Arkady freezes, his heart feeling like it was just torn from his chest. To see Ashley shrink away from him is a dagger to his soul. For some reason, he thought that Ashley would still recognize him and wouldn't mind that he wasn't the handsome man who left for Paris. Never mind that Arkady might have had the same reaction if Ashley had been the one to turn gaunt and skeletal.

He'd been so focused on how he would react upon seeing Ashley that he didn't give any real thought to how his brother would react upon seeing him.

Ashley's words are another dagger to him. "I was going to come back to you, and make you my apprentice, just like I promised. I dragged myself off of death's doorstep so I could return to you, and then you were gone."