"He'd have known what you had, and he would've known you'd use it. Or had you forgotten he was telepathic? If he really wanted me dead, he wouldn't have been so sloppy." He makes some attempt to keep his voice even, at least. "There were risks, yes, but I did what I thought was necessary."

At her question, he shrugs. "This is hardly the first time I've been tortured." Possibly the most severe, but she doesn't need to know that.