She sighed. "A comforting perspective is, well, comforting. Even if I'm aware of the extent to which that's all it is."

Emma entered and followed Michael across the condo, walking back and forth within the room once before leaning against the wall with her arms folded. "I don't think I want to quiz you today," she said after a moment, "you look like you've had entirely too many illusions stripped away all at once, and I've never known you to have a surplus of them."