blade of the ancient Star. Born Fae. Proof of the Prince's chosen one's status among the Fae. Whatever the hell that meant. So, runedannan, Crown Run of the Valbaran Fae.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Give me, give me, give me.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's me. That by the way, is Jackie, not Sabine, because Sabine is not expressed.

[Natalie Jean]

Sabine wouldn't deal that way. No, that's. That was purely a human female reaction to what Rune Dannon looks like.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So that's a whole bunch. Another bunch of titles. So you guys all have that underneath.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, where you guys are. So. Crown Prince of all Bear Faye Gregory. Autumn King Gregory. You got it? Got it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. So a lot of. Okay. I almost feel like I need to make lists. There probably are some really cohesive lists already. There are actually. We used some of them for our stream before. Yeah, maybe I'll find those again. But Rune is a Fae. He's one of the Crown. He's the crown prince of the Valber and Fay. He is the son of the Autumn King and he has the Star Sword, which is a fabled blade of Ancient Faye, but interesting.

[Natalie Jean]

Natalie. The Autumn King. What are we, an Acotar?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

A lot of us who read Acotar will probably feel like that. Sounds familiar. Because there are seasonal courts in Acotar. We haven't heard of seasonal courts here. No, but Autumn King, that can't be a coincidence, could it?

[Natalie Jean]

I don't know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Wonder if that will have anything to do with anything. Not only.

[Natalie Jean]

Probably not, guys.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Probably.

[Natalie Jean]

I just dash it, you know, I probably got nothing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's probably just. She probably just forgot.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So Ruhn busts in the door and he demands to know where Bryce is calling her his cousin. Interesting. Okay, you say. So the crown prince, Rune, is cousins with Bryce. There is immediately tension between Rune and Hunt. And it turns out that they themselves.

[Natalie Jean]

Have a history of kissing. Only in my brain.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Again, all of these things, all the kissing that I want, I know I need to leave my horniness at the door.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They do hate each other, and that could be because of unrequited love kissing. And Isaiah attempts to calm the situation as Rune berates them for letting Briggs do this. They try to question Rune about Bryce, but he shuts. Shuts them down. They keep their exchange brief and Rune storms out to go after Bryce. When Rune leaves, the angels reveal that they've managed to get a tracking device inside of Bryce via the water glass she drank out of.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, it's like. Can you just like, put a tail on her? You gotta put something inside of her, you creepy angels.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Like, put it like a. Like a fox tail.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, yeah. Watch that ass sway and sway. No, I meant like. Like a. A police.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, police words.

[Natalie Jean]

But again, I bet she'd look great with the tail.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, I'm sure she would. She has this magic thing inside of her now. And it will be inside her for three days. They maul over what the creature was that did all the damage to all of these cre. They also are Fleming.

[Natalie Jean]

No idea.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They don't understand how it could be Briggs. And they don't know how to find the creature that has disappeared suddenly.

[Natalie Jean]

And they know she didn't do it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. And they just. Now they just. As the chapter ends, they mull over what they're going to do next. Then we're on to chapter seven. And we're back with Bryce, alone at the foggy shore of a section of town called the Bone Quarter.

[Natalie Jean]

It's really difficult not to go bear because the Bone Quarter sounds like, awesome.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, it is. Technically, it does sound cool, but it's very spooky because it has something to do with what happens when this. When these creatures die on this planet.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So we find her at this shore, all alone. And through her thoughts, we gather that this is almost a week later after they all of her friends were killed. And she's been staying in a hotel room with her mom, just trying to kind of survive and it seems as though it's not only Sabine who is blaming her for this. She thinks back on a voicemail she had received from Ethan.

[Natalie Jean]

Because not all of the wolves were murdered.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's right. Ethan wasn't there.

[Natalie Jean]

He had left younger brother Ethan.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

If you remember, don't come to the sailing tomorrow. You're not welcome there. So that is rough because we've learned from the earlier chapters that Ithan was kind of like her second best friend after Danika. And now it seems as though Ithan is also blaming Bryce for not being there for Danika.

[Natalie Jean]

And it's not fair.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's not fair at all.

[Natalie Jean]

It's not not fair. Yeah, she was out and getting hammered and she didn't answer the text. But it's just like, I know if you're that grief stricken, I'm sure you have to put your anger somewhere, right?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And a lot of times during something that's like that traumatic, a lot of times it does, like, get pushed on to other things that maybe it's not. It's not fair. So the sailing is a ritual that occurs in Crescent City. I'm not sure what happens across the entire planet, but for Crescent City, when the. The people of the city die, the dead are sent across this river at the southern end of the city to the Bone Quarter. And there's a sailing ritual that happens. So, like their version of a funeral. And she's been told she's not to come to that sailing tomorrow. So she's been rejected by the people left. Even though she was close the closest with Connor and Danika and friends with all of the other wolves, she has now been shunned by those remaining, a whole pack. So she decided, it seems, that she was going to come to the Bone Quarter to say goodbye to Danica. And the only way that she knew how, and we don't know in this chapter what it is, but she has come to give her one last thing. And she has. She's basically on her knees in front of this figure with this thing and this request. And we don't really learn what it is.

[Natalie Jean]

The creature that dwelt in the mist emerged. And even the river at her back trembled. Bryce opened her eyes and slowly lifted her gaze.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And that ends part one of this book. So we have just gone through an intro of a bunch of characters, their complete destruction. And now we're realizing this was almost like a prologue to the actual book.

[Natalie Jean]

Part whole, part one. And now we're getting into the meat of this book.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And so part two is going to start next episode, and we're going to see where we are with Bryce, how she is and, like, what her life is going to be now that and everything is gone.

[Natalie Jean]

I'll follow that ass anywhere.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank God she has a great ass.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes. Or else I'd stay at home.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sometimes it helps. It can help or hurt. I think if you have a fantastic ass, probably people don't treat you very respectfully.

[Natalie Jean]

But also, like, it's probably nice to sit down.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. You got some cushioning. People buy you drinks. Yeah. If you don't want them.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't know. I got little butts disease.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Little butts disease.

[Natalie Jean]

Little butts, little butts trying to make it big. We got to get out of here.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We got to go. I got to leave.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm excited about part two, though.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I am too. Guys, we got a big old ride ahead of us.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm ready. Scrap in.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Lightning power. Lightning power.

[Natalie Jean]

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