"It doesn't make you weak, it makes you human," she insists, tangling their fingers together and squeezing his hand in her own. "That's where you're wrong. Addiction isn't just a choice. Yes, you made choices that led you to it, but it's something in you that makes you prone to it. Not just being Grisha- I think... I think maybe the reason it made you sick in the way that it did is that you were prone for it already anyway. Gambling is really no different than someone using drugs- it's a rush that hits all the good feelings. But you are blessed, and that makes it more intense," she squeezes his hand in hers again, "Makes you an easy target for influential magic like that."

"Some people are better at sports than others. Some are best at maths or planning or music- that doesn't make someone else who's worse at those things any less important as a person. It's the same here, it's just an unfortunate thing that you're better at in this case." After a moment, she untangles her fingers from his and leans up on one arm, pressing her other one across his chest.

She's laying half-across him, turned to face him, "Jesper, it was us not being there for you. We hid away in the Horizon for... I don't know how long. Maybe if we'd been together, all three of us..." she tilts her head forward and it tips her braid slightly to one side. "But you won't blame us for that, will you? So why blame yourself of the very same things?"

She pokes a finger into his chest with each break in her words, "Stop- being- mean- to my friend," she smiles brightly at him. "I happen to care about him a lot."