"I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner," he says in a variation of what he'd said while she was eating, but she's actually listening now. "I tried to get away, but the Dark Lord...well, he promoted me, I suppose you'd say. I'm his protégé, now. And unfortunately that seems to involve a lot of time spent by his side, or watched like a hawk by everyone else, who wants me to fuck up. I couldn't get down here, or away to the drop point." That hits her hard, like a punch to the stomach, and she stiffens, pulling away from him to meet his eyes. They're dark in the low light, his pupils blown wide.