"Is it really that hard for you to recognize a voice?" the voice said again from the next cell.
Aeron's heart raced. "It… it really is you," he said. "Nyella… I've found you at last. I'm sorry, so sorry, for everything. For what happened, for disappearing on you, for my words. You didn't deserve any of it, least from me."
There was silence. She didn't reply. Aeron waited, listening to see if she would say anything, but she didn't.
After a while, he tried again. "Varek… he didn't make it. He died on the way. But I carried his body home to his family."
Still, Nyella didn't answer.
"You're quiet," Aeron said softly. "Please… say something."
At last, her voice came, cold and angry. "And what exactly am I meant to say to you, Aeron? I begged you. I pleaded with you to listen, to give me a chance to explain. But no, you wouldn't hear me. You threw names at me, you accused me of horrible things… You even called me your enemy."
Aeron bowed his head against the wall, ashamed.
