He watches her lean and stays utterly still himself. Neither a retreat nor a play to claim back any of the space he lost.

"If I'm given a choice, I do not think I will return home."

He's been thinking about that for some time. When he thinks about what he misses from his other life, it comes down to very little. The people close to him, yes, he will miss those. But, it took losing his position of power to realize how little he enjoyed having it to begin with.

"If I am forced to leave, and if all is just as it was when I left, then I will have to continue on in my arrangement with Max. Because it remains just as true now that the only hope he has for his survival is to stay within my protection."