"Did you?" Raine crossed the room, heading for the door, but she didn't leave, rather turned, and leaned against the wall beside it. "I'm familiar with what it looks like when someone desperate tries to force another's hand. You know what I can do with light, and you know I bear you no great love. I'm not saying you still think the same way, but in those moments, I would have trouble believing you wanted to live."

Improbably, the last sentence sparked a faint, wry smile from Raine, and she looked aside for a moment. "No life should be born for the sole purpose of dying," she said quietly, and it sounded rather like she was quoting something or someone. "Every person, once born into this world, has the right to live in it, simply by virtue of being alive." With one hand she touched the space over her heart, a gesture that wasn't wholly conscious. "A friend of mine told me that, once. Sometimes it's hard to believe it myself, but I believe in him."

She shook off nostalgia after a few seconds, looked back to Valdis. "You might try believing in your friends," she added, gently. And then, moving on: "Is there anything else I should know?"