“If they were, you’d see that I care far more than I ever wanted to.” He laughed, but it held no humor. “You’d see that I feared for you. I’ve tortured and killed for you. I went insane with desperation to get you back, and I couldn’t, Tullia. I couldn’t reach you.” His chest heaved. “Every time I came close to sleep, it was stunted by terror.” He swallowed thickly. “By thoughts of what he might be doing to you, and you…”
