"You didn't place it on me," he answered with a forced slowness so he could maintain the calm he'd achieved. "I chose to accept it. It's a burden I am not happy with, but it's also one I could have refused."

Not that he would have, since it wouldn't result in her death, but the fact remained that he was the one who agreed to her request.

"I do want to know something, though. Why did you feel what I felt? Was it because our souls have shared the same space?"