"How was I--I mean I could...gather that she wouldn't. If she kept you alive this long. Emissary thought that's what happened. She said her empress kept her alive for a thousand sweeps and--it's complicated and honestly makes little sense."

She breathes in slow, then lets it out in a rush.

"You still think I'm in your mind. Okay. I don't know how to prove I'm not. Except it's a really long hallucination but I guess it isn't in the grand scope of things."