For a second, Nina doesn't move, either. She's not sure what's happened, but she's afraid it's like before. What if she's forced him back, and he's come back wrong again?

I am a soldier of the Second Army, she chastises herself silently. It doesn't matter how frightened she is. If she's brought him back as something else, then she has to fix it. Nothing else would be fair to Matthias. And maybe...

Nina grabs the lantern and scoots forward, slipping into the grave. It's so narrow she's forced to sit half on top of him, and her heart skips a beat when she pulls away the cloth to reveal his face. She lifts the lantern up, breath catching in her throat as she tries to get a look at his eyes.

Blue, like clear ice on a sunny day. It can't be possible, can it? Nina swallows, forcing the quaver out of her voice when she speaks.

"Matthias?"