LPN Deep Dives: HOSAB / Episode 21: Whispering Eye

Summary

Podcast Summary:

LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City — HOSAB / Episode 21: "Whispering Eye"
Hosts: Natalie Jean & Jackie Zebrowski (The Last Podcast Network)
Original Air Date: October 28, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Natalie Jean and Jackie Zebrowski continue their comedic, candid deep dive into Sarah J. Maas’ House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City Book 2), focusing on the intense and lore-rich chapters dealing with the mystics, the Prince of Hell (Thanatos), and major plot revelations involving Bryce, Ethan, Tharion, and companion characters. The hosts blend literary analysis, critical fandom discourse, and signature irreverent humor—this time centered on themes of power, addiction, and lineage secrets, all while riffing on costumes, anatomy, and "whispering eyes."

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Key Discussion Points

Opening Banter & Costumes [02:38–12:18]

• Hosts open with costume chaos: Jackie quizzes Natalie about neck/back costuming logistics ("Are these two parts pieces?"), both cosplaying Crescent City characters (Natalie as "Prince of Hell" Thanatos, Jackie as the Mystic).
• They riff on mystical and body "holes": third eyes, "whispering eyes" (vaginas, per Role Models), and the "rude eye" (anatomical backdoor), with plenty of double entendre.
• Notable humorous explorations into medical experiences and gendered fashion censorship, and affectionate digs at their home life and roleplay potential.
• Memorable quote:
  • "You have to. What do you think? Your nose hole?" (A, 04:51)
  • "If you saw my nipples, they were man's nipples. And everyone's fine with that on YouTube." (A, 07:04)

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Mystic Tank Scene & Thanatos’ Entrance [12:18–19:48]

• Recap: Bryce, Ethan, and Tharion meet the mystics, who are chained in tanks for their mystical abilities. They witness one, formerly in hell, awaken and begin communicating with Prince Thanatos via projection.
• Thanatos’ ghostly “entrance” is described ("I envision you floating in like the two Scolari brothers from Ghostbusters" - B, 14:03), with the hosts mimicking macho bravado:
  • "'What up, bitches? …Did they tell you good things? I hope they didn’t cause I’m a prince of hell, bitch.'" (A as Thanatos, 13:39)
• Notable Points:
  • Thanatos is portrayed as arrogant, otherworldly, and contemptuous versus the other hell princes—less camaraderie, more outward danger.

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Bryce as "The One" & Prince Dynamics [19:48–22:49]

• Thanatos singles out Bryce ("the one his brother speaks of"), instigating more not-like-other-girls banter:
  • "Bryce is like, okay, another prince gonna sniff me, you guys are obsessed with me." (B, 15:31)
  • Prince “dirtbag” vibes likened to famous royal brothers:
    • "We got like a Harry and William situation…which one ignites you, Natalie?" (A, 20:11)

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Confrontation: Connor, Emil, & Thanatos’ Real Motives [22:49–26:53]

• Thanatos confirms Connor remains in the Bone Quarter, protected until a mysterious time has passed, but no closure for Ethan.
• When Tharion mentions Emil (a Thunderbird), Thanatos pretends disinterest, only to ominously declare, "Ready to feast." (B, 24:16)
• Scene takes a horror turn: Thanatos “feasts” on the male mystic’s soul, technology fails, the room goes cold—a power play and critique of mystical exploitation/addiction.
• Notable host joke:
  • "Give me an opportunity—and maybe it’s just ‘cuz I’m dressed as Thanatos—but I feel like we’re not soul-sucking enough." (A, 26:24)

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Rescue & Ethical Dilemmas [29:56–36:41]

• Ethan uses wolf-jock athleticism to smash the tanks and rescue the mystics as Thanatos attacks, cutting the prince’s connection.
• The mystics—damaged, desperate, possibly addicted to their captivity—beg to go back in the tanks, likened to withdrawal/addiction dynamics by the hosts:
  • "It feels to me like that’s an addiction—the pusher man saying, ‘See, they’re begging for more.'" (B, 34:15)
• The Astronomer—in charge of the mystics—freaks out; Bryce and Ethan want to fight but must leave.

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Aftermath: Rift within the Team [36:41–38:51]

• Outside, Tharion and Bryce fight over blame for the failed rescue; Bryce declares Tharion “on probation”:
  • "'Try having your family at the mercy of the River Queen then come cry to me about morals.'" (A as Tharion, 38:17)
• Encounter with Mordoc (Danika's father, villain figure). Team unites against him, despite Bryce’s anger at Tharion.

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Light Moments: Hunt, Isaiah & Baxian [46:37–57:10]

• Meanwhile, Hunt is sulking in the cafeteria, missing Bryce. Is comforted by Isaiah.

• Baxian sits with them; possible olive branch, subtexts of betrayal and found family.

  • Host jokes take over:
    • "I don't want to sit next to him in the cafeteria because then everybody thinks that he's my friend." (A, 49:25)
    • Bob Marley posters and fruit roll-up underpants as “dorm decor” for these “boys.”

• Hunt and Baxian share a “guy moment,” play video games, and open up:

  • "Was it possible the hellhound was lonely?" (B, 54:28)

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More Plot: Surveillance, Danika Mysteries, Wolf Heritage [63:49–77:02]

• Surveillance tapes reveal Danika, before her death, secretly photographing a unique, ancient wolf-shifter lineage manuscript.
  • Jesiba, the mysterious sorceress boss, sasses Bryce but ultimately delivers the book.
• Wolf Prime reveals lost wolf history intentionally suppressed by the Asteri—wolves once never bowed, now disconnected from their roots.
  • "The reason the old history wasn't written was to keep the wolves from knowing their true nature." (B, 77:36)
• Sabine is confirmed as power-hungry and unwilling to reconnect with wolf heritage.
• Chases, comedic guard distractions, and more lore about wolf oral history.

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Rebel Subplot: Pippa, Mech Suits, and Ophion’s True Colors [81:22–83:53]

• New mission: attempted infiltration of Ophion’s base to prevent the unstable Pippa from using newly stolen mech suits—adding complexity to already convoluted alliances.
  • "At this point, there are 30 subplots going on." (A, 83:16-83:27)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (With Timestamps)

• On costumes, gender, and YouTube censorship:
  • "If you saw my nipples, they were man's nipples. And everyone's fine with that on YouTube." — Natalie (07:04)
• Thanatos’ performance:
  • "'What up, bitches?...Did they tell you good things?...I hope they didn’t because I’m a prince of hell, bitch.'" — Natalie as Thanatos (13:39)
• On the "chosen one" trope:
  • "Bryce is like, another prince gonna sniff me, you guys are obsessed with me." — Jackie (15:31)
• On ethical complexity:
  • "It feels to me like that’s an addiction—the pusher man saying, ‘See, they’re begging for more.'" — Jackie (34:15)
• On new male friendships:
  • "Was it possible the hellhound was lonely?" — Natalie (54:28)
• Banter on Wolf Prime's age and sex appeal:
  • "He's still hot, though." — Jackie (76:06)
• On the ever-expanding plot:
  • "At this point, there are 30 subplots going on." — Jackie (83:16)

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Segment Timestamps (Major Beats)

• [02:38] Main content begins; hosts introduce costumes & jump straight into in-character riffs.
• [12:18] Summary and discussion of the mystic tank scene and Thanatos’s entrance.
• [19:48] Analysis of Thanatos’ differentiation from other princes; “chosen one” commentary.
• [22:49] Thematic discussion: power, predation, and Thanatos's motives regarding Emil and feasting.
• [29:56] Ethan’s rescue of the mystics; addiction/addictive captivity explored.
• [36:41] Aftermath, blame game, and team dynamic fallout.
• [38:51] Mordoc arrival and team’s forced unity.
• [46:37] Cut to Hunt’s storyline: cafeteria, Isaiah, and budding bromance with Baxian.
• [54:28] Hunt and Baxian establish hesitant camaraderie; video game scene.
• [63:49] Danika’s secret manuscript; history of wolf lineage/Asteri oppression.
• [77:02] Bryce’s stealth visit to the Prime; wolf oral history and Sabine denunciation.
• [81:22] Final subplot: Mech suits, Ophion, and the “is our rebellion good?” problem.
• [83:53] Hosts lament the richness (and confusion) of the plot threads—summary and prep for next reading.

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Tone & Style Highlights

• Infectiously irreverent and conversational; hosts riff freely while still summarizing plot with specificity.
• Blunt, openly feminist perspective—never shying from calling out problematic character angles, ethical complexity, or their own thirst for charismatic side characters.
• Running gags: costume struggles, anatomical jokes (“whispering eye,” “rude eye”), and metaphors for addiction and power.
• Hosts are unafraid to break character, tease possible ships, or advocate for fan-favorite scenes.

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For Next Week

Chapters to read up to: Chapter 43

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Perfect For Listeners Who:

• Want a fun, irreverent—but still plot-precise—recap of the latest Crescent City developments.
• Appreciate nuanced fandom discussion (and chaos) interlaced with humor.
• Are tracking multiple sprawling plots and crave both comprehension and cackling.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[A]

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[A]

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[B]

Give it to me.

[A]

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[B]

Dreamers and readers, baby. I cannot wait for this.

[A]

Gimme, gimme.

[B]

That's swag.

[A]

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

[B]

Is the neck thing in the back Neck? The neck back part connected to each other? Are these two parts pieces?

[A]

Are you talking about my costume? Yeah, yeah, they're two pieces.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

No, it took me a very long time to get them on simultaneously.

[B]

I bet.

[A]

Yeah. I am dedicated to being a prince of hell and you're not.

[B]

You're serving.

[A]

Thank you. You've heard it here first. I don't know how you're seeing Me.

[B]

Through my third eye, obviously.

[A]

Oh, is that out your asshole rude eye?

[B]

I'll never tell.

