LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City / Episode 5: Mirth and Faeriement

Summary

LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City – Episode 5: "Mirth and Faeriement" Summary

Hosts: Natalie Jean and Jackie Zebrowski
Release Date: November 20, 2024
Podcast: LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City by The Last Podcast Network

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1. Introduction and Character Cosplay Fun

The episode kicks off with Natalie and Jackie engaging in light-hearted banter about cosplaying characters from Sarah J. Maas’s "Crescent City." Natalie humorously dons a wig resembling the Autumn King, drawing comparisons to characters from another popular series, Acotar. Jackie and Natalie reflect on the challenges and humorous overlaps between different fantasy character aesthetics, setting a playful tone for the deep dive.

Notable Quote:
Natalie (00:19): “I think it's also kind of cute to watch the Autumn King suck out of a little straw.”

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2. Exploring SJM’s Personal Influences and Trauma Narratives

The hosts touch upon Sarah J. Maas’s (SJM) personal experiences, joking about delving into her traumas someday. They introduce the concept of their "Shame Circle," a playful nod to sharing personal stories within their group, paralleling the deep emotional undertones often present in Maas’s work.

Notable Quote:
Jackie (02:02): “Our girl group has a thing called Shame Circle.”

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3. Character Dynamics: Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar

A significant portion of the episode delves into the intricate relationship between Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar. The hosts analyze their interactions, highlighting Bryce’s determination to solve Danika’s murder and Hunt’s growing frustration and protective instincts. They discuss Hunt’s role as an Umbramortis and his complex feelings towards Bryce, juxtaposing his authoritative demeanor with subtle hints of vulnerability.

Notable Quotes:
Jackie (16:50): “Now I feel like I've created a horrible trap for hummingbirds unintentionally.”
Natalie (22:58): “I just want a little bit of niceness. The bar is very low.”

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4. World-Building: Chimera Lore and Fae Hierarchies

Natalie and Jackie explore the rich world-building elements of "Crescent City," focusing on the lore surrounding chimeras and the hierarchical structure of the Fae society. They discuss the categorization of chimeras as Peregrini by the Asteri, critiquing this designation and emphasizing the intelligence and autonomy of these beings within Maas’s universe.

Notable Quote:
Jackie (26:16): “Chimeras are a part of something we're gonna learn about called the lowers or peregrini.”

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5. Themes of Power, Control, and Rebellion

The conversation shifts to overarching themes in the novel, such as power dynamics, control, and rebellion. The hosts analyze the consequences faced by sprites who joined the angel rebellion, leading to their servitude and loss of autonomy. They critique the Asteri’s oppressive measures and reflect on the broader implications of power struggles within the Fae realms.

Notable Quote:
Jackie (35:55): “When the angel rebellion failed, all the sprites were punished even more so.”

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6. Bryce Quinlan’s Personal Struggles and Growth

Bryce’s personal journey is examined in-depth, particularly her struggles with past traumas and her evolution from a carefree individual to a determined investigator. The hosts discuss her decision to abandon dancing, symbolizing her departure from her past self, and her relentless pursuit to uncover the truth behind Danika’s death.

Notable Quote:
Natalie (42:54): “She doesn't dance anymore, which is a big... paradigm shift in your life.”

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7. Friendship and Male Relationships

Natalie and Jackie commend Maas for portraying male friendships with depth and authenticity, moving beyond stereotypical narratives. They appreciate how characters like Hunt, Tristan, Declan, and Ruhn interact, showcasing supportive and complex relationships rather than toxic dynamics often seen in other media.

Notable Quote:
Jackie (57:40): “They are very different from the Bat Boys, but they share some similarities in this way.”

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8. Plot Progression: Investigation into the Viper Queen

The hosts outline the unfolding plot where Bryce is tasked with investigating the Viper Queen’s whereabouts in the Meat Market. They highlight Bryce’s strategic approach, including leveraging her connections with a nail technician linked to the Viper Queen, showcasing her resourcefulness and determination despite external pressures and Hunt’s skepticism.

Notable Quote:
Natalie (66:06): “I know, like, she was being a brat.”

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9. Reflections on Trauma and Personal Change

Throughout the episode, Natalie and Jackie reflect on themes of trauma and personal transformation, drawing parallels between Bryce’s experiences and real-life struggles. They discuss how characters evolve through adversity, reshaping their identities and coping mechanisms in response to the challenges they face.

Notable Quote:
Natalie (43:51): “After trauma, you're not the same person.”

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10. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, the hosts recap the key developments in Bryce’s investigation and her complex relationship with Hunt. They express excitement for future episodes, anticipating further exploration of character dynamics and plot intricacies.

Notable Quote:
Jackie (75:22): “We can bring Remember it and Shame Circle.”

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Key Takeaways

• Character Depth: The episode provides an in-depth analysis of Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar, exploring their motivations, struggles, and evolving relationship.

• World-Building: Significant focus is given to the intricate lore of "Crescent City," particularly the roles and treatment of chimeras and sprites within the Fae hierarchy.

• Thematic Exploration: Themes of power, control, trauma, and personal growth are dissected, offering listeners a deeper understanding of the novel’s core messages.

• Authentic Relationships: The portrayal of male friendships is praised for its authenticity and departure from toxic stereotypes, highlighting the supportive dynamics among characters.

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Join Natalie and Jackie next week as they continue their deep dive into "Crescent City," unraveling more of its complex characters and enthralling plot twists. Don’t forget to subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening!

Transcript

[Natalie Jean]

Welcome to Crescent City with your hosts, Natalie Jean and Jackie Zabrowski. I think it's also kind of cute to watch the Autumn King suck out of a little straw.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Very masculine.

[Natalie Jean]

Big, bad, scary man now, huh?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, you're crushing this look, dude. I don't know. I love it.

[Natalie Jean]

Thank you. Yeah, I'm feeling it. But I mean, we were talking about, I don't know what horrific red haired man destroyed SJM's life, but definitely one did at some point.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Like a shoulder length red haired man.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, because. Well, I was saying I wore the wig that I'm currently wearing as obviously the Autumn King right now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You do look like the Autumn King, like in a. In a complimentary way.

[Natalie Jean]

No, I'm feeling it. Well, I mean, to look like any of these characters. You're still the hottest.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

You know, you're. I'm hotter than I would be as a human. And I just want to say that I am, but I feel bad because I'm wearing the same wig that I wore for Arabin and it's like the same. They both have the same hair and there are multiple. Like, think also Autumn Court in Acotar.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So true.

[Natalie Jean]

There's some red haired man.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Did the father have long red hair?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Interesting. Interesting.

[Natalie Jean]

I just. Someday when we become best friends with sjm, she's gonna let us know about.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

All of her traumas.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. I was like, let's talk about her traumas. Natalie, you say that as if bitches don't get together and immediately start talking about our traumas. Do you remember what was it? We have a shame circle of shame.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We have shame circle.

[Natalie Jean]

Shame circle.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Our girl group has a thing called shame Circle.

[Natalie Jean]

And sometimes you gotta, you know, you gotta let your shames out somewhere.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And it's also a way to learn everyone's secrets and hold them against them forever.

[Natalie Jean]

Keep them in your grasp. Never let them get away.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, they.

[Natalie Jean]

No.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Our girlfriends are so perfect and amazing. Like, we couldn't even. There's no reason to hold ransom. Like, why would we ever.

[Natalie Jean]

No. And that's why it's so fun, the shame stories. You're just like. It's either a. You go girl. That's not shameful. Don't be ashamed of that. Oh, yourself. Or you go. Wow, I'm looking at you differently now. Interesting that you did that. Does it mean that I.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

While you're looking directly at me.

[Natalie Jean]

Huh? I'm looking towards you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Told you some stuff.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm looking around now my eyes are just wide and I'm looking around look, you know, look at me like what Carmi does. You know, when Carmi gets to the donuts. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. She just did it again.

[Natalie Jean]

No, she didn't. What'd she get into?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She pulled my entire filled book bag off of the table onto the floor. Exploded everywhere.

[Natalie Jean]

But she.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, she just was looking for food because we were gone for two hours, and she was like, well, they're never coming back to feed me. I guess. Thankfully, the only thing that I had in there that was open or food at all was a bag of Flamin Hot Cheetos.

[Natalie Jean]

But she didn't get in it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She. She must have looked, licked it, and been and said, no, thank you, because they were still there.

[Natalie Jean]

Wow. You know, you finally found her kryptonite. You're gonna start having to put flaming hot dust all over everything you own. And if that's not a way to help parent your dog, I don't know what is.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Right. I mean, that is dog safety. Like, that's how you have to keep them safe from things. If you did that to a child, it would be abuse. To a dog, it's love.

