During my personal favorite of these, one Valtain said to him, “I thought you didn’t do this anymore.” When Max flatly provided, “What, Order bullshit?” the Valtain shook his head, flailed his hands weakly, and said, “I meant, well . . . the world.” I snickered through all of this, grateful to have at least one small sliver of my brain occupied by enjoying Max’s highly visible, highly amusing social discomfort instead of my own nerves. Noticing this, Max prodded my ribs. “Don’t get too comfortable,” he grumbled. “Just you wait.” And oh, he looked like he was enjoying that grin when the
  
  ...more





