He was faster than she had anticipated. Her eyes drop to the blade curled around her neck before raising back to look at him.

What he said--how he said it made her more unnerved than the blade. She had never been quite as empathetic as Signless had been, but she could sense that the anger and temporary shock there hadn't been feigned. At the very least, that was what her heart told her. Her mind kept telling her otherwise.

"Well then, Signless. Tell me, how is it that you can still be alive when your body was burned to a crisp? Why is it that you have turned your back on everything you once purreached of? As I am a phony, it is impawssible fur me to understand."