[Natalie Jean]

Would it be? I feel like you can do the same. Isn't that what, like, baby proofing your house is? It's just putting cheese dust all over everything?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, I think so.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. So that they can suck on whatever they want. Right? Or, like, it's heaving.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

If it burns, then they don't suck on it, which is what they need to not do. Right?

[Natalie Jean]

Right. Unless, again, teething. So you don't put it on the stuff they're teething with, man. It's like, give us babies. We know what?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I got it. I figured this out.

[Natalie Jean]

It's fine.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's hard to raise a child.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, no. We got to go back to the time of the baby cages. Remember when they would have. It looked like where you would put an air conditioner in your window, but actually was before a time where air conditioners would go because that's where they would let the babies get outside space.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, in the cities, right, because everybody was living in apartments. They didn't have yards or anything. And so they just put their babies in a cage hovering 20 stories above Manhattan's cement floor.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Do we not do that with air conditioners now? I feel like if you can do it with an ac, you can do it with a baby. And that is a Jackie Zabrowski guarantee.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's what your campaign is running on.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, man. I'm ready to be president. Everybody will love me.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

President Yasss. More like president.

[Natalie Jean]

No. Never. Natalie, please let me be the leader.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Of the free world. Please let me. Come on.

[Natalie Jean]

All right, fine. I'm not gonna win the national vote today. But I do need to bring up this little paragraph at the top of your script. Natalie. And talk about shame circles. I do. I mean, I figured you were gonna bring it up, but I need to. If we're talking shame circles, we gotta talk about Natalie being the jigsaw of hummingbirds.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's what I wrote. That's what I felt like yesterday. So my office, I have all these huge fake flowers all over the ceiling and stuff, because I just want to.

[Natalie Jean]

You don't trust natural beauty. Interesting. All right. You only want the fake. Okay.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I can't keep things alive. I draw it.

[Natalie Jean]

I understand. You keep the dogs alive. And that's asking. You know, you're doing a lot.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But I also like oversized flowers. So I feel like a tiny fairy in a big forest. And I'm like, whoa. So that's also why they're fake. Unfortunately, with the door open yesterday, I guess a hummingbird was drawn by the very sharp red flowers that I have in there. Got stuck in my office, which has a peaked ceiling. It was up at the top. It could.

[Natalie Jean]

It.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I put.

[Natalie Jean]

Did you make the hummingbird saw off its own leg?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, I did. I said, would you like to get out? You have 12 hours. Make your choice.

[Natalie Jean]

Don't do it, Ben.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But I couldn't get the hummingbird out. Cause it was freaking out, scared. And so I opened every possible orifice in the room.

[Natalie Jean]

It's like the bat moment in the Camp Hiney Bear, where my brain just stopped working. Bald Hiney Bear, Great Outdoors. We called it the Bald Hiney Bear Great Outdoors.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Of course, the movie that maybe you and I love and no one else listening to this show even remember about. You don't.

[Natalie Jean]

Okay. Producer knows it. All right. We're talking about the bat scene. Like, and that's what you went through.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It was, but. Except it wasn't. It was. I wasn't scared. The hummingbird was terrified. Couldn't leave. And so I had to go online. I was looking like, how to get a hummingbird to get out of the room.

[Natalie Jean]

Do you have to use, like, oven mitts?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, they said hummingbirds go towards light, and they go towards red colored things looking for nectar. And so I had to then start to fashion flowers over all of the open door spaces and kind of just wait for it to get darker. And when it was getting darker, it kept flitting.

[Natalie Jean]

This Was an all day affair. Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It kept flitting from fake flower to fake flower trying to find nectar. And it was like I was trying to torture it.

[Natalie Jean]

I do this to the hummingbird.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't. I didn't know I was such a. I didn't know I was creating a sadistic, like, torture chamber for a hummingbird. But the hummingbird was trying to find nectar over and over again. And all the flowers couldn't. Finally found its way to one of the ones I had hung over the open window. Tried to find nectar in that last one, and then it escaped.

[Natalie Jean]

Welcome to Shame Circle, bitches.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And now I feel like I've created, like, horrible trap for hummingbirds unintentionally.

[Natalie Jean]

No. I do think. I thought that the story was going to end and I woke up and the limp body of the hummingbird was on the floor. Like, I thought that's where this was going.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I was scared I was going to. Because I tried to help it, like, move it with a broom towards the window. And I was so scared because it's their tiny.

[Natalie Jean]

I know you're not supposed to touch them.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And I didn't. It got far from me every time. So it flew away. But they're so little. I don't know if you guys live in areas where there's hummingbirds we're gonna talk about, but they are so cool. And they look like insects and they hover fly. Like they can hover in place. And so it was actually kind of sick that I got to look at one up close and it was just, like, resting on the ceiling.

[Natalie Jean]

They move so fast.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You never get to see them sitting still because they literally can sit still while flying in the air. So they're constantly moving. But it was cool to kind of see it. And then it lived, so it was okay.

[Natalie Jean]

I feel like I should hope that it died because I'm the Autumn King right now. But I'm happy as Jack Jackie that it lived.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Because you would, as the Autumn King, do experiments on it.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. So it's just to find out, like, how do I move like that? Can I start flitting or in all about.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, like, like, like Aylin.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Celaena learned.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The snake, like, as a snake.

[Natalie Jean]

And then I'm moving, like, what if all of a sudden went phew and then I just, like, was out of the room all of a sudden? Because I learned to be the bird, live the bird, do it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I. I would be thrilled. Please learn now. Now you have to. You suggested it.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm going to start an internship with hummingbirds.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay, we have to go.

[Natalie Jean]

Wait, oh, wait.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, you're not doing. They have huge beaks that go in. You need to stick your mouth all the way in.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm sorry. For those of you that can't see, I was trying to use my straw as if it was my nectar straw into my large iced coffee. But, yeah, I guess it doesn't work. I can't fit my face in it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, I guess now we gotta start talking about the book. Fine. Fine.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We are. By the way, I am wearing a Bryce costume again. I'm not being lazy. I have so many good costumes coming up, but some of the pieces weren't in yet. So now I understand Bryce on this. Bryce has a lot of good fits, and so I probably will be wearing some, but this is my.

[Natalie Jean]

It certainly is going to open up a world that we. Oh, God, the outfits that I have to purchase for my job. Oh, no, don't make me. But that also includes now this black turtleneck and black blazer. So this I'm going to get to get a lot of use out of.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You didn't have a. You didn't have a stockpile of black turtlenecks just in your house already?

[Natalie Jean]

Man, maybe I should become more of, like, a cowl necked.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Ah, I mean, you could pull it off, but I guess I like a cowl neck when you can turn it into a hood.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, like Solita Sargothian. Boy, again, we're not talking about her. I'm looking at Bryce Quindlen right now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, we're with Bryce in her lush apartment where we left off in the aftermath of the news that she's being tasked with figuring out what happened to Danika.

[Natalie Jean]

Yikes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So if you recall, the angels showed up at her work and the archangel Micah showed up and said.

[Natalie Jean]

And none of them kissed.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, what they did say is, bitch, you're now on detective mode. Entrapped and trapped. And she doesn't have a choice. And her boss also signed off on it, and so now this is what she's doing. In this chapter, we get a view of her home life, her private life, and also how freaking cute Syrinx is.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my God, I want Syrinx so bad.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know. Oh, my God. But even though she's describing sort of this, like, comfortable living space, and she has this creature that she loves so much, all is not super well because she reminisces over the text that Juniper has sent her this day, warning her of the murder and that Briggs may have not killed the devils, which, duh. She already knows.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, we know that Juniper.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But Fury's obviously the one who told Juniper this. Meaning Fury didn't tell Bryce.

[Natalie Jean]

And also that Fury is talking to somebody but not her, which is whack.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Because Fury should care that Bryce is gonna die. Like, she. Doesn't she care at all about her safety?

[Natalie Jean]

Grief makes a person weird, Natalie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's so true. You could also interpret it to mean that Fury knew that Juniper was gonna talk to Bryce. And so Fury tells Juniper, and he's like, whatever or whatever. Because, you know, basic friend politics there aside, Bryce can't relax as she'd like to because she has realized that Hunt Athelar has already taken up his post, doing his duty of staring at her.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, at me. But it's me as the. As the autocadom king. Hey, Hunt.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah. You sneak in on the Autumn King, and he's pretending like Hunt's, like, following him around, staring at him.

[Natalie Jean]

I need to see you there. But he's, like, doing all of his experiments, because that's the thing. Autumn King. With any of these characters, if they could just be nice for a little while, you know, I'm gonna want to kiss him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Of course.

[Natalie Jean]

I just need a little bit of niceness. The bar is very low, and yet.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They can't get to that bar. Some of them, including the Autumn King. He's always such a prick.

