[Stephen isn’t the best with people, isn’t the best at doling out comfort in order to soothe nerves and calm minds — a leftover wrinkle, perhaps, of his old life, one that even a stint in Kamar-Taj could not smooth out.

But that doesn’t mean he’s unsympathetic, that he doesn’t want to help stop the panic nestling deep in her chest. It’s a feeling that mingles with the frustration of not knowing how to stop these hallucinations without continually imploring reason, understanding that reason is useless in the face of desperation.]

You can lead the way if you want—

[A compromise with himself will just have to do. He can at least keep an eye on her if she’s going to keep darting away.]

—but you’re going to hear me try to talk some sense into you the whole time. For instance, if your brother was here, is there a reason why he’d ignore you? Why he’d run away from you?