"Darling," she said, trying not to sigh. "I don't think you're hearing me. We all feel bloody useless around here. We've been trapped. Made impotent. I know three times a night, I feel like cursing out all the gods and goddesses over what's been done to me. You're no different from the rest of us. Except you seem to be taking it harder than some."

Gently, she brushed his hair away from his forehead. She used her lightest touch, the fingers of a surgeon.

"Don't punish other people," she told him. "Don't push us away to soothe your own ego."