[A]

That's why you keep it down there. It's too rude to be seen with the sun unless you're sun in that perennium, which man Goop loves to tell you to do. Get that out there in that sun because your can get moles too.

[B]

What about your whispering eye?

[A]

Oh, is that in my front.

[B]

Yeah, it's your front hole.

[A]

Do you call your. Your whispering eye?

[B]

I believe that's Shakespeare, but also it's from the movie Role Models.

[A]

Ah, yes. Hell, yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

That's great. Oh, man. I just saw. Oh, no, it's not. That's stepbrothers. I was thinking of stepbrothers. I just wanted a reason to talk about John C. Reilly, please.

[B]

Anytime.

[A]

Saw him in, like, a clown show.

[B]

I know you did.

[A]

It was so great.

[B]

I really wish that I had gone. I just love that guy.

[A]

God. And he didn't sing Mr. Cellophane, but he did in my heart. And that's coming from the prince of hell.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

Thanatos has a heart. To a toast.

[B]

He's definitely got a bunch of toes, I bet.

[A]

How many toes, Mystic? I mean, you're the one that's seeing your holes. Seeing my toes in your holes?

[B]

Let me look into my third eye.

[A]

He's down in the front or down in the front or the back. You know, that's the whispering one. And that's a rude one. So where's the third one?

[B]

You have to. What do you think?

[A]

Your nose hole?

[B]

No, that's two.

[A]

Oh. I mean, eventually the two become one.

[B]

That's true. If you do a lot of cocaine.

[A]

Oh, yeah. That and also just, like, the further you go up there. Have you ever had one of those. You know, I was gonna say microphone, but it would be funny if it was a microphone. You ever have a camera go up in your nose, up through, like, over your nose bone and down the back of your throat? I do it for fun. No, it's because I have nodes in my throat.

[B]

They put a camera up your nose?

[A]

Yeah, man. They go up your nose and you feel it go up and over the bone. It's so weird. They give you.

[B]

No.

[A]

Like, it doesn't necessarily hurt. It just feels like there's like a big, like, snake biting through your face.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

And, like, you're. It's fine, you know, but, man, they really get in it. And then you're just like.

[B]

You should ask for a little half lobotomy. Like, we've been talking about while they're.

[A]

Up in there, I have been begging a frontal lobotomy. A back. A lobotomy, whatever you got a bottomy. Get it out of there. I'm done thinking.

[B]

Yeah, please. I don't want to think anymore. I tried to become non carp incarporeal, uncarporeal with my costume here today. And it's really. It's our. It's artistic. It's an artistic.

[A]

It's our mystic.

[B]

It's our mystic. It's an armistic choice.

[A]

I like it. I think both of are taking some liberties with our costumes today. And sometimes you go, I want to be a prince of hell. I got to make me a prince of hell. And then you put on half of a wyvern costume. And then you put on a piece of a queen of hearts costume. And. And then you're Thanatos.

[B]

I actually think it's completely working.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah. It looks very much like armor from a hell beef. A hell being hell health spawn.

[A]

Also, I don't know if you notice my nipples underneath.

[B]

Well, you did just make us all look at them. Yeah.

[A]

I've got my nipples underneath. It's not. They're not mine. I found them from a friend.

[B]

Hear that, sensor bots?

[A]

They're not my nipples.

[B]

They're somebody else's nipples.

[A]

I have a. I have a male's chest shirt on underneath my wyvern costume so that in case you saw my nipples, they were man's nipples. And everyone's fine with that. On YouTube, they.

[B]

They ask for more.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm gonna take this off. Why? It's uncomfortable.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I know. Looks like it's super relaxing and comfortable to wear and. And you're not in some kind of, like, freak out zone. I thought you were asleep.

[A]

Or a really big bird.

[B]

You can see through this thing. I do love it. It's a great mask.

[A]

That's awesome. Yeah, it is beautiful. Did you make it?

[B]

No, no, no, no. It's very expensive. I think the company's called Hysteria Machine. They do Fantastic. They're called.

[A]

Sounds like they need a lobotomy.

[B]

They're. Yeah, they do, right? Oh, Hysteria. They're called, like, not blind masks, but whatever.

[A]

I just want to be put in a padded room. Masturbate me until I get the lobotomy. And it's like, if there's something you can do.

[B]

Women's rights.

[A]

Yeah. Oh. It's my right to choose.

[B]

A great time. Yes.

[A]

I choose hysteria. I choose Put me away. Look at me. Do I look like I should be a part of society.

[B]

I. I got. I get dressed at home before I come to the studio. And I came down in this and Henry said, oh, like Gray Gardens. And I went, you know what?

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Just like Gregor. I mean, hell yeah. They are definitely like in a bit of a nest together, I would say. These mystics.

[B]

It's always fun, fun, you know, when somebody sees you and goes, great garden.

[A]

Oh, yeah. You look sallow, like you haven't seen the sun in a long time. I went, wow.

[B]

You know what? Yeah. Yes, that is what it is.

[A]

That is me. I thought you were about to say. Cuz honestly, I. I think that you are slaying this fit. I thought he was going to be like, I don't know what you are, but give me a.

[B]

Always do that regardless.

[A]

Yeah, I know, it's cute.

[B]

But also, I'm like, I don't believe you anymore. Because anytime I'll come down, just be like, whoa, yeah. And I'll be like, you just saying that I'm. I'm. I'm wearing a robe. Like, what are you talking about?

[A]

I mean, I definitely prefer that I have that.

[B]

I know. I want him to treat you poorly.

[A]

Natalie's always begging to be treated poorly. And I was like, you chose the wrong husband. I did. He's just not going to do it. But I. I guess though, he. If he wanted to, like, role play mystic and, you know, werewolf that goes to wolf shifter. Oh, my God. Me. Me, wolf shifter. That goes to see the mystic.

[B]

I will not be having Henry play Ethan. How dare you.

[A]

I just feel like that's the one that he could easily play. Ugh, he's all hairy.

[B]

I'd rather him. Okay, this might be.

[A]

This is a compliment I was giving a couple sick.

[B]

This might be a toxic take. I'd rather him be Mordoc than Ethan.

[A]

Wow, you look a false sniffhound. Eh, I just a murdering sniffhound lover is what you are. Natalie Jean.

[B]

I just cannot get into the. Oh, boy.

[A]

Oh, gosh.

[B]

Oh, Ethan, you've done it again.

[A]

My brother loved her first.

[B]

What if we jet skied in front.

[A]

Of the gate and maybe he'll just sit here. It'll go Conor. Oh, especially honestly with this broccoli hair. I should let you try on as the mystic. The broccoli hair because I was specifically looking for a broccoli hair wig for. I thought it would be funny because Thanatos supposed to have short, curly, masculine hair, but it works. I think giving him a bit of the alpaca Though. And then he's just like, come on.

[B]

I'm just like a prince of hell. Oh. What? I mean, he does. He does give a little bit of abrosive.

[A]

I know. I don't want to have sex with Thanatos.

[B]

It's because we have different tastes.

[A]

I know. Thank.

[B]

Thank God.

[A]

Oh, it is. Although we both. Neither one of us want to have sex with Ethan. No. And that is across the board. We are anti Ethan fucking in this. In this establishment.

[B]

I just want to. I just want to do like the old fashioned. Take a lady and shake them. Yeah. That's kind of my.

[A]

Put in Gray Gardens.

[B]

Put him in Gray Gardens. Yes.

[A]

Honestly. Oh, my God. If Connor had survived, they could have really had a whole Gray Gardens. Oh, but it's like wolf aspects of it. And they're like shaving each other.

[B]

I would watch that movie in a second.

[A]

Right. They're shaving each other. Would they be shaving each other?

[B]

No. I think they're pretty hairless when they're not wolves.

[A]

I guess it was more in my thought. It's like, well, if they are two wolves, but they don't have the pack anymore and they just have each other, then they would have to spend the time shaving. Shaving. I don't know what else.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

Wolves do with their.

[B]

I don't know. Inside every Gray Gardens mansion, there's two wolves.

[A]

Yes. And both are shaved.

[B]

Are somehow hairless.

[A]

And they're just like. Like an inside out cat.

[B]

Yeah. So we got to get into this episode.

[A]

Oh, is it time for the episode?

[B]

Let's get mystical.

[A]

Oh, except they're not physical. Not very physical.

[B]

Mystical.

[A]

They're just mystical talk.

[B]

Yes, we are with the mystics.

[A]

They're.

[B]

Apparently they're about to get into some shiz because they have been asking these questions. They're in this place. Very bad idea. Stupid. Don't know why. And wants to talk to Connor. Not gonna help anything. Not gonna help him. Not gonna get closure. Definitely putting everybody in danger. But that's where we are now because we have to appease sad little Ethan. So we last left Ethan, Therian and Bryce staring down at the entrapped mystics in their tanks. When the male one, who has traveled to hell for unclear reasons, pops his eyes open. That's not supposed to happen.

[A]

You supposed to stay asleep.

[B]

So we. We've learned already he has, for whatever reason, started communicating with Prince Thanatos. Now in this chapter, we see the Prince Sanito has used some form of mystic projection and is now floating amongst the planets in the sphere of the astronomers building.

[A]

Never know where I'm gonna be. I know what I'm gonna say. What up, bitches? What up? Do you like my mistakes? Did they tell you good things? I hope they didn't. Cause I'm a prince of hell, bitch. Yeah. And that's what he said. And that was his entrance song. And honestly, I don't know. If he'd worked on it, I think he probably could have workshopped it a little bit more.

[B]

Good. But I envision you're floating in like the two Scolari brothers from Ghostbusters.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And like. But Obi. Except I feel like I would have more control.

[B]

Nah, no, no, you would. Okay. You would.

[A]

Yeah, I'm the. Yeah. I'm the one in charge. I feel like I would be like that. Except rather than, like, electric chair kind of, it's like I'm like, zapping out and everyone's like, whoa. Whoa is so cool.