[Natalie Jean]

Pissy missy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So now Hun has started his duty.

[Natalie Jean]

He is being a bit of an Edward in this situation, but I will say he was tasked with watching her.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, as in that she's not asking for him to just, like, watch over.

[Natalie Jean]

Her while she sleeps in the middle of the night, not know it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's being less of a creep than Edward because Edward literally was staring at Bella as she was asleep without her permission.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes, that's what I'm saying. Like, at least, like Bryce knows that Hunt is asking to be there, and.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He doesn't show up in her room at night once. Stare at her. Yeah, and he might want to.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, he's thinking about it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's thinking. She doesn't believe, though, for one minute that it's for her safety. Oh, no, she knows he's there to spy on her. She's not an idiot. And it's irritating her all to hell. She peers out her massive floor to ceiling window. I don't think that's ever said, but in my head canon, and it's a floor.

[Natalie Jean]

It's floor to ceiling windows. I think that it is all in my brain it's all white and it's all floor to ceiling windows completely open and exposed.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, that's how I feel.

[Natalie Jean]

Above them, the setting sun smeared the sky red and gold and pink. The palm trees and cypresses swayed in the balmy spring breeze. And that was a winged male sitting on the opposite roof, staring right at her. She knew those gray wings and the dark shoulder length hair and the cut of those broad shoulders.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Ugh, gross. Ew.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh yeah. No, I would hate it if you, Roger B.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The big strapping angels watching. Ew.

[Natalie Jean]

Ew. Yuck. Get away.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She is annoyed. She whips the curtains closed.

[Natalie Jean]

Actually, you know what? I say this, but I'm going to immediately call myself out. I was at the gym with my partner yesterday and he was looking at me from across the gym and I felt eyes on me while I was working out and I got so creeped out and I got so yucked out and then I realized who it was that was looking at me and then I got real good and turned on. But it was one of those things that, like, there's something about getting stared at. And I don't want to just say, I don't want to genderize this, but just like as a person, when you're getting stared at in a vulnerable place, especially like in your own home, that no matter how sexy the dude is, it will usually put you off at first for sure.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Especially because she knows, and she knows that he has to, but she doesn't want him watching her. No, but you know, but I do.

[Natalie Jean]

Want my husband watching me from across. Oh, I got to do these squats.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You have him go sit on the opposite building and stare at you through the.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, he's not allowed to work out. He can only watch me work out. And he's got to brood. And I go brood harder.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And you make him wear those huge fake wings, which is like he. He couldn't work out if you wanted.

[Natalie Jean]

No, everyone hates us at the LA Fitness, but man, we do what we can.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She whips the. She works. Whips the curtains closed on him so he can't see in the room. Moments later though, she gets a call from an unsaved number and realizes immediately it's him.

[Natalie Jean]

Cute. And I know it's not cute, but it's cute.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It is cute because he wants to watch tv. He, he answers. She answers the call and he's like, it's fucking hot. Open curtains again. And she's like, why? And he says, I want to watch tv. And this is the first Time we've gotten a sense of anything beyond the killing machine that is Hunt. Like, everything we've learned about him so far is like dark and sad and bleak. And we don't see any person or angel personhood. He's a person still. He's just not human. We don't see the personhood of him until this moment when he says he'd rather watch a sunball game than see her reality TV bullshit. But he wants. He's bored, essentially. And. Yeah, and Bryce finds this amusing as well. Remember, she doesn't know him from any other government officials. So this is first time she knows him to be this like, scary creature. And she's like, oh, he wants to watch reality TV with me. Weird.

[Natalie Jean]

Especially because she doesn't know the side of him at all. So, like, ugh. Sorry. I love love. Okay.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

As the Autumn King, you shouldn't.

[Natalie Jean]

I know. I mean, I am strong.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She is not interested in entertaining him on his shift, despite his demand to let him watch the trash tv. She's trying to relax too. We can get a sense of Hunt in that. Okay, he's not a robot. But his bedside manner still isn't great. He's not being sweet. He's like.

[Natalie Jean]

He's gru.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's being gruff. Instead of trying to engage with Bryce in a productive way, he's bickering with her. A fact that seems to delight Bryce not because she wants to get to know him, but she seemingly is enjoying tormenting him until he calls her sweetheart for the first time. This gets under her skin and he seems to know it again.

[Natalie Jean]

You know, a well placed sweetheart can do wonders, but it can also destroy a lot. And I think you got to remember that of what you look like when you call somebody a sweetheart. You know, if it's like a, you know, a 90 year old man outside the coffee shop that like, is like, have a good day, sweetheart. You know, one of those. I melt.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, sure.

[Natalie Jean]

I love an old man calling me sweetheart. And I think it just makes me think of all the, like, you know, all the old curmudges in Queens that I know and love who are like safe people around. Yes. And when you're getting a sweetheart. But like, sweetheart coming from a gruff man.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, especially if it's incredibly condescending, which is what he's doing in this moment.

[Natalie Jean]

So I would be. I would not be happy about it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So that gets enough under her skin that she gets up again from the couch to stomp over to the window, still speaking with him over the phone. But now staring at him and reminds him that she is the one tasked with this order. He is just a lookout to stop bossing her around. They continue their argument until Hunt flips her off and tells her to keep the curtains open, but sarcastically, she thinks shadow of death indeed, as referencing that he's flipping her off like a petulant child.

[Natalie Jean]

Child, like a teenager would. And he's the umbra mortis.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She tells him sarcastically again to go order a pizza. Maybe he'd be better at delivering pizza with those wings.

[Natalie Jean]

I bet he would be.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And then she closes the curtains on him again, despite him demanding she keep them open.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, Is it a bit of a flirtation?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. They hate each other.

[Natalie Jean]

No, they don't. No. Oh. Oh.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

This, of course, won't be the end of Hunt. He immediately begins texting her, asking her what she would consider inane questions about the security around her apartment. Kind of just like being blustery and again, condescending, asking dumb things like, do you have security on your front door? And she's like, oh, no, I've never considered that before. Thank you for all of your insight. She blows him off again until a loud thump on her window scares the crap out of her. She again stomps over and opens the curtains.

[Natalie Jean]

His dark eyes didn't so much as blink. Striking. That was the only word Bryce could think of to describe his handsome face, full of powerful lines and sharp cheekbones.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You can make this investigation easy or you can make it hard.

[Natalie Jean]

He growls.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We, the reader, knows what's at stake for him. And, you know, he knows that he needs to get this solved. But Bryce just thinks he's being an alpha hole. A word that gets used a lot in this book, which is basically, I would say, Midgard's version of, like. I would consider it a boy. Yeah, like an asshole slash himbo.

[Natalie Jean]

Actually, you know, it's more than I feel like. Boy is not. Yeah, just more of a king asshole.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. And so she doesn't understand what's at stake for him, so she just thinks he's being a bossy asshole. They bicker some more with Bryce telling him to stop bossing her around. Essentially, even though he's annoyed, he seems to find amusement when Syrinx appears at the window, sniffing at him. So he's grumbling and gruffling and all that stuff, but then when you see Syrinx pop up, you can see a little.

[Natalie Jean]

A little glimmer.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

A glimmer of like, oh, he has feelings.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, then he's got a big, soft heart. And underneath all those hard muscles.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We don't. Let's not go that far. We don't know that.

[Natalie Jean]

I know. It's just. My problem is it's so difficult. And this is coming from someone that. That talked a lot about our bats yesterday. Because I watched the first episode of Penguin and so I didn't know that it's all about in the world of Robert Pattinson's Batman. And I just love talking about. I mean, I think so many of my feelings about Hunt obviously come from my feelings about Batman. And it's difficult to like, separate the two because I feel like even though, like, obviously, you know, you can tell that there's chemistry between them. But the second I started reading about Hunt Athalar, I was just like, between him and Cassian, like, those are my two. Be just like I am attracted to. Oh, I. What if I just made him smile? What if I could like, just crush that candy shell on the outside and get to the chocolate on the inside?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What, the poop?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, give me the poop. I'll take it all. That's what love is, Natalie. All right. Sometimes you gotta lick the poop.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't think that's true.

[Natalie Jean]

What? Why didn't you say that earlier?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Should we have a conversation off air?

[Natalie Jean]

I've been married for years.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's interesting. And I'm thankful that we have the opposite taste. Like, obviously I'm still very attracted to these fellows, but I'm much more of a resound.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just can't wait for Hunt to protect me.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay. All right, Autumn King. That's not gonna happen.

[Natalie Jean]

I just. I would also watch them kiss too. It would be such an interesting, you know, mix em ups, I gather.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, but I don't want him to. I don't want Autumn King to experience pleasure.

[Natalie Jean]

I know, I know. I don't deserve it. Even though I'm stunningly gorgeous.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah, you are.

