Qebhet bit down on her lip. When death was not a permanent condition, almost died and should have died took on a more chilling cast. Even mortals considered death a mercy sometimes. Especially under the relentless pain of torture.
Marian, she knew, had been tortured in her captivity. That she'd escaped death in all those weeks of terror— not every god would consider her fortunate.
"Survival can be a hard journey, too," she said, looking up. "After death released me... I didn't feel safe leaving my home, either. Not for a long while. That's not to... I don't mean to compare. But I know, for me, it was..."
Like being trapped in a burning building all over again. Standing in a room slowly filling with smoke, never knowing whether the door was her escape, or whether it was the only thing between her and the inferno.