[B]

I'm like, zappa, Zappa, Zappa, Zapp.

[A]

And they're like, frank. And I'm like, no, not Frank. Not Frank.

[B]

So he is there in the middle, floating in the room. He's described as handsome with curly black hair.

[A]

Hello, I'm here.

[B]

In Greek mythology, he represents death, because that is a Greek king. Oops.

[A]

That's on me.

[B]

So, whoopsies. They watch, frightened, as Sanitos's mouth begins to mouth, if that makes sense. Going. Clearly talking. Though no sound comes out, they realize his words are still being transmitted through the thanking box.

[A]

Plug in hdmi.

[B]

Yeah. Have you tried on it? It input, unplug in, replug it back in his eyes, quickly go to Bryce, and he recognizes her immediately as, quote, the one that his brother speak of. The chosen one. Not like the other girls.

[A]

Oh, my God. She's always different.

[B]

He can send her. Okay, like, Bryce is like another print skin set me like, you guys are obsessed with me. Okay, like, I get it. You guys, like, want to sniff me all the time.

[A]

Sorry, Natalie, should I not be sniffing in front of you? I know you're a sniffhound lover.

[B]

I'm not. If I had to make a. Natalie's coming at me.

[A]

She's coming at me.

[B]

If I had a Sophie's Choice. If I had a Sophie's Choice. Yes. Which If.

[A]

Which kid? One, always younger one.

[B]

If I had to. Sophie's Choice. Murdoch or Ethan? How about you?

[A]

I mean, obviously Murdoch, because he's evil.

[B]

Natalie, you choose to leave him behind. I mean, I'm saying with. For sex.

[A]

Oh, for sex. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like also, though, there's so much in me that's like. I could probably teach him something. You know what I mean? Like, you can't teach the evil out of Murdoch. I feel like Ethan at least would want to please you eventually, so you're gonna have to like, pop him on the nose. Like, not like that. I'm talking don't do it like that.

[B]

I'm talking more like a one night stand. Like you have to have sex with one or the other to save humanity.

[A]

It's just that I'm gonna be like this man. Does Mordoc, like, have fun sex?

[B]

No, It'd be terrifying because I feel like.

[A]

Like think about Mordoc and Sabine. Like, it'd be like nothing. And I feel like that's some people into it. Good for you. You get on it. But I think that, like, the only biting I would want in a sexual experience if they were a vampire, it'd be super scary.

[B]

I don't think I'd enjoy it.

[A]

Yeah, I just.

[B]

I can't.

[A]

I love this for you, Natalie. I can't.

[B]

With Ethan, I can't.

[A]

I know. I know it. I've just. You know, I. Some might say that I have, how you say, lower. Lower standards. No, you do not. I can.

[B]

My standards are really low.

[A]

No, they're not. You chose.

[B]

I chose our family. I was very lucky.

[A]

Because you didn't just love him, you love the whole family. Right, Natalie?

[B]

Well, yeah, for sure. But I think both of us can say we've made decisions in our lifetime that maybe we're the best ones. When choosing what we do with our loins, with our whispering eyes. Just.

[A]

Gah. Put some shutters up or something. Just keeps whispering at me. Ew. Imagine the entire time you're listening to this. No wonder so many people out there don't like listening to women podcasters. It's because you just hear like the entire time and that does. It is difficult.

[B]

I thought you meant it's because they talk about their vaginas too much. No, I'm saying never enough talk about.

[A]

How all the whispers.

[B]

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[A]

From all nighters to all time personal.

[B]

Bests, from building pillow forts to building a life for all the big and small moments that make up your whole world. DSW is there and we've got just the shoes. Find a shoe for every you. From brands you love at brag worthy prices at your DSW store or DSW dot com. So even though Bryce is trying to, like, do a McCool Girl thing, she is actually kind of timid towards this prince, whom she notes doesn't have the same characteristics, the same feeling of some kind of camaraderie as the other two princes she's met so far. They're maybe not friendly with Midgardians, but they seem to have some hope to aid them. Or like, there's something that she feels with the other two princes that Thanatos does not display. It's like, sort of almost a contempt or disregard for them. So she's like, that's not good. So the princes are not a monolith, apparently, because we still don't know what's going on with them, but we're all different. It seems like the other two aren't necessarily enemies, but Thanatos is coming across a little. He's coming in hot.

[A]

He's got a dirt bag aura. I feel like. I feel like he definitely. It's like, how many have you ghosted today? And he's like, many. I'm the king of death.

[B]

That's their fault. They ghost. I tell you who I am. At the beginning, you're like, you're right, Thanos. You're not pretending.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's on them. So we got like a Harry and William situation. They're different princes. Okay. Whoa.

[A]

Which one do you ignite? Which one ignites you? Natalie?

[B]

I mean, if I had to choose again. To Harry.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. I mean. And then you go back and you watch the reality show. Want to marry Harry.

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Which is. They didn't show the rest of it because they lied to all those girls.

[B]

That's a crazy part of the 2000s, that's for sure.

[A]

So funny that none of them realized it wasn't him.

[B]

I mean, it was before.

[A]

I think it's so funny.

[B]

But, I mean, they're not anticipating and television network lying to them.

[A]

No, it was back before. Now we all know they all lie.

[B]

Yeah, we didn't know then.

[A]

No, man. They really thought he was Harry, though. And they really thought they were going to become princesses.

[B]

We're all princesses, everyone. Yeah.

[A]

What am I gonna do with all my royal subjects?

[B]

Stick them in your stank hole. What do you call the back one?

[A]

The rude eye.

[B]

The rude eye. Yeah.

[A]

You got your whispering eye. And you've got your rude eye.

[B]

Got it. So she timidly asks the prince why he's here, that they are looking for Connor. He tells them he isn't there in hell which before we can get any further explanation, because again, we're looking for Connor. We don't know why the mystic traveled to hell. But Thanatos says, not there. And before we can get any further explanation to that, his eyes snap back to Bryce. Sudden recognition in his eyes.

[A]

You slew one of my creations, my beloved pet kept for so long on your side of the crossing. And look at my hair. It vibrates with its gelled curls at you.

[B]

Andrew Dice Clay was his pet.

[A]

And I loved them, all right? I loved that goomba. And how dare you tell them they couldn't snoot any more toot.

[B]

Well, Bryce is like, hey, that's crazy. Didn't know it was your pet, but also was trying to kill me. Like, what do you want me to do? The prince angrily explains that the dog was his connection to Lunathian. That his pet told him the goings on as a little gossiper. Yeah. Bryce is still unimpressed. The prince seems unsure of how to respond to a young female not being bowed over by him.

[A]

Look at my hair.

[B]

Look at his hair. Look at the girl. After a moment, he says that he'll give her answers out of honor because she slayed a tremendous beast, but that if he sees her on the battlefield, he will destroy her in retribution.

[A]

I slice.

[B]

And I mean, pretty libertarian kind of nice.

[A]

Usually you wouldn't expect Thanatos to give, like, a mulligan.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

He's.

[B]

He's like, you know what? Snaps? Props to you.

[A]

Go off.

[B]

Go off.

[A]

All right. Slayer recognizes slayer.

[B]

But I'm gonna kill you if I ever see you.

[A]

Gotta. He tells just a boy. All right. I'm just a boy. Life is a nightmare. Oh.

[B]

He tells her that Connor still resides in the bone Quarter and will remain there until the normal time has passed for such things. So Thanatos has intel still, at least as far as until his dog was killed, that Connor is still there and that somebody unknown who has been giving an order that Connor will not be touched until the appropriate centuries have passed. And he gets through. You know, his soul gets eaten. Then we don't know who says this. Thanatos claims to not know either. Tharion butts in and asks if he has ever heard of Emile. The prince is not.

[A]

Yeah, I eat them three times a day. Yeah, I'm a prince of hell.

[B]

Sorry. The prince is not and doesn't seem interested, even after Tharion accidentally lets it slip that Emile is a Thunderbird. In fact, at that admission, Thanatos silence silences them and announces that he's ready to, quote, feast.

[A]

Whoa. He does know about Emil. There you go.

[B]

So he said, you saying you talking about a meal?

[A]

Yeah, I'm ready to eat. And then everyone goes like, yeah, that it does. And he starts just like. He, like, does like, oh, man, backflips. He's really into backflips. Well, honestly, he's hovering.

[B]

He's probably one of those hip harnesses. Yeah.

[A]

He's trying to parkour, but he gets upset because he can't, like, slap against anything. And he's like.

[B]

He tries.

[A]

And so I think that SJM didn't keep that part in the book because she didn't want to undermine him. Yeah.

[B]

So Tharion, you know, he's trying to get answers about a meal, too. That's, like, one of the other reasons he agreed to do this. Thanatos is like, I don't know what you're talking about, bro. I don't know who that is. I don't give a. Even after they learn Thunderbird there, Thanos is like, I thought they got rid of those.

[A]

Or.

[B]

And they're like, well, apparently not. But then Danish was like, silence. This room suddenly goes fully dark. We're like. To feast on what, bro? What's happening? Bryce lights her star to get some light. But where Thanatos stood is now empty. Or floated, I guess, is now empty. The male mystic, however, begins to thrash around in his tub. The astronomer gasps and looks at the translator machine and announces that Thanatos has ensnared the so on the. The translator. It's going like, help, help. Oh, oh. And Thanos going.

[A]

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. Getting in there in the Rudy, in the whispering eye. Yeah, any kind of hole. I'll get in there.

[B]

So reading of Thanatos thoughts say that he hasn't had a mortal soul in a millennia, and he'd like to enjoy it like a fine wine.

[A]

But then you're going to eat in front of all those people. I feel like you're not going to enjoy it as much. When wouldn't it be nicer if you shared? And then we can all have a meal together?