[Natalie Jean]

Thank you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We see Hun sort of react to Syrinx in a way, but Bryce doesn't find that charming. She actually has sort of a like a thread of fear kind of spike through her wanting to protect the only thing. She seems to have power over Syrinx from him and everyone else as though, you know, her close ties are so fragile. She saw people she cared about be destroyed, and so now she wants to protect, protect, protect the only thing that she can have control over. Right.

[Natalie Jean]

So. And she has nobody else to turn to right now. Really? Not like that's in the room of someone that can physically comfort her, and Syrinx is kind of the only thing she's got.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So she doesn't want to share Syrinx with Hunt, and I think it's because she's afraid of something happening to this little creature that she cares about. So she tells him, in so many words to piss off, and then closes the curtains again for the night. Hunt is fuming the following morning after this first interaction as he waits on the street to continue his tracking of Bryce for the day. So we've cut to the next morning. He calls Isaiah to complain about this task, and also in that conversation, gives us some chimera lore, which is. I don't think. I think this is just made up for. I don't think this comes from chimera Earthlore. I think this is just in SJM world that chimeras are able to pick locks, open doors, and jump between two places as if they were walking from one room to another, which is interesting.

[Natalie Jean]

How do they do it with their paws?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Aww. It's so cute, though.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, you can barely exist with your fake nails on.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God. How do y'all do this all the time?

[Natalie Jean]

Natalie was complaining about the fake nails right before because we were trying to hang up our backdrop. And I can even see you, like, gesticulating with them and feeling them on the ends of your hand. Like, I don't know how. Like, I'm so, so. I want fake nails so badly, but I can't get over the fact that they're on my fingers. I love. Stop thinking about them on my fingers.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I love how they look, especially.

[Natalie Jean]

It looks so good.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Especially this kind. Yeah. With the. The. The tip. What are these ones called?

[Natalie Jean]

Tippy taps.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And then the coffin tipped ones and stuff like, I love.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, gotcha. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They always look so badass, but I can't do anything.

[Natalie Jean]

No.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

With these on.

[Natalie Jean]

But you're looking really good while you gesticulate.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you.

[Natalie Jean]

You're welcome.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you.

[Natalie Jean]

I just feel like it gives you so much more of a flair and so much more power.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Asmr.

[Natalie Jean]

How do you like them nails?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Hunt also thinks on the fact that chimeras are a part of something we're gonna learn about called the lowers or peregrini.

[Natalie Jean]

Thank you. Accent of my people.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Which loosely translates to foreigner from Latin, which is interesting. Meaning it's sort of like whatever the creatures are considered in this world that are lower comprehension skills, like pets. But from the way he described his knowledge of them, it doesn't really sound like chimaeras. Aren't without consciousness.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, it sounds like they're actually pretty smart.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But the Asteri seem to believe that they can't follow laws, and so they have to be treated as possessions, which seems like that's garbage.

[Natalie Jean]

Sounds like you've got control issues.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Right, Asteri? Okay, don't tell them, because they'll turn you into, I think, just like, vapor.

[Natalie Jean]

Go ahead, vape me up. I'm gonna turn into cauliflower lung inside of you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You're gonna give them. Yeah, lung dust.

[Natalie Jean]

Ultimate revenge.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's fun. That's a good idea. He's explaining all of this to Isaiah. We find out because Hunt was awoken that morning with a nip from Syrinx, who had just appeared next to him on the opposite roof. Bites his little butt.

[Natalie Jean]

So cute.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

As if to say, hey, you're sleeping on the job. Jag off. Like, he's trying to, like, essentially, Syrinx is on team yes. Have Hunt watch his owner slash servant friend, Bryce.

[Natalie Jean]

And I know, obviously, I feel like you can't compare a chimera to a dog of sorts, but I feel like it is that kind of thing where it's like, when a dog knows innately you're a good person. I feel like there are just some dogs that understand that some people. Humans, are better than other humans.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I definitely think it gives us a sense that we're supposed to feel like Hunt is not the bad guy here because of the way Syrinx is interacting with him and not being, like, aggressive.

[Natalie Jean]

I believe I trust Syrinx.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Unless Hunt is a master manipulator, we don't know.

[Natalie Jean]

Let's see what them fingers can manipulate.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Not with your nails, as this is happening that morning. He's retelling this to Isaiah later on in the morning. But as it happened in the morning in real time, Bryce whips the curtains open just in time to see him, like, grabbing his ass and going like, ow, ow, ow. But Syrinx had already disappeared again. And he doesn't think that she knows that Syrinx can do these sort of things that, like, Syrinx can get out of the crate and all this stuff. But she just sees him looking like an idiot when she opens the curtains, and.

[Natalie Jean]

But she.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

When he. When she does open the curtains, she's just in her underwear smirking, which immediately goes like. He just, like, turns around. He calls her a quote brat to Isaiah. Isaiah finds Hunt's frustration amusing. Even though Isaiah tries to hide this. He basically tells Hunt to get over himself. Even as Hunt tells Him, he feels like an idiot. Standing outside the nail salon Bryce entered that morning instead of going to work, which is where he is having this full phone call.

[Natalie Jean]

And I will also throw it out there that I feel like it's big. That even though he's a big curmudge and he's a big old gruff angel, he still does talk about his feelings with Isaiah, even though, you know, I. I feel like that is. You wouldn't expect that from an umbra. Mortise of him even just talking about something.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm uncomfortable.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Like I'm frustrated even. Just accepting those things. That's not usually what you get from them big old gruff boys most of the time.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sometimes there's not a lot going on up at the top.

[Natalie Jean]

You. Sometimes, yeah. It's just. You say, keep the mouth shut. Just, we don't need to talk. We don't need to talk.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So after the two hang up, Hunt glowers through the window and thinks about how he's still very suspicious of Bryce and contemplates why she might have a reason to kill the pack of devils. So he's still kind of living in the world of. I don't really know that I can take her off the suspect list right now, especially if she's acting shady. She won't. Won't let me see the tv. I feel like maybe a little bit he's feeling personally offended by her.

[Natalie Jean]

But I also, I imagine too, is respecting the fact that assumably that she would be able to do that to the pack of devils. Like, I think that it's surprising because I would assume most like Malachi, most, like angels, wouldn't assume that a human could turn wolves into vapor in the way that. Like the way that they're ripped apart the way they were.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Or control the demon creature.

[Natalie Jean]

Exactly.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And.

[Natalie Jean]

And like, he must assume she's got a lot of power, which also I like about him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah, totally. When she's finished and makes her way back to the street so she gets her nails done. She keeps him out there for over an hour. He watches it and he's just like, what is happening? This looks like torture. I don't want to be here. She comes back out and they continue their animosity. Hunt telling her she's wasting time. Bryce telling him he doesn't know what he's talking about. So he sort of insinuates that she's supposed to be helping solve this murder and she's just. Just like getting her nails done like a dumb girl. They argue all the way Back to her apartment where she slams the front door on him.

[Natalie Jean]

To be fair, probably shouldn't have been like the first thing she did after being tasked with this huge project. But, you know, Bryce is gonna. Bryce, Bryce, Bryce, Bryce.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sometimes we learn Bryce has reasons for doing things.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes, she does.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We cut to later that day and Bryce is at Griffin chatting with Lehiba, going through some books, looking for some kind of. It's clear from the Heba's prodding of Bryce in this scene that she has a little crush on Hunt and wishes him to come inside so she can flirt with him.

[Natalie Jean]

I love this energy. I love a fire sprite. Just being like, hell, no. Not gonna stop me from flirting with you, you big old boy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Big man. The tinkerbell energy is strong here.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She has sort of. Lehabah has sort of an innocent childlike affectation, but is definitely a full grown woman.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, she's got all of it. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Full grown sprite.

[Natalie Jean]

Right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I suppose. Side note, as Bryce is getting exasperated with who she calls Lili for short pleading, she looks up and notes that the chandelier above her head is made to look like a sun with the seven planets of her solar system revolving around it. So that's what that they have going on over there. So we got eight. Used to be nine.

[Natalie Jean]

Man, you know, sometimes you gotta lose that piggy toe. You know? Who needs it? Evolution.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I love Pluto. I wish it was still a planet. Justice for Pluto.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes. Is it? What is it? Isn't like a dwarf star or something?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, it didn't fit all the criteria. The, like, updated criteria.

[Natalie Jean]

But it's your criteria.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Pluto is so pretty. Have you ever seen, like, up close satellite images of it?

[Natalie Jean]

No.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God, it's so gorgeous.

[Natalie Jean]

Is it like a planet of ice? Tell me about Pluto, Natalie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Also, I don't want to say it's colorful because they might be dyed photos because sometimes that's what they do to show things look brighter in space to.

