"It is no idle sacrifice. She is there... tortured and held... in my stead. She is the bait... I am the prey. As for the friends you must have heard... I could not bear to lead them to the same fate that awaits me. It is folly to endanger and expose them needlessly."<br/><br/>Mordankell kept the same cautious stance between the two beings as he looked at them both, appraising.