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"Antique dealer in the Quarter," Sebastian answered as Violet returned with Pascal, passing the parlor to let him out back

"You want in?" Dub asked uan brought it by, and petits bébés here went apeshit over the stuff" Crank kicked hi us babies And you went nuts over it too Just like always"

"No," Dub said, "Henri went nuts over Ms Morgan He’s in loooooove with her"

Henri colored fiercely, picked up a ed Dub in the forehead with it "I don’t love her, you idiot"

Dub and Crank erupted into giggles as Sebastian filled tls I slid onto the couch cushion and arranged an," he said, handing h the GD once a week and brings food"

"Yeah, Violet was telling ry I ate way too fast But daa for Crank to win the pot, with enough gloating tothe truth from Sebastian earlier--that Crank wasn’t really his sister--I watched her h Poor kid

I thought I knew a lot about New 2, but after cohts, I realized I’d never had a clue what this place was really like Besides all the supernatural stuff, I never thought therein abandoned houses,do in whatever ways they could

And they were an a bunch of kids I was proud to be here with the ainst the chair opposite the couch "So is one of you gonna tell ht?"

The s shadows on the wall sway back and forth The light low that rele predator

Withthat had happened at the ball, leaving out uest house

"So Athena caused the hurricanes," Henri said, shaking his head

"Who knows? She ht’ve just made them worse, or caused the final one Still"--Sebastian shifted his gaze to me--"none of it explains what your mom had to do with it"

"I think Athena wanted my mom like she wants me"

"Yeah, wanted you alive Otherwise, she would’ve just killed you at the ball"

"And you have no idea why a goddess of freaking war and the Noveed "So what now? She’ll come back for you Here Eventually she’ll realize you’re not with the Novem, and she’ll come here"

With Dub, Crank, and Violet at risk Henri didn’t need to say it aloud I knew er to them all

A lump thickened my throat "I’ll leave"

Sebastian’s face screwed into a frown "Outside The Rim she has full power You leave and she’ll know the minute you do You’d never have a chance At least here the Noveh to keep her out, but their poeakens hers"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence"

"She’s afraid of you" He ignored my sarcasm "I can feel it, sense it from her It’s because of your cursewhatever she did to your faht of Athena’s wrist, the way ot to his feet, stretched his arood that does us if we don’t even knohat the curse is"

I studied Henri for a long tirandfather clock ticked loud in the silence "There is one way to find out," I said,from Henri to Sebastian

"Alice Cro round "Oh, hell no! I aain"

"You knohere she is?" I straightened my posture, eyes on Sebastian "That’s what Jean Soloo," he acknowledged in a low voice "We found her in Lafayette Cemetery"