[Natalie Jean]

Make us go, oh, wow, pretty big. Oh, wow.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, it works on me.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, I'm.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm down, but it's cool looking. But hey, maybe they just took another planet off. Maybe this is our solar system in some other realm. In some other.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, we are the piggy toe.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We are the piggy toe.

[Natalie Jean]

Good boy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Good boy. Somebody is very tired. So as Lili and Bryce talk, we get some background info about sprites. They were kicked out of the house of sky and Breath for joining the angel rebellion in order to fight for their rights to not be Considered Peregrini? Hell, yeah. So that is to say, they were a part of that same angel rebellion that put Hunt in this servitude. And the sprites were considered, and still are considered Peregrini, which is to say lessers.

[Natalie Jean]

They fought alongside them.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Considering them Peregrini seems unreasonable since they very clearly can communicate and have intelligence.

[Natalie Jean]

Absolute bullshit. That is bullshit.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But maybe they're being judged by their size, that they were treated as possessions. Or maybe just because they were so small, they could be taken, like, abused in that way and taken as possession.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm not fat, I'm fun size. That's what I would say.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay.

[Natalie Jean]

There was a meme that Henry and I really loved for a long time, and it had Theodore from the Chipmunks on it. And it said, I'm not fat. I'm fun sized.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But isn't fun size suggesting it's smaller?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, yeah. It doesn't. You know, I think it is. It was a meme from its time, and I don't think it needed to make much sense, but I do refer to myself as fun sized often.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm glad we can still talk about it.

[Natalie Jean]

Thank you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We can bring Remember it and Shame Circle. When the angel rebellion failed, all the sprites were punished even more so. So they are still considered Peregrini, but now they are deemed servants to the Asteri forever. Each one branded with the SPQM that Hunt also wears on his wrist. They are now houseless and mere possessions while also being servants.

[Natalie Jean]

Not fair. They are powerful also.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm sure it will never come back to bite the Asteri in the butt. Lili suggests that Bryce purchase her the way that she did. Syrinx. And she can keep Bryce's baths warm, which is very sad and sweet. Imagine how much people could save on pool heating bills if we had Fire Sprites.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, but you would want to, like, live alongside the Fire Sprite and not own the Fire Sprite.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, but, like, that's how they contribute to the house. Like, I don't think it hurts them.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, as long as they were down with it. As long as it was like a. You know, together. It's like, you heat this, I'll make you macaroni and cheese. Yeah, and together that. Now, man. Heated pool. Macaroni and cheese. Now that is a date I'd like to go on.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Damn. I know. Why are we working?

[Natalie Jean]

Let's go do that macaroni and cheese. Well, now I'm just going to be thinking about macaroni and cheese all day.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Hungry. Why'd you do this?

[Natalie Jean]

I'm sorry.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Lily is asking Bryce to basically buy her because she has to be considered possession as a Peregrini. And she is in servitude to Jesiba and the Asteri. So she has to work in this antiquity store. And she's saying, Bryce will maybe just buy me and then I can live with you in Syrinx. Bryce is irritated that Lili is interrupting her work and tells her she can't just do that. That Jesiba only let her buy C rings after the murders because of how fucked up her life was, quote unquote. You shouldn't curse so much, Bibi is all that. Lehaba replies.

[Natalie Jean]

I. You know, I think that part of my issues at first with Bryce was how she treated Lehaba, even though, like, you had to continue on to learn more about their friendship. And I think it always hurt me that I was like, she's already already, like, lesser, seen as lesser than. You don't talk down to her. But then it's like, yeah, but that's how Bryce was with all of her friends.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

And it's remembering that. It's like, no, that's just their friendship. I don't usually keep friendships like that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Right.

[Natalie Jean]

But that doesn't mean that a character. That doesn't make her bad just because that's their form of friendship.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And it is like, they do have like that camaraderie in that way where she is just sort of like treating her like a bit like a Tinkerbell. Just being like, get out of here.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. I'm like, I'm doing important work and you're just annoying me.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. In this scene, she also insinuates that she and Syrinx that to say Lehabah and Syrinx can communicate. Though I don't know if we ever really find out if that's true or if this is just Liebher's attempt to convince Bryce to buy her. But it seems as though maybe as whatever. Communicate. Maybe. I don't want to say as Peregrinis, because they are put in that category. They don't want to be there, but they might have some way to talk, like through mind or something. I don't know. But this is all taking place in the basement library of Griffin Antiquities, where Jesiba keeps a number of rare and enchanted books, ironically guarded by the Fire Sprite.

[Natalie Jean]

Now I'm just like, lost in thought of how they can communicate. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't know.

[Natalie Jean]

Why would they be connected? And I wonder Where?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't know. But she can she. Multiple times she says Syrinx told me this or that.

[Natalie Jean]

Right. Yeah. And I never really thought about that before. Interesting.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Sorry, there's. I have nothing else to say about that. I just never really thought too much into it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. We might learn. Who knows. Oh, they are doing this in the basement of Griffin where there's a bunch of, you know, contraband kind of like enchanted books down there. And they, they are animated throughout the time that we see Bryce in this room. Sometimes jumping off the shelves or sneaking around.

[Natalie Jean]

I do. God. It's one of those. It's like the same from the, you know, she who must not be named. I love the idea of moving books and moving photographs. Yeah, it's so fun to me. Like I still keep my like iPhone photos on live or whatever because then you hold it down, you see like a snapshot of the moment that you were taking the picture. And I feel like that's going to be so important someday down the line, like with the more people we lose as we get older and older of like having those like moments in time and being able to see them move. And it's just one of those things that it gets so sad. There's multiple things about reading books like these where it's like, well, we're also human and never going to be any of these creatures. And you know, there are things that we have to accept about the life that we're trapped in. All right. And there's no moving books and there's no. Well, we kinda have moving photographs and I'll take it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, the pictures, the moving pictures.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, the picture shows. How do they make em. Talkies?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh yeah, the talkies, I guess.

[Natalie Jean]

Why aren't podcasts called talkies? Guys, what?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Wizarding World is one of the coolest theme areas you can ever go to if you ever wanna experience that feeling. Like the way it's decked out is.

[Natalie Jean]

Really cool to see that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The castle and because they have the moving painting.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes. Yeah. When you have to wait for many, many hours to ride a two minute ride. Whoa. Is it two minutes? Is it two minutes? Yeah, that's what I'm. That's what I'm taking umbrage with. I think it's a 30 second ride in this umbridge. Don't you dare. I'll start. You're gonna start writing on your own hand and then we're gonna see. We're talking about Harry Potter now. We're not supposed to talk about Harry Potter.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm Talking about theme parks. I'll talk about it all day.

[Natalie Jean]

All right. Yeah, theme parks is fine.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

While Bryce is going through these books looking for some form of information, Jesa calls and tells her a client is coming in shortly. And after. After the call is finished, Bryce looks around the room she's sitting in, reflecting on her life. If you'll recall, she's not super thrilled to be working here, but she is thinking about how interesting this building is. And she thinks about how the amazing sound system exists in this sub level library. But then also continues on that thought by saying, she doesn't really dance anymore.

[Natalie Jean]

She doesn't dance anymore, which is a.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Big deal as a dancer. To stop doing it is like a huge tragic because it's your whole life. Sometimes people stop because they want to. But it is like this big, like, paradigm shift in your life. There's like this. You're either a dancer or you're not a dancer. And when you don't dance anymore, a lot of times it comes from something really awful happening. And she's saying she doesn't pick up her, like, ballet shoes anymore.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, it's also thinking about the life that she lost and the version of herself that she lost after this huge trauma happens, because after trauma, you're not the same person. Person. And that doesn't necessarily mean it's negative. It's just you're not the same. And so I imagine there's a good portion of her that dance equates to a life before everything happened with the devils. And I can't imagine wanting to go back to that, knowing that you can never be that person again.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. And some people, I think, in the dance world, probably in other kind of hobbies and loves and passions that they walk away from. I know several people who've stopped dancing entirely and they can't do it casually. Like, they cannot go take a ballet class because of it affecting them emotionally.

[Natalie Jean]

Have you asked them to watch Save the Last Dance again?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Some of the people I'm thinking about work in the arts, but they cannot. They love going to the ballet, but they cannot make their bodies do it.

[Natalie Jean]

Whoa.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Like, really intense.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, crazy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So her eyes. As she's having these thoughts, her eyes are moving around the room, and she notes the number of tanks and terrariums scattered amongst the bookshelves filled with common creatures like snakes and lizards. Lili likes to make names up for them.

