Was it of much use anyway? He shook his head, accepting her reply but feeling compelled to justify himself. "It's not ... I had to ask. I had to."
She was still holding Helena's ring, and he held out a hand for it back wordlessly. He slid it onto a finger - it had been made for Helena's third finger, so it fit his ring finger well enough. For a moment he sat, looking down at it, feeling the bile rise in his throat and knowing, with all the certainty he'd ever had, that Mephisto was laughing right now.