Cade gives a start and blinks at Zevran in surprise, but quickly gleans why that happened. He looks down again after a moment, mulling over his memories.
"..he got to leave, anyway," he continues absently, "when the Grey Warden came, I wanted... so badly to be chosen. I was ready to drop everything I'd learned, and I fought hard for it. But he was chosen instead." The melancholy smile returns. "...of course, we barely spoke anymore, at that point. I couldn't... for years, I..." He trails off, chewing the inside of his cheek. "...I didn't want him to know. He couldn't keep his mouth shut, and... I knew he'd look at me differently. ...think less of me." A familiar weariness creeps into Cade's expression.

"...anyway, he went off to the Grey Wardens, and I was sent to Kirkwall." He hesitates, then adds, with quiet conviction, "I tried to turn my back on the Maker, and He has punished me ever since."