[Natalie Jean]

Lehabah never named anything in the biggest tank, though, the massive one that occupied an entire wall of the library and whose glass expanse revealed A watery gloom. Mercifully, the tank was currently empty. Last year, Bryce lobbied on Lehabah's behalf for a few iris eels to brighten the murky blue with their shimmering rainbow light. Jesiba had said no and instead bought a pet Kelpie that had humped the glass with all the finesse of a wasted college guy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's just very funny.

[Natalie Jean]

Kelpie's got a hump, hump, hump, hump, hump, man. Sometimes, you know, I get it. I feel like if I was put into, like, kind of a tank, I'd probably be humping all about, or I'd be a sucker fish.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We're at Run's house in chapter 16, and Ruhn is getting faded. He smoked the mirth root, and he's sinking into his bed, just trying to have a nice time, when suddenly his sister appears in front of him.

[Natalie Jean]

I just love fantasy drugs, and I want to smoke mirth root. And, I mean, I'm going to assume it's a bit of a weed.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's what it seems like. It seems like the way he describes it almost seems like heroin, but hopefully it's not that in my brain.

[Natalie Jean]

I. I have it more as a weed because, like, I just want to smoke weed with Run.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sure.

[Natalie Jean]

And then we have a lot of sex. What?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What? Anyway, so I was hanging out.

[Natalie Jean]

His sister just showed up. Yeah. Jesus.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So this is following this time where Bryce had been sitting in the basement of Griffin, and she's now on a new task. But we are with Rune's POV in chapter 16, and he is very shocked to see Bryce in his room on top of being high. He thinks about how the last time she was in this bachelor pad house he lives in that he shares with his besties, Tristan and Declan. She was 16, and he had spent, at that point, a good amount of time cleaning it up and making it presentable. So it's been years since Bryce has come to this home because they, you know, had a big falling out that we don't know much about yet.

[Natalie Jean]

I will say, very impressive that he tried to make it presentable. Cause I do remember when I first met Ed Larson, it was me in high school, going to go visit Henry up at Florida State. And that was when Henry and Eddie were living in that horrible, horrible, disgusting place with way too many people. I think there was someone living in the dining room as well as in the living room. And I was like, there was a bathroom upstairs that literally, literally just said, do not go in here. We mean it. They just Literally closed. They like, it was so disgusting. Something had exploded in the bathroom.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Was it the one with the shower where the wall came down and all the bugs fell? Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

So what they did when all the bugs fell in was they went, oh, shit. And then they just closed the door of the bathroom and didn't go back inside of it. And I was 17, 16, 17 years old. I was just like, what is happening? I just thought that that's what happened in college. It was like they didn't even try. And Henry did say he had tried to make it look nicer for me, but I don't know if he did. But I will also say Henry did not force me to share a couch with someone that was living on the couch, which was some dude that I didn't know. He shared the couch with that dude over the weekend so that I could. Could. And I was able to stay in Henry's bed instead.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Was that the crust punk?

[Natalie Jean]

Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Who I immediately had a crush on. Yeah. And it was probably for the best that we didn't share a couch.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, I remember. Place to go and you're so dirty and oh, wow, you haven't changed your clothes in like five days. Oh, wow.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I remember hanging around a bunch of cross punks at 16 who were adults who said stuff like, age. Age is just like, you know, it's like an establishment thing.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. When you're saying that to someone 20 years younger than you, trying to bang them, just think about your fucking life choices, huh?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, well, I age just a number.

[Natalie Jean]

Come on. In my mind, I'm still 14. It's like, well, that's scary. And you should go to a doctor.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But you're so mature for your age, though.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh. Oh. That's the worst part is on a teenager, though, that line works.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Of course it does.

[Natalie Jean]

And hopefully not to these zoomers. Hopefully the zoomers are different.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think they are actually quite a bit different. They understand a little bit more. Because we treat predators, we treated in our time, we treated young women like older teenagers, as though they were, you have to go be adults now. And I think we've pulled back on that a little bit, which is a good thing, in my opinion. You could be a kid. Yeah. Because, man, that line just always works, especially on a kid like me who always wanted to be older. I just wanted to stop being a teenager because it sucks.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, yeah. Take your time.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Take your time.

[Natalie Jean]

All those children that are listening to this. Oh, I know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We have such a huge audience.

[Natalie Jean]

Teen listenership. Wow.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Via Gen Alpha. What Are they called Alpha Sigmas?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, the Alpha 6. So anyway, this is a house that I want to go to and feel uncomfortable because I want to have sex with all of the boys that live.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sure. And so he is living in a bachelor pad. And even because he's only 75, so like he's still like figuring things out. And it is filled with drugs and intoxicated homies in this moment. Because he didn't know she was coming. He recalls the last time she was here was actually the very last day that they were friends. Friends that whatever fight that they had occurred in this very room.

[Natalie Jean]

Talk about it, Bryce. It's okay.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Not completely sure that she's not a hallucination, he allows her to lead him through the house to back downstairs. Because she wants to get him some water. Because she needs to like slap him away.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Through his haze, he knows that whatever has drawn her here must be pretty important. And he tries to gain some semblance of comprehension skills as they walk down the grand staircase in this house that I imagine is or was nice, but they've kind of trashed it.

[Natalie Jean]

They had turned it into a party house.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And then it's made clear in his thoughts that he and his roommates are of 50 years live to party and party to live.

[Natalie Jean]

Hell yeah, man. That's got to be. Honestly, I wouldn't want my 20s to last 50 years. That's got to be so tiring.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I guess if you live for, you know, 500 years.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. That it's doesn't seem that long.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The ratio makes sense, you know?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. That is true. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'd like to not be boring when I'm 75. So, you know, I get it.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So he does acknowledge though, that he never gets all messed up when his duties as an OX member are required. He's a strictly off work party boy. So he's got sponsibility.

[Natalie Jean]

I know. I get you, Rune. Same. I do need everyone to know though. If you're talking to me after most likely 7pm and I don't have a show that night, I'm high shit.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, sure.

[Natalie Jean]

That's just. I feel like that's just a given.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, but you're just relaxing.

[Natalie Jean]

But I wait until at the end of the day.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's very responsible.

[Natalie Jean]

At the end of the day, I.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Smoke all the way heat. Oh, okay. They're not there yet. They enter a room filled with revelers and people playing pool.

[Natalie Jean]

Tristan Flynn, son of Lord Hawthorne, presided over it from a nearby armchair. A pretty dryad on his Lap. The glazed light in his brown eyes mirrored Ruhn's own. Flynn gave Bryce a crooked grin as she approached. All it usually took was one look and females crawled into Tristan Flynn's lap. Just like the tree nymph. Or if the look was more of a glower. Any enemies outright bolted.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Gotta be totally honest, I have a hard time differentiating Tristan and Declan.

[Natalie Jean]

Thank you for saying it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And I have to look at fan art to picture them because all I can see are Colin and Finn from Gilmore Girls, which is Logan Hunsberger's best friend.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh my God. Yes. I didn't think about. That's where my brain was. And yes, you are correct.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I. And I don't find either of them attractive.

[Natalie Jean]

Attractive.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

This will not do because they are individuals and they're independent. So I put picture of Tristan in the script here.

[Natalie Jean]

Not into him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, he's got a preppy vibe. He's a type. Obviously he's not our type, but he's a. He's a preppy looking guy is chestnut colored hair. It's short.

[Natalie Jean]

He looks like a finance and that. You know he's golfing with his boys.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, apparently it's Bryce's type, as we learn. At least when she was a kid. But.

[Natalie Jean]

And you don't like alpha holes. I just feel like Bryce, you should work on your type.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think she's over him at this point. But he's got a fancy title from daddy and hates it. Just like Ruhn. And it's likely how they bonded. His father is named Lord Hawthorne from a nearby territory. Tristan has a rare form of earth magic.

[Natalie Jean]

Declan called from the sectional couch at the other end of the living room. A laptop on his knee and a very interested drocky male half sprawled over him, running clawed fingers through deck's dark red hair.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Hey, Bryce. To what do we owe the pleasure?

[Natalie Jean]

This is my problem is I want to the out of Declan. I mean, obviously I do.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, but he's gorgeous. Of course.

[Natalie Jean]

He's super hot, covered in tats and I want to kiss him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

His eyes are amazing. His like amber colored eyes. Declan looks more punkish like Ruhn. He's very beautiful and super gay. And he's the one with the mad hacking skills that comes into play a lot in the story.

[Natalie Jean]

Honestly, he kind of looks like Troye Sivan, but with red hair.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's got really fiery red hair.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You know what it is for me, I think is that both names end in an Ann. And there are two syllables. Tristan. And Declan is too close to Me. My brain doesn't want to separate them.

[Natalie Jean]

It is.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But I'm gonna do it.

