"Not in the least." It's sharp enough to hang in the air between them. He hadn't intended either the vehemence of the response or the revelation of it. To be free of nightmares and crippling emotion? Never to face another awakening of not knowing where he is, the stench of rot and corruption so thick in his nose it makes him gag and retch in his own bed? If he were a mage, it's an option he might have chosen years ago, and he doesn't know if that makes him a pragmatist or a coward. Maybe it's possible to be both. He holds a hand up, half conciliation, half forestalling.

"That was...unworthy of me. My apologies." He draws a deep breath and regathers scattered thoughts. "A slave can also be sacrificed, worked to death, and deprived of every comfort and kindness all at the whim of another. Many of the Tranquil you meet asked for that fate, because the alternative was to be taken completely, corrupted, and destroyed. Meredith...abused the rite. I'll not sit here and deny it. When it's applied as the law allows, it's a kindness, not a cruelty, and at least it's done with the consideration in mind of what the mage wants or needs, not because they're property."

He snorts very softly. "Any templar not afraid of the Seeker Order, especially under these circumstances is a fool and likely to be a dead fool if he doesn't watch himself. They won't care who's to blame as much as they'll want a scapegoat. The most logical one is a smoking statue out in the courtyard. Look around. The next best thing isn't hard to find."