Siffrin said that it sounded to them as if she was asleep. Neither alive nor dead. They believe that after she gave Ish magic, she may have fallen asleep.

[ And ever since then... ]

They also stated that he's an attendant and is part of her, or has a part of her within him. I can corroborate the attendant part, as he mentioned "other attendants" in passing to me during one of our conversations. I have to wonder, then, if he is also duty bound to ensuring her safety.