Anders suspected she was slightly more bothered about it than she wanted to let on, but he wasn't exactly in the habit of quizzing Cassandra on her feelings. Having a civil conversation with her was a large enough step. he nodded, vaguely sympathetic, and gestured to the desk chair if she wanted to sit.

"It's not terribly comforting," he admitted. "But the only other choice is trying to put it out of my head, and I'm not doing a good job with that. I may as well know a little more about what I'm worrying about."