He's been out for a while," she said. "You ready to take a break?" Hopper could exist in this living form or be transformed into a small statue, which helped avoid uncomfortable questions when people came by. Only she could transform him though. "Yeah. He keeps trying to eat my paints. And I don't want him to watch me kiss you goodbye.

I'm telling you, I wanted to. But I was trapped. You of all people should know what it's like being caught between groups

Well there you go. Even a psychopath recognized your worth enough to want to kill someone else first." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

But all I could see was her. No skill of mine, no artist anywhere, could’ve immortalized how gorgeous she was. It was impossible to believe she’d ever had any doubts about her body. The firelight shone on her skin, golden and perfect, making her look like some radiant goddess of legend. I wanted to kneel before her and offer eternal obedience.

Wait. You think I'm going to die? That's why you slept with me?

My muse is an ungrateful harlot who’s abandoned me to actually come up with my own plots.

You got some cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?