He blinks. The sudden youth in her face startles him. It’s—fuck. He’s never seen her as a child. When he’d created her in this world, she’d had no real features. He’s no idea what she had looked like growing up. But he realizes, to her, he would know. He would have watched her become a young woman. He would’ve been there for her.

For a moment, the loss is sharp. All this stolen time between them.

Then she grasps his hand and he looks back at her. I never brought you here. He knows that’s not what she means. That she only knows that he took her here now, in the Horizon.

He doesn’t answer. The words catch and die on his tongue. He hops off Roach instead, waiting for Ciri to follow him inside. Toward the large wooden doors that lead into the main hall. She will find it familiar, too. Just emptier than usual. More echoes within the walls.

“This is your home, too,” he says. “Make it as you like.”