"I'm not sure how she did it, but I know why she could. I died over the water in winter- cold and dark. She found me there. Brought me back to Demonreach- it's sort of a magical island in Lake Michigan that I bound to myself a few years ago- and used it to restore my body. Then when I was supposed to go to the afterlife, after a brief stint as a ghost- and that was freaky, let me tell you- she managed to put my soul back in my body instead."

I took another drink.

"...And don't assume that I'm the same now as you remember. Appearances can be deceiving, I don't care how perceptive you are. And I could feel the mantle of the Winter Knight. Changing me. Turning me hard, cruel. Making me want to-"

I paused, uncomfortable as the memories flashed through my mind.

"It did change me. I'm just glad it doesn't seem to have followed me here. Maybe it's because Mab or the Winter Court don't exist on this world."