He reached out, hand moving very slowly so the boy hard warning, and his touch gentle as he brushed his fingertips over his cheek.

"That doesn't surprise me at all. When I was very young he suggested killing me and my friends because we were starving. A mercy he said. You never have to worry about him taking you back to that with me, I wouldn't let him."

He shook his head, giving the boy a faint, amused smile. "Even at my weakest I was stronger than his strongest. Come. There will be no senseless killing done to you here."