[B]

You want to. You want a soul sip?

[A]

I'd suck on a mystic. Sorry, Natalie, I shouldn't say that to you while you're dressed as a mystic, but. But, like, the actual soul you would jaw.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Give me an opportunity. And maybe it's just because I'm dressed as Thanatos right now, but I feel like we're not soul sucking Enough.

[B]

You're right.

[A]

I need more. Cuz I feel like some people get their soul sucking from, like, it's like, oh, the smell of youth. And like you try to suck the youth up through your nose, but I feel like I'd rather go the hocus pocus route and just go directly towards the real meat of the situation. And that's the goosh that lives in your heart.

[B]

Yeah, definitely.

[A]

Or is that blood?

[B]

I mean, both. I think you're just talking about eating a person.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Soul. Thank you. I'm not a Hannibal.

[B]

So like the, like mist, like the, the, the white mist that comes out.

[A]

Yeah. Well, it's almost like I want to kind of like sluck up the boba at the bottom of you. Yeah. And not through.

[B]

That's. Yeah, it's chewy, right? Oh, that's good.

[A]

Yeah, it's something you can really bite into.

[B]

I think you're right. Thanatosa's thoughts reveal the mystic's true emotions.

[A]

How sad, right? Is this the mystic? No, this is the anatomy.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

How sad and lonely and desperate you are. You taste of rainwater, which is crazy because they've been in that fucking tub for a while. And I feel like what you're tasting is like mold and dust.

[B]

It might be that, or maybe the person's natural state is something to do with this.

[A]

The. Oh, it has to do with their soul. Natalie, the Marshes. What is your soul? Tastes like chewy boba that's inside you.

[B]

Probably like caramel pierogies. Whoa.

[A]

Oh, my God. That would be so great because you could be like a potato and cheese pierogi, and I could be like a, like a meat ski pierogi.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I mean, we are Polish by marriage.

[B]

You are by marriage. I was mostly thinking of it because of Pittsburgh, but I guess if I was using my actual biological. Biological blood, it'd be like cabbage cottage pie or what, what are the, what are the bog people eat?

[A]

I don't know. I, I, I, I, I mean, I'm gonna guess potatoes, probably.

[B]

Potatoes. Yeah. I'm a bog person.

[A]

All right, well, whatever a bog person eats and you know, that could be a range of things. Lots of things live in the bog. And it's nice that you landed on potato and not like, oh, I want to eat stripped cats or something. A cricket or something, which that is, I mean, protein. So you ever have them? Sour cream. I have had sour cream and onion crickets before.

[B]

Have I ever eaten crickets?

[A]

Well, I know you don't eat meat, but, like, crickets are Just crickets. Ew. They're bugs.

[B]

You think that's the meat? That's the problem. It's just like, I'd rather have the exoskeleton.

[A]

Yeah, you'd rather the crab.

[B]

I don't care. I don't care about eating them. I just. I want the outside part. No, we never get that.

[A]

You just want to suck on the sour cream and onion on the outside of the crickets. But the problem is you're going all the legs and the antennas in your mouth. Then if you're just sucking on the part.

[B]

I like. I like all the real gross, like, kind of like stick, like.

[A]

Oh, yeah. You are sexy for worms.

[B]

So he.

[A]

I guess there's no legs, so you wouldn't be. Honestly, Natalie, I'm sorry. I think you're not sexy for worms.

[B]

I think we've gone through, like, two pages.

[A]

You're sexy for millipedes. All right, we're gonna continue the episode.

[B]

So than a dose reveals the mystics feelings. So we don't know whether the mystics really want to be there or not. And in that moment, he's like, I'm tasting your soul, and you are desperate and sad and lonely, and that's probably not great. Ice starts to cover the room as though hell is, like, making its way in there. They scream at the astronomer to turn the machines off to, like, save the mystic, but he exclaims that if he does that, it will explode the mystic's brain. I don't know if I believe you. Astronomer Thanatos begins to diatribe, essentially complaining that his brothers are social justice warriors and they have toxic empathy.

[A]

And he doesn't.

[B]

He says that when the gates are reopened, he's going to feast on all the mortals of Lunathan. So basically saying, like, my brothers are trying to help you. My brothers want to, like, give you a leg up. I just want to eat you. Then after he makes this speech, the text stops working. Even their phones, they all grab for them in their pockets, and they've all died. The mystic mystics, like face masks also stop working, pumping oxygen, and they begin to make choking noises. So, like, everything connected to technology is just, like, gone. At this point, the only light in the room is coming from the astronomers captured fire sprite rings. Ethan uses his jock skills and his wolf eyesight in the dark to jump over the railing of the ramp that they're on, landing on the male's platform. So he basically, like, jumps over the edge and, like, land straddles it because there's no ground Right now, if you'll remember. So he's, like, on top of it. Whoa. And he starts. So he lands on top of it. He starts punching at it, punching at it to break the ice that's now started to cake over it. Because that's what he's good for, right? He's good. Although this is his fault. This is his fault in the first place. Oh, Ethan. He yanks the feeding tube. He grabs. He punches the ice. He grabs the mystic out of his tub, and he yanks the feeding tube out of the mail. Drapes him over the side as the male is coughing and gasping for air because he was choking to death, but the other two are also choking because their tech also stopped. So he leaps from that platform to the other two, pulls them out of their tanks, pulls all the stuff off of them. The astronomer is screeching, he's so upset. Pulling the mail out of the tub. Seems to have cut the connection to Thanatos, and all the equipment begins to turn on once again. So once he pulled the male mystic out, they're okay again. They're safe.

[A]

Yeah. I knew that was gonna happen. I did it on purpose.

[B]

You did it?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[A]

No, I allowed it to happen.

[B]

You allowed it to happen? Sure. The astronomer is freaking out, right? So he doesn't want any of this to be happening, obviously, but he pushes the button that, like, sends the floor rising back up into place so that they can, like, stand on the ground again. And Bryce is screaming that if he wouldn't have done that, all of the mystics would have died and the astronomers.

[A]

Like you, should have not have touched them.

[B]

That's bullshit. Ah.

[A]

The female stirred as the slate floor locked into place around the tubs on Reid. Thin arms, she raised up her chest, blinking blearily at Ethan, then the room back. The mystic wheezed, her voice broken and raspy, unused for years, her dark eyes filled with pleading. Send me back. You want to go back in the tub, bitch? I don't know what to tell you.

[B]

Bryce feels sickened by the state of the female, who is barely even able to speak. She begins to make her way back down the ramp. The astronomer screams at them to get out. As the mystics display discomfort and pain at being removed from their tanks. It feels to me like a withdrawal, as, you know, like they. They make their way out. Bryce and Tharion and Ethan, like she's trying to drag them out. And Bryce is accusing the astronomer of being willing to let them die over messing up his equipment, essentially being like, these are disposable My special magic equipment. You can't with it. I'll get different ones if these ones die. Like a real pusher. He screams that the mystics love being in the tank. They can't be without the tank. That's why they're begging for it. And it feels to me like that's an addiction. Like, that's the pusher man. And there's. He's saying, see, like they're begging for more.

[A]

It's also the addiction to power, to the power that is at his fingertips that he is now, like, that could potentially be lost. And watching all of that go away right in front of you is. You know, you would freak out.

[B]

Well, yeah, that for sure. I think the mystics are almost like they're. It's almost like the going out into space and being in that tank is like being like a bunch of horse. You know what I mean?

[A]

Ah, yeah. I guess I was also feeling like. I imagine it would also hurt. Like, in the same way that, like. Like when a baby comes out, they're always sucking in fluids and. And then when they come out in the air, they're all like, ow, ow. I gotta breathe air.

[B]

Let me back in that whispering hole.

[A]

Yes. And they're begging for it, and some still beg for it to this day. But I. I feel like. I imagine that is a very upsetting and painful process.

[B]

Yeah. And it's. But it's not like he's trying to go. See, they love being in the tanks. No, I don't think they love being there as much as they.

[A]

It's painful for them to be ripped out of them because they've been given.

[B]

This, like, thing that's unhealthy, and then now they're addicted to it. So, yeah, he's like, get out of here. You know, get the fuck. You rode my. My, My machines. Ethan has to be pulled out as he watches the mystics looking as though he's going to attack the astronomer. But then Bryce also stops looking at the sprites imprisoned in the rings. She considers attacking him herself, but decides that this would only lead to more suffering and death if the Fate princess attacked a random business owner. Because their society has accepted that sprites don't get personhood rights, so she would be considered in the wrong societal issues.

[A]

We are pro sprite here on this show.

[B]

We are pro sprite. Pained, she continues to drag Ethan out alongside Thary. And knowing she can't do anything and knowing that she has to get Ethan out of the room before he causes more problems Moments later, they are standing on the street outside the building, the world moving on. Not knowing any better, Tharion tries to make a little joke, but Bryce is livid. This was his idea after all. And while I'm mad at Ethan, this is Tharion's plan. Like he decided to take them to the Mystics.

[A]

It's just the two of them together are kind of bumble butts.

[B]

Yeah, they shouldn't be the teammates that work together. They need to have separate teams with somebody who makes better choices.

[A]

All the blood's going to their penises. It's not going to their brains.

[B]

I mean, I'll let Tharian's blood go.

[A]

Where it needs to go and wherever it is going. Because again, we don't really know where it goes.

[B]

It's in his clan. His Pingina.

[A]

Oh, is it covered in scales?

[B]

Vaginas. Yeah, vaginas.

[A]

A vaginas.

[B]

I hope it's not covered in scales. That would hurt.

[A]

Mervaginus Merv.

[B]

Genus.

[A]

So no wonder they don't call it that. It is a bit of a mouthful. Yeah.

[B]

Holiday PSA from dsw. This is a reminder that shoes are a gift.

[A]

Literally. So unwrap something good like boots that inspire your next big adventure.

