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"I thought you took stuff to sleep because you loaded up on stiible, but rather than summon his knee-jerk reaction to castal airs, itI shouldn’t have? he asked the ravens

Overdosing? suggested Horatio

You knohat I mean

You propositioned her, replied the raven

Did I? Justin didn’t reates of paradise From his current state, he o? Ias I’m in this bed instead of hers

You were very eloquent, said Horatio A real poet I would’ve gone honuswelled up in Justin’s sto all sorts of stupid behaviors following a high, but it had never occurred to hi he wanted to avoid Now that he was soaze that stung so much, it was easy to resist her It was a relief that she was still in full possession of her hatred and plebeian disdain

"If I ever hit on you again," he said, "you have my permission to punch me"

That, she hadn’t expected "Why on earth would you say that?"

Because if I sleep with you again, I’ll be bound into the service of an unknown god

"Because you’ve made your Nordic-nine preferences perfectly clear And I need to respect that"

He hadn’t thought much about the last co to be noble Instead, so unexpected flashed over her face

You just improved two percent in her view, noted Horatio That’s the first personal comment you’ve made that doesn’t make you come across as an asshole The raven sounded pleased, but of course he would He and his counterpart wanted a reconciliation

Magnus wasn’t so optie to get her again I told you before, gods follow her One goddess in particular You need to help Mae break free, for her own good You sa she gets seized in battle

The darkness, adible shadow that surrounded her when she fought

It happens because gods can’t communicate with her in the normal way

What way is that?

Dreanus

Justin immediately realized the answer Because she doesn’t sleep

You are smart, Horatio said Too bad you’re so stupid

Just be careful, Magnus warned hi suspicious of others You can deny it, but there’s power in you that’s detectable by some She certainly wasn’t pleased by that usurpation back in the temple

It took Justin a moment to catch on, then he recalled how Mae had shone and becooddess She’d been wreathed by a power as intense as the battle-driven one, only it had been warm and seductive and full of life, rather than dark and terrible

What happened? he asked

Another god tried to seize Mae fronus

The Lady of the Book? Justin had a hard ti after Mae

No, just soe of the situation Gods sometimes weaken in the territory of other ones

Mae peered at Justin "Why are you looking atas he"Don’t tell Cyn about this"