While Trinket reacquaints himself with Percy by slobbering and moaning his sadness, Vex'ahlia tries not to think about the vision of the woman cloaked in shadows wearing a featureless white mask, dragging something that looked suspiciously like the dead body of her brother behind her that chased the ranger into this very cellar. She knows exactly who it is and why she's being haunted by that. She's never been pleased by the deal that Vax made with the Raven Queen to bring her back. Ever.

"I wish he'd left me there," she whispers. It's the first time she's ever voiced that thought, but hardly the first she's had it. She might not remember any thoughts she had while dead—she's not sure she had any—but she remembers the cold that had seeped in and lasted for far longer than she cared to admit.

She gives a scoff of disbelief when he talks and she turns to face him, arms crossed under her breasts as she leans against the wall behind her. It's a defensive stance that she hasn't taken around Percy in so long that it feels wrong, but it also feels like the only way to keep from breaking apart at the same time. "You kissed me after I shared that with you. You later told me that you heard my plea and my confession and that's what brought you back."

Those are the words she's held like a precious gem close to her heart. And now, they're like a vise, squeezing every drop of blood from her as she realizes that despite the fact that she loves him with every bit of her mind, body, soul and heart, he hasn't thought about it the same way. There's a chance she will never have him now.

She shakes her head, staring at the wall so she doesn't have to see the face of the man who could wreck her with a single word or movement, and she hates herself for letting him get so close. "As I said, I don't want obligation, so don't say anything you don't fucking mean."