[B]

Or cozy slippers that give you an.

[A]

Excuse to stay in.

[B]

Or sneakers that feel like pure joy. Because shoes aren't just shoes. They're exactly what you wanted. Let us surprise you so you can surprise them. Find shoes that get you and everyone on your list at prices that get your budget at dsw stores or dsw.com so even though Ethan wanted something really stupid, Tharian was the one who pitched this whole idea. She blames him for this mess and calls him a ruthless backstabber. I guess in relation to what's just happened as and she feels like Tharion is using her and Ithan and everyone just to get answers for his queen. He approaches her, warning lining his face. Try having your family at the mercy of the River Queen and then come cry to me about morals.

[A]

His voice had dropped dangerously low.

[B]

Bryce snaps back that her family is at the mercy of all Vanir just by the nature of them being human. She tells him to fuck off and stay away from her friends. She's deadly serious. She doesn't want anything to do with Tharion. After this. She turns to take Ithan away with her when she sees Ithan's face. He's pale and he looks shaken at something over her shoulder. She follows his gaze and sees something that makes her almost drop to the ground with fear.

[A]

Mordox smiled, a slash of white in the shadow. Causing trouble so early in the day. You'd still choose me in bed, wouldn't you? Wow. And then Natalie comes a running. And then there's Natalie, and she's like, I know I'm dressed like a mystic, but if you could. Please, I just need to be with.

[B]

You, I would be like, listen, is Tharion. Please, is he a choice? Is Tharion a choice? He's here.

[A]

Nope, nope, nope. You think Mordoch's gonna let that happen? You think Mordoc's gonna let that mare of a genus anywhere close you? I don't think so.

[B]

Man, I am too attracted to Therian, though.

[A]

All right. I just. I. I love these.

[B]

I just noticed these things.

[A]

Thank you. I. I'd love for you to really explore that for us so that we can find out more information about Tharion. Yes.

[B]

Explore why I'm attracted to him.

[A]

No, explore the. The comings, the awakenings that happen in his body. Oh.

[B]

Like. Oh, do research.

[A]

Because in this, I also do feel that he would have, like, some sort of, like, you know, power, that he could, like, summon a tentacle.

[B]

I'm not without giving away anything that happens in the books. I feel we are left needing more about his anatomy and his how it works.

[A]

I guess we will leave that.

[B]

The kinesiology, if you will, of his actions.

[A]

Whoa. I just call it the rubbing and the thrusting.

[B]

The rubbins and the thrustings is also a thing you could call it. So we go to chapter 40 from here. They have just crossed paths with Murdoch, who has appeared once again.

[A]

Daddy problems?

[B]

Yes, this is, of course, Danica's father. Everyone is now aware of that, despite their apparent falling out that just occurred. The three of them need to unite against this tool bag. And they get into their Power Ranger stance against him. So even though Bryce just said, therian, you are dead to me. They're all three. They know they have to stand together for this kind of person.

[A]

Ducks fly together.

[B]

That's right. More Doc taunts them with the usual trash derogatives. One of the favorites of my own.

[A]

High Mordoch. Okay.

[B]

What do you.

[A]

Sabine, I know that you were, like, in inside of her at some point, but did you also steal her one liners? I think you could just workshop something a little bit better.

[B]

I guess being clever isn't sexually transmitted, so.

[A]

Thank God, because I feel like I would have given all my cleverness away.

[B]

That is something. That's in the Satanic Witch, The Anton Levee book.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

You do have to take into account when you're having sex with whom in like power.

[A]

Awesome.

[B]

Anyway, so he tries to provoke an answer out of what they were doing in the astronomers building. I don't know what to call it.

[A]

House Hovel tube.

[B]

It's supposed to be round.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So Silo dome the astronomer. Silo, sure. He tries to provoke an answer out of them to try to get the. What they were doing there. Bryce says she wants we were there because I just needed intel on my. The man I'm betrothed to, you know, saying like I don't know him. So guy just asking about into the mystics. They try to bounce and just like brush it off. But Mordoc makes a snide remark about Ethan hanging out in alleys a lot, which is a reference to the last instance when the three boys were in shadow and Mordoch was sniffing around on him. So basically saying I am a bloodhound. I know that was you in the alleyway. So what's going on? Ethan goes, what?

[A]

It was it. It was not me, you know. He knows more.

[B]

Doc threatens them. But Bryce maintains her unbothered, you know, surface attitude, of course, and pulls Ethan and Therian away. She thinks how she hates Therian now, but that they will remain allies against the likes of Mordoch no matter what. She can't believe that that creepazoid is Danica's father. She also realizes that Mordoc is going to go interrogate the Astronomer probably and hope seek. The astronomer has this reputation of no matter who you are, what you in there. That he's discreet. That's how he maintains like a clientele. So she's just like. Even if Mordoc goes in there, hopefully against torture, he'll still keep his little mouth shut about what they were doing in there. They, the three of them leave and walk silently back into the tumult of Old Square where there's people hustle, bustle everywhere. And Bryce softens pretty immediately about canceling Tharion. So it was like a five minute. She was upset cancellation. She remembers that he bravely came to defend the people of Lunathan last spring when a lot of people didn't. She tells him, you know, she kind of like he can tell that she's sort of like, I'm not mad. She tells him he's on probation and his abs are keeping him out of friend jail. They play grab ass for a second and he's like, oh, come on, Bryce. And they say stuff about each other's butts, you know, they do their back and forth. Love their little flirts. And Bryce tells him if he sends her an otter later, they'll be even. Tharion leaves to head back to the river. Bryce looks at Ethan and sees the news that Connor is still in the Bone Quarter for now has not given, shockingly Ethan, any sense of peace.

[A]

It's like, bro, he. He's not coming back. You know, he. I just think that he thinks that he's. It's like. But if he just keeps trying.

[B]

But even if he's like, I just need to know he's okay.

[A]

It's like she's gonna put everybody in danger right now.

[B]

For what? To what end? There's nothing you can do. You're just. To whatever end.

[A]

Oh, that's different.

[B]

It's a different one. Badly.

[A]

To whatever end. It's a different one. Sorry.

[B]

It's so she sees he's still, like, tormented and, you know, she's irritated, of course. Like, this is not a good idea. We all understand he's making bad choices, but she takes pity on him and tells him that they'll figure out a way to help him somehow. Yes. Help him what? Unclear. But she thinks about how she wants to help all the souls stuck in the slaughterhouse line at the Bone Gate. She just has no idea how. Which is yes. You guys don't know how to do this. So going and chasing after, trying to talk to Connor, not helpful.

[A]

Also, something that has been happening for a very, very, very long time. You think, like, oh, well, I don't like that. And that's gotta stop. It's like, okay, sure, but you probably need to undo a little bit before you just make it stop.

[B]

Right? This. It's not an easy. I'll fix it so. But Bryce Quinlan, you know, she's got the savior thing. She does. I. You know, I know people hate it. I get it. I think I have a little bit of that too. Where I think I'm gonna fix everything. And it's annoying as. So maybe that's why I connect to her.

[A]

Well, I don't think that about you. I feel that way about Bryce Quinlan, though.

[B]

It's all right.

[A]

You can feel about it. I don't. I wouldn't put that on you, Natalie. I wouldn't put it on you. Oh, not the way Thanatos is gonna be putting the hoyt down on everybody soon.

[B]

Oh, so is he another? We don't know. He might be another en.

[A]

So we always upset right now?

[B]

Yeah, we always upset. We cut to hunt who is sulking in the cafeteria, eating lunch with Isaiah because I don't get to hang out.

[A]

With my girlfriend anymore.

[B]

Yeah, he wants to do something a little more hang out. What's the hang brain?

[A]

Yeah, but that's it. No sexual completion. Just hanging brain. He just wants to bring his nuts out of his zipper and be like, Bryce. Did you see Bryce? It looks like a brain. Do you see it? Yeah, it's like. Yeah, Yep, I see it.

[B]

Do you want to like or something? Yeah. So, you know, he's sulking. He. It's. He's, you know, he's bummed out. And when he tells Isaiah that he's sad because he and Bryce decided not to wait until solstice, this Isaiah laughs at him, which is an appropriate response. Yes. Hunt is irritated and tells Isaiah that he's glad to know his blue balls are amusing. Isaiah fairly points out that they must be doing okay in life if this is his biggest concern. He asks Hunt if everything is okay from the night before when he bailed on Celestina. So asking like, you know, you left this party. Is everything okay at Bryce's?

[A]

Which is sweet.

[B]

Well, yeah. He's a good friend.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Hunt tells him it's all fine. And he gives him sort of a half truth recap. Sabine came for Bryce about Ethan. Back scene. Charged in because he's supposed to be Hunt's partner. He feels guilty for kind of lying to Isaiah and knows that if he were privy to their plans, that Isaiah would be very helpful, but knows also it's not a good idea. He trusts Isaiah, but Isaiah is also the man still.

[A]

Yeah. A part of the triari. Still a part. Like, who knows?

[B]

He does. Yeah. You have no idea what's going to happen. So he. He doesn't want to actually tell him. Isaiah, however, can see he's troubled. And Hunt has to scramble because Isaiah's like, what's going on, dude? I can tell you're upset. And he. He's like, actually, I'm just thinking about how the punishment is really different. I'm thinking about Sandriel's torture. Isaiah's kindness further pains Hunt when Isaiah tells him that he can talk to him about anything and that he's here for Hunt.

[A]

I love their friendship.

[B]

The guys look up and see that Baxian is heading over to them with a little cafeteria tray in his hand. It's so funny. They all live, like, in dorms. Hunt grumbles. But Isaiah warns him to be hospitable. And Hunt knows it's important that all the subordinates in the Cafeteria see them unified. So he has to be on good behavior.

[A]

So you gotta let him sit next to us. He's like, man, she could sit next to us, but we were talking stuff, man.

