Broken Boulder seething

"I can't change his mind," Zamael countered, coming off more harsh than he intended, clipped and curt. "He has to decide whether or not to let you in. I could steer him in the right direction--" Though would he? That remained to be seen. "--but I can't make him do anything. I can't make him need you."

He sighed again, closing his eyes tightly shut, as if battling a headache. "I can't change the past. I can't undo the way I treated you, before." They opened again, a burst of orange, like the sun blooming over the horizon at dawn. "Having to deal with. . .with Carvel's death really put things in perspective for me. Made me realize I can't take shit for granted anymore."

He gave her the faintest of smiles, though the edges were watery. "I wasn't lying, when I said I was glad to see you again," he said softly. "But you can't blame me for anything Alarian chooses to do, or think. It's his choice." Cold, perhaps. But he had never been one for sugarcoating things before, and he sure as fuck wasn't going to start now.