[ she studies him as if she were trying to peel something away, drill down into what's underneath. he holds so much back. she'd thought she'd known him, thought he'd revealed something of himself, and now she wants to understand which parts are a construction and which are real. but she's realizing it may be impossible to tell where the manipulation ends. ]
You haven't thought about it? How nice it is to be Aleksander again, instead of the sum of your ... [ she stumbles. ] Your ancestor's crimes? No debt. No penance. You're free of the Fold, even if Ravka is not.
no subject
[ she studies him as if she were trying to peel something away, drill down into what's underneath. he holds so much back. she'd thought she'd known him, thought he'd revealed something of himself, and now she wants to understand which parts are a construction and which are real. but she's realizing it may be impossible to tell where the manipulation ends. ]
You haven't thought about it? How nice it is to be Aleksander again, instead of the sum of your ... [ she stumbles. ] Your ancestor's crimes? No debt. No penance. You're free of the Fold, even if Ravka is not.