[B]

What?

[A]

Oh God, he ruins everything. Well, I don't want to sit next to him in the cafeteria because then everybody thinks that he's my friend. So we're not even.

[B]

Oh, we're not even friends.

[A]

It is a very. It's kind of. It's kind.

[B]

It's very high school. It's very.

[A]

Kind of cute though it is.

[B]

So he comes and see, sits down. Hunt carefully as Vaccine comes to set, asks him about his interaction with Lydia outside the elevator. A few scenes back and Vaccine seems to say in the subs subtext of their very surface conversation that he didn't tell her anything about what was going on at the apartment because Hunt's trying to make sure, like, you didn't say anything to the Hind, did you? And Vaccine's like, I didn't. Isaiah questions why Baxian isn't so buddy buddy with the Hind anymore. Vaccine responds that a lot of things changed after they left because as you recall, Isaiah was also in that world. He saw what happened. He saw that triari. So he says things have changed a lot. And he won't expand on what he means by that, but it seems like he's trying to get at you guys saw us as this unified, like piece of gang, but things aren't like maybe what you think they are or whatever. Hunt notices back scene watching after that interaction. He and Isaiah start to banter and make jokes and he sees Vaccine watching them as though envious. We're left to wonder whether maybe Vaccine is secretly not that bad or is this a big manipulation tactic and he's actually like real bad.

[A]

Maybe he's really evil.

[B]

Isaiah tells them that he has to be at a meeting with the ox heads and he leaves the table, leaving Hunt and Maxine alone. Vaccine watches him go and mumbles that Isaiah was built for that position. He then makes a needless jab at Hunt about how it's good Hunt's not running things since last time went poorly, but. But Hunt doesn't take it. The baby bites his tongue.

[A]

Not good for you, boy.

[B]

Yeah. Even as he's super annoyed because Baxian follows him from the table as he continues to do to Hunt just sort of like trailing him. And he follows him as they make their way to the elevator to go back to the barracks. So this was just like lunch break. Vaccine begins peppering him with Two casual questions about his personal life. Asks why he doesn't consort with. With angels.

[A]

Because this is like a hallway conversation. Back scene. I feel like this is something we talk about over a couple of drinks.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. And he. He's kind of saying, seems like you really have your own little crew going on. You don't really hang out with a lot of angels. That's kind of something weird. Hunts on the defense, of course, and asks why the hell he cares. Baxian says it's because he is wondering what his own life might be now that he's not tied to Sandriel. Which, if that's true, that's kind of sad.

[A]

Yeah. But also, he was tied to her for so long that if. How is he supposed to have his own identity?

[B]

He's like, do I. Can I just be a. Can I just be. Can I just be a person? Whoa. Yeah. He said he sings that a lot in his room.

[A]

And he loves Billie Eilish.

[B]

Oh, I hope so. I think he does.

[A]

Angsty.

[B]

They reach the commons room, and as Hunt opens his door, he sees his empty barracks room since he no longer lives there. And he turns to see, as Baxian opens his own door, Baxian space. Even though Baxian lives there, it's just as empty. It makes Hunt feel for him for a moment.

[A]

Oh, and he brings him like, a Bob Marley poster. Like, you need this.

[B]

If you get a black light, it glows. Like the joint part.

[A]

Yeah. The pink in the Pink Floyd with all the women on it with the backs.

[B]

Get yourself a black light. Have some fun. Aw.

[A]

And a lava lamp. Go to Spencer's. Oh, my God. That's what they need. A montage at Spencer's. And they're buying, like, penis noodles.

[B]

They're buying the fruit roll up. The fruit Roll up underpants.

[A]

Oh, yeah. And they're putting it on each other and eating it off each other. And they're like, that's fucking, bro. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Then he hangs brain. He's like, you could still hang brain in the apartment. And they're like, oh. They slap brains against each other.

[B]

I'd love to see that montage. Yeah. So he feels for him, for this, in this moment. And he tells him, hey, life can be what you make it, man. Here in Lunath. And that his own room used to look like that. Oh. Maxine asks him what changed to so it wasn't like that anymore. And he replies, price happened.

[A]

Baxian smiled slightly, sadly. Was it. Was it possible the hellhound was lonely?

[B]

I'm sorry you had to stay apart from her for so long.

[A]

Baxian sounded like he meant it. Oh, but he's the hellhound.

[B]

What if he's tricking us?

[A]

Oh, my God. Does that compute? Does that come. Does not compute.

[B]

A little later, Hunt comes out to the commons and sees Baxian going over paperwork. He feels extremely hesitant to reach out, but he decides to asks what they have him working on. They have a quick neutral exchange, and Hunt hears Bryce's voice in the back of his head, encouraging him to try to reach out his hand. A little cute. So he decides it and asks Baxian if he wants to play a little bit of a sports game on their gaming system. The one that Vaccine was so confused about when he first arrived. I think it's called an Opticube, if I recall, which is cute. Vaccine looks up, surprised. He tells Hunt he's never played a video game before. Oh, I know.

[A]

Hunt grinned. Vaccine surveyed him and Hunt waited for the rejection, but Baxian said, sure, why not?

[B]

They're playing games.

[A]

They're playing video games together, and it's kind of cute. And I love that this is happening at the beginning of, like, Hunt being trapped indoors for a couple of weeks or at least away from his love. And so he's got to pass the time somehow. And good for him, because I feel like oftentimes, you know, especially when it comes to do with men, that a man wouldn't reach out for something like, especially going through a lonely experience. And I think it's wonderful that we have this interaction.

[B]

Oh, I agree.

[A]

And I think that we need more of it. I've heard something of a. What is it called? A male epidemic about also something alone or something. Maybe we gotta reach out our hands a little bit more.

[B]

I mean, a little bit more hand to each other. It's not. Women don't need to fix them. But the men.

[A]

No, no, no. Yeah, I'm talking, I'm talking all of. Of the male identifying listeners of this show, which I know there are millions of, and there's at least dozens. We've got some guys we've got. But remember to reach out your hand.

[B]

If you're listening to this show. I imagine you are an amazing human being already, but maybe somebody in your life. Yeah. Also, it's so annoying. I hate it too, because it's just like, oh, I have to reach out to the prick who's like, online all day, just like yelling at people and being peaceful. Yeah, I have to go. I. I feel for guys also. In that way. Who aren't bad.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Who then are. Like, being tasked with this.

[A]

It's change them. It sucks. I don't like any of it. We have to rely on our community. We do.

[B]

It's true. So Hunt has done this. He's done this action of reaching out. And it probably helps Hunt bridge this gap with the knowledge he will likely kick Vaccine's ass in whatever game they're about to play. Which. All right, you get a little taste for you. A little treat for yourself.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And he does. As we go to the. The next few moments, Baxian's getting frustrated as they play this game together. It's some. Some kind of sunball game. But Hunt points out that even if you're mad, you haven't stopped playing, have you, bud? Back scene laughs and they engage in some boy ribbing.

[A]

Is that when they take out each other's ribs and they suck their own dicks in front of each other like Marilyn Manson? Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Okay. Yep. Vaccine tells him that he's not. That's a. That's a weird 90s rumor. I don't think that's real, but.

[A]

No, it's a rumor.

[B]

But Vaccine tells him that he's not trying to make enemies with one another and that life's too short to hold grudges. Hunt's not sure he's buying it, but decides to just live and let live for the time being. So for this moment in the present, they're playing games like friends. Cut to that evening. And Bryce is getting the bad news about Hunt having to stay at the barracks for being a naughty boy.

[A]

Oh, my God. I'd be so annoyed. I'd just be like, why didn't you.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

And now we can't. Now we really can't.

[B]

Technically, it was. It kind of was her fault. She asked him to leave.

[A]

Of course it was her fault. But I'd love it for her to acknowledge that for a moment.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. So Hunt agrees it sucks. But he won't allow her to come visit the barracks with the Hein and Pollock close by.

[A]

It's too dangerous.

[B]

He doesn't want her nearby. Bryce begins to flirt with Hunt, asking if they could just stay in his room.

[A]

Oh, conjugal visits or something.

[B]

He does the old. What do you mean exactly? What are you talking about? We have another scene you'll have to wait for. But you can probably surmise that it involves phone sex. That's hard for me. I'm. It's. It's not my thing. I have a hard time with that sort of like vocalization.

[A]

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It's definitely something you gotta.

[B]

It's.

[A]

It's a vulnerability that you have to really reach out for if you want to.

[B]

If you want. I mean. Yeah, I.

[A]

It's just hard once it gets going, I'll tell you.

[B]

Whoa. Yeah, so I guess that's true. It's like the ramping up for it once you're going, you know, whatever. But it's the heart. It's over though.

[A]

It's the long distance. Being on the phone in the first place. The long distance, you know, it's like you gotta just at least now there's like FaceTime and like that. So at least it makes a little bit.

[B]

I see. I'm too paranoid, of course.

[A]

No, it makes. It definitely makes you feel like you're putting. As someone that uses zoom to put on shows, for many people it is very scary and how many times I have to be like this. There's nothing recording. There's nothing.

[B]

I know. But you can still be surveilled all the time on your devices.

[A]

You think they're not watching, watching you in your house, Natalie?

[B]

I mean, I try to not have my camera open most of the time.

[A]

I think they find their ways where every hole is an option.

[B]

Oh God. There's one in the rough hole. What is it?

[A]

Rudolph? The ruffle. I don't know. It sounds like you need fiber the ruffle.