[Natalie Jean]

I know you're gonna do it. And it also is Weir. Our brains do that. I feel like sometimes it's easier for me to differentiate if I'm looking at the words and the shape of someone's name. And I know I. Even as I'm saying some, like no one. No one does that, Jackie. But you know what I mean. It helps me remember like how they're connected to people.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Natalie Jean]

And so sometimes I feel like when I listen to the audio books it's not as it's more difficult for me to differentiate.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Totally. They all perk up and become curious about why Bryce is here this evening. Evening. Ruhn thinks about their long standing friendship between the three males and how them happening to go through their ordeal together really bonded them in a way nothing else could. Then we get some more insight into what the ordeal entails.

[Natalie Jean]

The ordeal itself varied depending on the person. For some it might be as simple as overcoming an illness or a bit of personal strife. For others it might be slaying a worm or a deer demon. The greater the fae, the greater the ordeal.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

How embarrassed would you be if your ordeal was just getting like a stomach virus?

[Natalie Jean]

I wish my cough would go away.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's it, huh?

[Natalie Jean]

Wow. You must be really powerful. But even then it doesn't quite explain what the ordeal is like. I like that. It's like. It's like. It's like a thing. And you'll know if the thing happens, right?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Basically, that's what they say is that you. You know when it happens, like when it starts occurring, you're like, oh shit. This is the ordeal. So they have gone. The three of them went through something harrowing. But all we know at this point was that the three of them almost died in some place called the Cave of Princes. And runes quote hateful cousins from a Vellan were involved. The three of them then proceeded to make the drop together the following week.

[Natalie Jean]

Sorry, we got. The different ordeal and the drop are two different. Different things.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes. Quite reminiscent of three boys making it to the top of a mountain. I would say.

[Natalie Jean]

It's just. It's so insane because I remember I had read Crescent City after reading Acotar. But I'm. But before reading Throne of Glass. And at this point I was so like, how are they not the Bat Boys? I don't understand. Like this. This is just the Bat Boys. It's just what the Bat Boys went through. But it really is fun because SJM goes on and, like, does such different things with them that I completely forgot that went through the ordeal together.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They are very different from the Bat Boys, but they share some similarities in this way. And I also just really enjoy how she portrays male friendships because they're not just blatantly toxic.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes. And it's not just like, I think it's so great to also flesh out that, like, dudes also talk about other things besides just pussy. As opposed to what, like, most sitcoms have hated us or, like, hating their wife and. And Gaines. Like, those are the things that, like, the sitcoms from our youth told us about male friendships, and it's just not the case.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The hating your wife trope through the 90s noise was the worst. Right?

[Natalie Jean]

It's so annoying. Like, what are you talking about? Peg Bundy is so fucking hot and.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She wants to bang you all the time. Oh, no.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, it's horrible for me. I love Married With Josh. I do too. I love Married With. I love Married With Joe. But still, like, now as an adult looking at him like, man, that. All that ball and chain shit over it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Stupid. They're downstairs in this party, and Bryce gives Ruhn water so he can try to flush the drugs out of his body. And then she tells the other boys to piss off. She has to speak with Ruhn in private because all these people are down here. They go back up to his room for privacy, and she lays everything out. She's been put on this task of finding out what happened to Danika, and she wants to know if the fake have any intel on the Viper Queen's whereabouts when Maximus was shredded the other night.

[Natalie Jean]

Man, even just the phrase Viper Queen gets me slipping out of my seat. I'm so attracted to just the. The. The look of Viper Queen and just thinking, I know that you're not supposed to want to kiss her. I know that. But she's so bad.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, you are kind of. I mean, she makes her appealing.

[Natalie Jean]

She's seductive.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We don't know a ton about the Viper Queen just yet, but it seems as though she runs the area known as the meat market. Roon is new to the news that Bryce has been sent out on this mission, and he's very unhappy about it.

[Natalie Jean]

He's so protective.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He tells her that he's going to speak to the governor and tell him that Bryce is off this case. He doesn't have any info of the Viper Queen, but he wouldn't have told her anyway as he doesn't want her to get this deep into the very real danger. Despite Bryce's pressure, protests, and hesitations when she was put onto the task run. Watches her become cold and intense when he challenges her.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, she doesn't want to be challenged.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And he realizes that she's turned a corner and now has become determined to find out who killed Danika. So even though she didn't really want this, she's not going to stop now.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, now she's in it. And now she's going to do whatever the hell she's going to do. And if there's one thing you know about Bryce Quinlan, you're not gonna tell her what she can and cannot do.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. And she's gonna keep going. Even if it takes her years. Even if she dies. He thinks about how so few people know her beyond being a party brat, but that isn't really who she is. He calls her, quote, a master of her own fate in his thoughts. But then as they're going through this and his mind is sort of like trying to get.

[Natalie Jean]

Get.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Just detangle the drugs from his. His thought processes, he realizes he's also been put on a nearly impossible task by the Autumn King man.

[Natalie Jean]

Yikes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thanks a lot, dad.

[Natalie Jean]

Sorry. I'm a bad dad. Not like the other dads. I'm a bad dad.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Lots of dads are bad.

[Natalie Jean]

I feel like a lot of dads are bads. And I. I would. You know what? I'm about to make a blank assumption that if you're a scientist daddy, that you're so wrapped up in science that you don't want be a daddy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Whoa. Shots fired.

[Natalie Jean]

Shots fired. Towards scientists. Just in general, just all scientists.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We're making enemies of you science nerds.

[Natalie Jean]

I think you know where this idea comes from. As I was saying here. I was like, I think. Jackie, does all of this come from. Honey, I shrunk the kids. How did I know? Yes, Natalie, how did you know? How did you know? That's so fucking crazy. No. Should we not be working together? Should we not be. Be doing this?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Natalie, I just think this more than anything, is that Disney and Nickelodeon, like, destroyed our.

[Natalie Jean]

Destroyed us. I think that's. I guess that's why I feel that way. I. I'm sorry, scientists, you're probably not all like Rick Moranis. You might, you know, make the baby be really big. I don't think that you're gonna do that. But I guess this is just how I feel as a scientist daddy today.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And I feel only positive vibes about Rick Moranis the man.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, I know Only good things are ever said about him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He has the same birthday as me, too.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my God. That means you're good people. Well, I share a birthday with Napoleon Bonaparte, so what does that say about me?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Maybe also Napoleon Dynamite. We don't know what his birthday is.

[Natalie Jean]

You wanna llama? I forget. I don't remember anything about Napoleon Dynamite.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Really? One of my favorites. Tina, you fat lard. Eat Tina the llama.

[Natalie Jean]

That's. I remember. I think I've seen Napoleon Dynamite probably 10 times, but not in 20 years. So you watch it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's fantastic. Still.

[Natalie Jean]

All right. I guess it holds up. I guess I gotta watch Napoleon Dynamite.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So he. He remembers. Oh, I have this thing I have to also do. And he very casually, pretty pathetically, asks her if. Hey, crazy, do you ever hear anything about that Luna's horn thing? Member from a couple years ago?

[Natalie Jean]

I know, like, crazy. Like, I know it's like a fan thing. Like, who cares?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But, like, she's like, no. And he's like, oh, cool. I was just checking. Anyway, he's not that pathetic, Natalie.

[Natalie Jean]

He's only sexy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's. He's, like, basically hoping that he doesn't have to do this to do it.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, also, you got to remember he was just sitting and smoking a bunch of weed like he doesn't want to think about, like, what he's been tasked to do.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. Exasperated by him, Bryce buys him and begins walking towards the front door of their house. He follows her, launching himself over the second story railing to the foyer, his two backups joining ranks so that he slams down and Declan and Tristan come stand behind him, kind of getting the idea that Rune's hackles have gone up about something. They follow Bryce out the front door and end up face to face with a grimacing umbra mortis staring daggers at them from across the street.

[Natalie Jean]

I love just him standing across the street.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Like, I feel like he's more like. Like, annoyed.

[Natalie Jean]

Like, he's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I. I like the way that Bryce sort of, like, dresses him down. It's not. I don't feel scared by him. I feel like he's just annoyed. Like, super annoyed. Just being like, I feel stupid standing here. Like, that's how I feel. Like he's. He's standing. But obviously he could kill them with, like, one.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, yeah. Just a thought.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The four males engage in a pissing contest. Run, reminiscing about the fist fight he had gone into hunt with the year prior. Run's boy is talking.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't know. I know you're very strong. But Hunt's really big. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And they both had some damage, but I feel like Hunt would win in that situation. I do know that Ruhn is big, strong man.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But he's not big strong. Angel.

[Natalie Jean]

Umbra mortis and, like, lightning power. Thinking that, like, that's, like, not even all of Hunt's power.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Just a sliver.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So Tristan and Declan basically pull Rune away because they're all like, this is not a good time to start a fight. We are on drugs. This is, like, in front of our house. And so they pull him back away. And Bryce begins to make her way down the street with Hunt trailing her. Run watches with some satisfaction as Bryce consistently with Hunt switching directions and walking off of curbs so that he, like, has to stumble into the street and stuff.

