That distant, far away voice was like a blow to the head, so reminiscent of the voices he had heard for years, begging, screaming, demanding revenge. Hers was kinder, softer, but in those brief seconds, it all just sounded too familiar.

He saw her, his one functioning eye forced to focus. Not the dead. Not haunted. He stepped back, worried he might do something he would regret while he held the lance at his side, point to the ground.

"I — no. Forgive me." He tried to compose himself, fingers running back through his hair. "Where did you go? I told you to wait."