"I know." He wouldn't have known, a week ago, or else he would have believed it for the wrong reasons. But that was then.

"I didn't really want to die. Not even... It got kind of bad for a little while with the Palace. But I still wanted to survive. Some things are just more important." He reviews that sentence. "One thing. Is more important.

"A while ago," he continues haltingly, "I heard what happens in the interrogation room. Like, before I get there. They were going to drug you, beat the shit out of you. The person I talked to said their you was out of his mind from drugs and injuries. And I—"

He sighs. "I don't know why that thought pushed me over the edge when the actual plan wasn't enough. But that's when I decided."