[The confession sticks in his throat. He should tell her. But it feels unnatural, when everything that makes him even a little vulnerable has always been kept so close to his chest. He sips his tea again, already beginning to feel a little drowsy.]

You are perceptive. You know the timing of my abduction. Would that sort of criminal respond to anything less than what was received?

[Though losing Ethan's friendship is worse. It's always a risk, getting attached to mortals, so rarely are they in his life for long. He took this risk, and then shot himself in the foot.]