[Natalie Jean]

Such a. Like a dumb. Like it is. Honestly. Brat is such a good word to describe. Like, it's so bratty. It really is very bratty. But it's pretty funny.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Then we're with Bryce's thoughts. As Hunt is trailing her, he demands audibly to know what they're doing. Feeling satisfied, she hands him. She pulls from her pocket a list of suspects. The one that he was shouting about earlier, telling her she needed to do this. And she was ignoring him. So in his mind, he thought she just didn't do it. But then she's like, here's the list. And he's like, when?

[Natalie Jean]

When?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

When did you do that? She criticizes him for thinking that she was just a, quote, dumb, vapid female when he points out that she did, in fact, spend the morning getting her nails done.

[Natalie Jean]

And they look great, Natalie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you. She drops the bomb on him. Yes, she did go deep. That. And what do you know? It just so happens that the nail tech is Maximus Tertian's girlfriend.

[Natalie Jean]

Interesting.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's like, what? She found out through some online sleuthing the night before, and she got the heartbroken veneer babe to go spill some info while she got her nails done that way.

[Natalie Jean]

So I just wish she could have taken more time off work. Not to be like that, but, like, your boyfriend just got really murdered.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, but I guess it's just like a hard life, you know?

[Natalie Jean]

Another day, another dollar.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yep. The girlfriend tells through Bryce's picking through information with this nail tech she's getting. She's pulling information from her secretly. She doesn't know why she's getting information, like why Bryce is asking. She basically commiserates with the nail tech, saying that she lost Danika.

[Natalie Jean]

Right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And so they're like, kind of Just gabbing over getting their nails done. And she discerns from this conversation that even though Micah said Danika and Maximus were friends, that that is not true. Because the girlfriend mentions that had Maximus known Danika, he would have been bragging about it because he was very egotistical and Danica was famous, so he would have been talking about how he knew Danica.

[Natalie Jean]

Man, it's probably for the best that you're not a girlfriend to this dude anymore. So I don't want to say you're welcome, girlfriend, nail technician, but I think you're welcome.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It could have been sort of like a transactional kind of relationship. You know what I mean?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

I hope. For sick.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

For sick. So. But they did have a connection by Bryce's wager that it was in fact the Viper Queen that connected Maximus to Danica, who this nail tech whose nails this nail tech did on Sundays. And so the Viper Queen news every.

[Natalie Jean]

Sunday, getting your nails done.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think if you're like, a bougie bitch like the Viper Queen, you do.

[Natalie Jean]

Wow.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So there was this connection of the nail tech who knew the Viper Queen, Anne, Maximus and Danica, and they had this connection. Connection. Which is why Bryce wants to find out about the Viper Queen's whereabouts the evening Maximus was killed.

[Natalie Jean]

I guess it makes sense, Bryce.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, guess you're not just some dumb, vapid female after all.

[Natalie Jean]

Whoa.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, to be fair to Hunt, she was behaving like. Like she didn't show him that she was doing anything wrong.

[Natalie Jean]

She wasn't communicating any of the things she was actually working on. She was just acting like a brat.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, and she clearly did that because she is savoring the fact that he was wrong in this moment. Moment. So she is being a brat. And she also points out that just Danica working in the Wolf auxiliary would have made her an enemy to people like the Viper Queen due to the vibe Queen's backroom dealings.

[Natalie Jean]

Makes sense. And just the overall knowledge that the wolves were against, you know, violence and crime. And it turns out Viper Queen really likes violence and crime.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So, Bryson, Hunt, Bicker, and are you all through this? Walk back from Rune's house to her apartment apartment. Hunt stumbling through his disbelief that she's actually been working on the case and had ideas on who to keep track of.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Surprise, Hunt. Something's happening between her ears.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Wow. He's doubly aghast when she tells him to have his people not only tail the Viper Queen, but also Bryce's quote, uncle, the Autumn King me. She doesn't think he did the murders, but thinks it will be of importance what the Autumn King does once Ruhn fills him in in on all the stuff she's just told Rune. So she's kind of like playing manipulative chess right now with all these people. And Hunt's like, you want me to follow these two very dangerous, powerful individuals?

[Natalie Jean]

Great, great, awesome. And one of them might make my family really big, really cool.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So he is irritated, but he does see her points in checking these people out. So he gets on the phone the second they part ways at her front door. We're still with Bryce though, inside of her building. And she thinks about her father. Not her uncle, but her father, Jackie, Daddy, and the power, all of the power that the Fae Lords wield.

[Natalie Jean]

The Autumn King was a courtesy title in addition to her father's role as a city head. As for all the seven Fae Kings, no kingdom was truly their own. Even Avalon, the green isle ruled by the Stag King, still bowed to the Republic.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Stag King, you say? Seven Fae Kings, you say? Interesting worlds being woven.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh my God.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sound of world I love these things exploding.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh my God, it sounds like crackles. It's crazy that like these kind of like pulling out these little, just this little whatever line that she'll write in to connect things that you're just like man, I forgot about that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, it's crazy. We learn quickly that even though Bryce had agreed to Hunt just moments ago, not to seek out the Viper Queen without a formal government request, sort of like a warrant I think is what Hunt was suggesting. Like yeah, don't go down there until we have it all like made an organized because she's very dangerous and Bryce is like sure moments later after they part that it is in fact Bryce not going to bed right now, but she has come to change clothes and grab some weapons because she is going immediately to the meat market.

[Natalie Jean]

Right? The opposite of what Hunt told her to do.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes. So she waits 30 minutes.

[Natalie Jean]

She waits 30 minutes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, 30 minutes. But mostly just because she wants to throw Hunt off the train. So she pulls a Ferris Bueller and sets her living room up as though she's sitting there watching TV and like cracks the curtains so he can see that happening. And then she sneaks around from the view of the window and exits her.

[Natalie Jean]

Apartment, sneaking out the rear stairwell of her building to the small alley where her scooter was chained. Bryce took a swift bracing breath before fitting on her helmet.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She zips around in the bustling evening traffic on her scoot, heading closer to the mysterious and much quieter meat market section of town.

[Natalie Jean]

Few people walked the streets of the CBD at this hour, and Bryce made sure to get through its canyons of high rises as swiftly as possible. She knew she'd entered the meat market not by any street or marker, but by the shift in the darkness.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We get a very quick understanding that the meat market is a seedy, dangerous place. Ugly stuff happens here. Forbidden items sold and traded. Other things.

[Natalie Jean]

Vendors and shoppers alike eyed her to glean if she was selling or for sale in the warrens below. Carved deep into Midgard's womb lay three different levels just for flesh. Mostly human, mostly living. Though she'd heard of some places that specialized in certain tastes. Every fetish could be bought. No taboo was too foul.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yikes.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, it is an interesting place. You know, the Dark Web does exist. And it seems like the meat market is the dark web for Midgard.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, that's upsetting. Especially mostly living.

[Natalie Jean]

Yikes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

This seems like a place she shouldn't probably go alone.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, probably.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But fortunately, she won't have to.

[Natalie Jean]

The umbra mortis slammed to the ground, cracking the cobblestones in a rippling circle. Hunt's eyes practically glowed as he said, in full view of those cowering along the street, I am going to kill you. So, Hunt, did I do a bad thing?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She had to have known he was gonna follow.

[Natalie Jean]

She had to have known that he was gonna follow.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She's of.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes. There is no way he is so good at following people. He's like, that is what. He's hundreds of years old. Like, what are you talking about, Bryce? You really think you're gonna, like. You're only 20 something. You can't get away with this kind of shit.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And I imagine she knew that and she just wanted to fuck with him and, like, make him mad, which she accomplished.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, she does. She's really, really good at doing that to him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Maybe she just wanted to see him, like, I don't know, be, like, kind of, I guess, sexy or whatever. Like, slamming down and cracking the cobblestone circle.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I'm, like, scaring everybody and. But, like, knowing that he's, like, kind of fun and kind of silly and kind of cute. I don't know. We'll find out.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

All right, next week. I'm gonna go back to my workout. This looks like my costume. Looks like I'm wearing a 2009. Remember when everybody wore these to the clubs?

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, yeah, the headband.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But I was trying to make it look like a sweatband cuz. I was on my jog to the nail.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, gotcha. No, you look like a hadid.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, I look like a hadid? Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

You're welcome, I guess.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you. Okay.

[Natalie Jean]

Please read up until chapter 21. This show is made possible by listeners like you thanks to our ad sponsors. You can support our show shows by supporting them. For more shows like the one you just listened to, go to lastpodcastnetwork.com.