[B]

So yeah, they're, they're. They engage in a little scene afterwards. We cut over to Tharion who is before his queen. He's just reported the intel about the bone quarter and awaits her response. So he's kind of just. They're not in her chambers. This is an interesting visual scene to me. But they're at a bend in the river. He's sitting on a half submerged rock and she's laying like. Like a Little mermaid style. And she's laying in a bed of floating river weeds. Almost like she's relaxing in a floaty with her eyes closed. When she doesn't say anything for a time after he tells her all the intel about what just happened with the under king, he dares ask her about the second light. Stuff like, is this true? Is this true? Our souls are pushed through this like feeding system. And if she knew about it, she won't give an answer. Instead responds with questions which basically it's trying to rationalize what the under king does to souls. She's basically going like, like, does it even matter if they are like.

[A]

Yeah, it's like, what are you using it for? Exactly. So let them use it. Whatever.

[B]

As she does this, he watches her with dismay, realizing that even if she was trying to get a meal to overthrow the Asteri, that she seems to perhaps want to be doing that she would then just replace them with her own brand of corruption as a ruler, letting souls be eaten to keep the status quo.

[A]

It's almost like you can't trust any of that.

[B]

It's so hard. It's so. It's like the same. The same thing you go through in. In the real world, which is every time you are like, well, you think.

[A]

Maybe a billionaire is not evil, and then you're like, oh, wait, no, they're all evil. You have to be evil.

[B]

You have to. To get to that point.

[A]

You have to be in some capacity evil to be that. That.

[B]

Yeah. So he. You know, he. He's feeling quite down about that at the moment. And instead of offering any comfort even. Or even a real answer, she tells him to report if he learns any more about where Emil might be. So she goes on this, like, ran about like, oh, it's fine. Like, who cares? Like, maybe there's something after the second light anyway. And then she says, tell me if you get any more intel about a meal. And then.

[A]

Then she was gone, dissolving into the Istros itself and floating away as glowing blue plankton, like a trail of stars, soared through the river. Was a rebellion worth fighting if it only put other power hungry leaders in charge for the innocents? Yes. But Tharion couldn't help but wonder if there was a better way to fight this war. Better people to lead it.

[B]

Where?

[A]

I don't know. Don't look outside of the water. I hate to say it, it sounds like it's not under the water. And I don't know if it's on land either. Babe, we are gonna have to figure that out.

[B]

Chapter 41 we're with Ruhn and the gang who are at the Ox training facility watching Bryce trying to learn how to teleport.

[A]

Hurt.

[B]

A week or so had passed since the last chapter, and apparently a lot has been spent watching Bryce trying to move from one spot to another. So during this week, Rune is a little disquieted by the lack of movement from all of the baddies surrounding them. It's been a little too quiet on the western front. You're just like, what's going on? Bryce complains that she's exhausted and can't do this. Like, basically Cormac's trying to get her to be like, just go to the other spot. She's like, what do you mean?

[A]

She's trying to like, okay, okay, am I in the other spot? Am I in the other spot?

[B]

And she. She's like, sweating. And Cormac is unsympathetic. He says, it's easy, but that's fine. They can move to shadow work today. She's like, I don't want to do this anymore. He's like, we'll just do this other thing you can't do. Rune recalls, she's not really coming very far along with the shadow stuff either. Starlight. She's gotten spades. The rest, not so much.

[A]

This is such a different experience than an Acotar with, like, the Nesta trait. Like, I feel like. Not that we have to compare both of those situations, but it is very funny where I feel like Nesta was just like. It's like, oh, but I'm going to get it. But I'm so strong. But I'm going to slice the thing. And I'm. And then I just feel like Bryce is just like. Like, I mean, so good at everything. Right up the. Out the gate and like, oh, get up. Put me over there.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I can't do it. And I know that she. I know it's just because I am more annoyed by Bryce Quinlan than I am by Nesta. Because I feel like a lot of people would hear me say that and be like, I felt that way with Nesta, but I was very connected to Nesta. So I am more annoyed with this montage.

[B]

Yeah. I think with Nesta, at first she was just. I refuse. I won't even look. But then as soon as she started, she's like, oh, no, I'm going to.

[A]

I'm gonna be the best kill myself.

[B]

Trying to do this. And Bryce very much is like, things come easy to me and if this doesn't, it's stupid. Yes.

[A]

And I'm just gonna, like, figure out a different way and. Nah, bitch, you gotta actually toil through this.

[B]

So Ruhn is watching. We're with him during all this. He's watching this play out, kind of amused. He worries, though, about the fact they haven't even heard from Daylight about whether the most recent recent mission went down while. Which, as you recall, was a Trying to intercept on the spine, the biomech suits that the Asteri were making for veneer. Also, it can't be because he's just hoping for a reason to see her or anything.

[A]

No, he doesn't want to have flutters on the bridge or anything?

[B]

No, no, no, no. But Cormac is also a bit concerned. So it's not just his crush. Cormac's also concerned they haven't been hearing from them.

[A]

Crush certainly heightens it, though.

[B]

And I'm just gonna say, I know it hasn't been outwardly said, but obviously in the reading, you can tell he has a crush on her. He also thinks about how Ethan has, since he's moved into the frat house, has fit perfectly in with the other boys. He's clean. And he also can play a mean beer pong.

[A]

Oh, thank goodness.

[B]

As he returns to the present. And I do think this is good for Ethan.

[A]

No, it is. But, you know, those boys are not putting water in the cups, and you know that they have the beer in the cups, and they're putting the dirty ping pong balls into the dirty beer cups. And it really broke my mind when I was in my late 20s when someone was like, you know, you could put water in the cup instead of beer so you're not drinking the disgusting ping pong beer water.

[B]

Oh, what, you're gonna be classy while you play beer pong?

[A]

And. But it did. I was like, oh, my God. You. You can do that.

[B]

No.

[A]

So now I get to look down on Ethan for not doing it.

[B]

And then the scenario you made.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. I think that they should have the good times together. I think that they deserve it.

[A]

I know they.

[B]

And I also just think that they'll be good. Big brother.

[A]

Yes. Watching over each other. And he needs a pack. He's packless.

[B]

It's true. So he returns to the present. He's lost in his thoughts about Ethan for a minute, and he returns to this moment at the Ox and is watching Bryce concentrate, trying to pull up a shadow. And that during that. So she's, like, focusing really hard, trying to make shadows come out of her during that, he's kind of watching, amused. He gets a call from Declan. Bryce hears his voice and runs over Tarun. Declan has news. Is something about Danica on the Griffin surveillance tapes. Remember, that's another thing going on. A little later, they're all gathered at the frat house, and we're with Bryce. She's very nervous, and Declan teases her about being a slacker to possibly take out some of her tension. The feed pulls up Danika, and Bryce's heart skips a beat. So basically, they're all waiting to watch the surveillance footage. And we're watching Bryce do a lot of, like, not working surveillance because he can tell she's, like, really stressed about seeing Danika. Danika comes up on the footage. Bryce's heart flutters. Declan quietly tells her that this footage is from two months before the murder. So we're with Bryce's POV now. They watch as Bryce talks with Lehiba on the screen, who is propped up with her screen, watching fangs and bangs in the basement. Danika is nearby with her feet propped up on a desk, smiling as they likely argue over something asinine. So Danika's watching Lehabah and Bryce, like, bicker.

[A]

Ruhn's hand slid across Bryce's back, squeezing her shoulder.

[B]

Oh, which is. He can see that she's distressed, of course. The group watches as Bryce and Lahiba walk upstairs for something. So on the screen, the two of them leave. Bryce has no memory of this day, and it was probably so standard, it was too boring to have a clear recall on.

[A]

Danika moved swift and focused, like she'd been using the time lounging at the table to pinpoint where she needed to go. She headed straight to a lower shelf and pulled off a book. Glancing at the stairs, she flipped it open and began snapping photos with her phone of the inside, page after page after page.

[B]

They watch as she sets the book down and darts back to the chair she was lounging in before Bryce and Lehaba left, pretending to be half asleep. Declan tells them he enhanced the image to see.

[A]

Whoa. Csi. Csi. And they go and hug to see.

[B]

What book she was documenting. And it was something called Wolves Through Time. Lineage of the shifters, huh? Okay, so from this footage, we see that Danika had wanted to find something very important and needed to wait until everyone else was gone from the library. Declan pulls up another frame from the same video and points out that at a certain page, she taps it as though she's found something important. Cut to shortly after in the time frame. And they're all gathered around this image of the book, trying to analyze it. So they're looking at this book that Danica pulled out. The image of it. They've already gleaned that it isn't a widely published book and it may in fact be a one off. Declan believes it's merely a manuscript that got bound. They don't know. They've looked through, like, you know, they can't find any other, like, copies of whatever this is. Bryce quickly dials Jesiba, who answers. She asks about the book, and Jesiba is like being Jesiba. And she goes, oh, so you finally saw the footage of Danika looking at it, it's like, girl, what?

[A]

Like, could you just talk to us a little bit?

[B]

So apparently Jesiba knows about Danika looking for this book.

[A]

But of course, we don't know what Jesiba knows exactly.

[B]

So we don't know what is the mystics.

[A]

Can we be asking other people in our lives that have. But also, I guess it's like, but where do her loyalties lie? But then she does keep helping you. But then she does. It's like, it's all these morally gray of, like, do we actually trust her? But.

[B]

And she also keeps threatening to cut.

[A]

Off help and then. And also to, like, turn them into animals or whatever. But, like, why would she say this then? It's like, you want them to know that you know about this shit, right?

[B]

And why. What do you. What does she know fully? And what. What does she make of it? Like, what is she doing with that information? But, of course, Jessica won't be giving any of that up. She tells Bryce, because Bryce says, can you give me this book? And she says, I don't take demands from starborn princesses, and hangs up, basically saying, I've already done too much for you. However, less than an hour later, a delivery shows up in the lobby of Bryce's apartment.

[A]

This is the thing with Jesiba and why I want to kiss her so much.

[B]

God, I do.

[A]

She's so strict. But she also does help.

[B]

She does. She's a bitch. But, like, in a way you might, like, you know what I mean?

[A]

But we also don't know. Why does she help?

