"No. I might mean it when I say it, but when I've stopped shaking and you're not bleeding any more it's different. I just don't want what happened with Arithon to happen again. Because that very nearly killed you and very nearly killed me and I left you, remember? Because I got stressed out and tired and couldn't understand why you wouldn't be able to put your pride aside for me after we'd been through so much."

All this is mumbled into Ramon's shirt.

"I'm stupid when I'm worried. But I love you, okay? And if you need to be irrational I'll understand. I'll cry if they take you away, but I'll understand. And I haven't really said this yet but thank you so much for not getting put in the cells. It does make a difference, you know that?"

No matter if he doesn't say it.

"As for my family, it'd be good if you'd interfere. I should tell you about Corwin and Eric sometime. But that's a cruelty for another day. Don't want to go into it now."