[B]

We don't know. But she's hot.

[A]

Oh, God, she's hot.

[B]

They waste no time in, you know, opening up the package and looking through this manuscript. So it's the exact manuscript that Danica had been looking at in that video. After studying the still frame from the video for a while, they take a guess, an educated guess, that she stops on the third page of the book when she does that tapping thing. When they find that page, Bryce gets goosebumps. It's the Fendir family tree going all the way back 15,000 years. Oh, right to the rip in the northern hemisphere when the Fay poured in. They ponder over why Danika might want to keep this a secret, why her looking at it was a secret. They look into the interweb for any documentation of the original family line. So they start going through all the original names of the Fenders. When they came over, they realize there's Nothing really from 15,000 years ago. There's Not a lot of information. Not until the. The first name. They.

[A]

They.

[B]

They go through, like, literally every generation, and it's 5, 000 years ago that they start to recognize the names that are on this family tree. The first 10,000 years of Fendirs yields nothing online. Bryce decides she needs to find out why the family history is lost to time and tells the room she needs to go see the prime, despite Sabine just showing up at her place. Bryce, Was it yesterday? No, a week ago.

[A]

Yeah, it's a week ago. I bet it felt like yesterday.

[B]

Yeah. Just telling her to keep out of wolf business. A bit later, Bryce is sneaking into the wolf den alone, too worried Hunt will freak out to tell him she's doing this. So she's by herself. She's technically with Declan, but Declan came with her to distract the front guards of the den so that she could sneak in. So now she's alone inside. Fortunately, she finds the prime quickly, who's sitting in the den, Central park area, with a pack of pups.

[A]

Throw it out there. You'd think that the prime would be a little bit better guarded.

[B]

Well, but they're inside the den.

[A]

Yeah, but it's like. I mean, you'd think that, like, the fact that there wasn't enough of a guard for them to not get in in the first place.

[B]

Sure, for sure. It's like. It's, like, supposed to be their safe space. He's supposed to have the guards failed at the front.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

It's all walled in. It's like a big prison almost.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So basically, the. The guards did a bad job, but that's because Declan's really smart.

[A]

Yeah, you're right. He is techno bro.

[B]

He's tech bro. Ew. Usually I don't say that with, like, a nice upturn of my. Oh, a tech bro.

[A]

Oh, my God. You're so into Declan. But I don't think Declan wants to.

[B]

You.

[A]

Sorry. Sorry.

[B]

Oh, but he's so cute. Okay, so she finds the prime, who's just chilling old man style with, like, probably a blanket over his lap with all the pups around, being a grandpa. He's somewhat lucid. He's not necessarily doing that. Great.

[A]

He's still hot, though.

[B]

It's hard to imagine that he's not. But he is supposed to be so old. I don't know.

[A]

Right. But is he still hot?

[B]

Maybe he's hot in, like. I'm trying to think of an old, really old guy who's alive right now who's sexy.

[A]

Well, I mean, he's not Alive. Just recently, Robert Redford was still looking good. Sure.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. So maybe like in. That's that vein. Okay, great. Like, you might still would.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But it might not go well.

[A]

I mean, it'd be slow going.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And he might come to us. But those. Yeah, Just like the National Lampoon Christmas vacation when they open up the turkey.

[B]

Yes. That's like.

[A]

I think he came.

[B]

Imagine if that created a baby.

[A]

Wow. Magic dust.

[B]

Dust baby. It'd be like a tumbleweed just coming out.

[A]

Oh, God. That would be difficult. Yeah. Although maybe it would just tumble right at it.

[B]

Tumble right on out. You're whispering hole. So she kneels down to his chair. She like. He doesn't seem surprised to see her. He goes, oh, Bryce, a wolf. And points to his heart, basically saying, I remember you of your wolfy nature. She talks quickly, knowing she'll be discovered before long. She asks if he knew why Danika would be interested in the ancient Fendir heritage. After a moment of back and forth, the prime tells her the reason the old history wasn't written anywhere was to keep the wolves from knowing their true nature. So it doesn't take a lot to pull it out of him, but he's trying.

[A]

What you mean old man? That's why I imagine her immediately out the gate. What you mean old man? Oh, no, no. She's the heart of a wolf. Yeah.

[B]

Because he was kind to Danica.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

He says, without directly saying it, that it was to keep newer generations of wolves from knowing where they came from, on how they once did not bow to the Asteri. So he says in his like, old man wisened saying in riddles sort of thing, that the reason that they don't know the old heritage is because the Asteri wants them to forget about it. The prime says that he only knows this through oral history. Through his grandfather. Yes. Oral said. Oral said it passed down through generations by mouth. He tells her that he told Danica about this history and infers that maybe she would have been the one to lead them back to their rightful nature. So he seems to be also encouraging an overthrowing. Although he didn't do any of that.

[A]

No, but maybe it's for told.

[B]

He told. He says also in that. In that discussion that he told Sabine about that and she didn't care because she. She's a. Well, she. Because she likes being. You know, she wants to have the power and be the power and like, suck the peens of the power. Yes. So she's bootlicker. So Bryce is like ingesting all this information. She hears paw steps approaching, knows that she's about to get busted because whenever she first sat with the prime, he shooed away all of the pups because they were gonna have a private conversation. She's like, those pups are going to go tell on me. So she only has moments to get this information. She implores the prime in those last moments she has with him to speak Sabine about Ethan. However, she quickly realizes the prime has no idea what she's talking about. He's like, what do you mean? What about Ethan?

[A]

Oh.

[B]

When she explains that Sabine kicked him out, she watches his eyes go clear for a moment, anger appearing in them. But right then, an enraged female wolf appears in front of her. She's like, see you later. And she, like, skedaddles cartoons to eliminate away before she can speak any further to the Prime. But at least she got this info from him. And he also was able to learn about what happened to Ethan.

[A]

He's not happy.

[B]

And then they chase her out like Benny Hill style.

[A]

It's like, just like. Almost like Earnest, too.

[B]

Like Ernest. She and Declan. So she comes, she grabs Declan from the guards, and Dex is like, just kidding, guys.

[A]

I gotta go.

[B]

And they both run away. They kind of just like to hightail it back to her apartment. As they get there, she's surprised to find Cormac standing in front of the building, who is also beat to hell. They all go up to her apartment. Before she asks what happened. Cormac explains that he was going to an intel point to get information when he was attacked by Mordoch and some guards. Cormac had managed to get the info he needed before the attack, at least. Least the interception, because he was getting information about this. The spying interception went. So they have obtained the new veneer Max suits that the Asteri had been developing. The thing that Rune was transferring to Daylight. And the information they were sharing with each other has worked. They did their thing. More. Doc seems to have tracked Cormac based on when he scented him from the alleyway. And he didn't understand that Cormac was going for an Ophion meetup.

[A]

Oh, can't sniff that, can you do?

[B]

No, he's just being. Now that he knows that Ethan's the one, he's like, who is that other sniff that I sniff? Cormac further tells them that Ophion's plan is to take the stolen mech suits to an island near Lunatheon to break them, dismantle them, learn their technology. Declan and Bryce Ask Cormac if Ophian is going to let Pippa, the crazy little Pippa lady to head this project.

[A]

And her horse and her monkey.

[B]

Oh, like Pippi.

[A]

Yeah, like Pippi.

[B]

She's not as whimsical.

[A]

No. Although she might be as whimsical with her moida.

[B]

Maybe she is. Yeah, she's really cute, what she does.

[A]

Yeah. With her law.

[B]

She's got.

[A]

Maybe she's got the braids and the braids. Yeah, but the braids are also doing some of the stabbing.

[B]

Yeah, I love that. So Cormac says probably she is going to head this project. She's effective. And so Ophion is going to allow her to do what she's going to do despite her being kind of insane. Which makes me go, ophion, are you really good at all then?

[A]

Because they just need it done and they're not asking too many questions. And that's not good for a rebel. No alliance.

[B]

You stare too long into the abyss and the abyss stares back.

[A]

Oh, and it's got tentacles.

[B]

Cormac then tells them that he wants them to go to this island to try to convince the others in Ophion not to give this tech to Pippa. So Cormac is like, hey, we gotta go do this and try to like also. So now, on top of everything going on, we need to basically make ourselves enemies of Pippa because we're going to try to intercept her from being the one to get a hold of this technology. This is a lot.

[A]

Yeah, it's a lot. I will say it makes a lot of sense of why. When I first read this book, I was so confused. At this point, there are 30 subplots going on.

[B]

Yes. So as a review from these chapters, today we read three chapters. They've learned from the mystics that Connor is still incorporeal in the bone quarter. He is being protected by an unknown source. We know that Thanatos, the Prince of Hell, is somehow caught up in all of this.

[A]

Don't forget about me. Don't forget about me and the mystics.

[B]

And so we don't know Thanos might be an enemy too.

[A]

Who knows?

[B]

The mystics seem like they may be enslaved and captured. And also there's captured sprites in the astronomers silo.

[A]

It's a der ducking of capture.

[B]

Yes. We also know that we have Hunt stuck at the barracks.

[A]

Bryce playing games with his boys.

[B]

There's brain drop ins everywhere. Bryce and him not making it yet. We know that Variance bummed out about the queen. Then we go to the we know that they're all learning. They're trying to get Bryce to learn teleportation skills.

[A]

We and shadow work. But she's got the starlight power under control. Okay, great.

[B]

And now we also have knowledge that Danika was looking up her family line and that perhaps the history of Lunatheon is not what it may seem. And there might be some stuff that they need to learn about the time when everybody came through the rift.

[A]

And maybe there are things that are more powerful than the Asteria and that they just don't want you to know.

[B]

What? And it's her rude, cold eye. I.

[A]

Please read up until chapter 43 for next week.

[B]

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[A]

Would ever know how little you paid.

[B]

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[B]

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[A]

Something to brag about.

[B]

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