"Perhaps," Erik murmured unobtrusively to allow his son his thoughts and pain. There was nothing more he could contribute now, but he was vaguely pleased by Pietro's reactions. Things seemed to be falling into place. The silence spread and Erik stared off into space for a long time before he glanced at Pietro again. "I do not wish to return you to that cell," he said matter-of-factly, reverting again to honesty. "But I'm afraid I don't yet know whether I can trust you. All of this-" he gestured at their little world. "Survives on such a precarious balance. It cannot be disrupted. You cannot risk the future of our people for some kind of misguided revenge on me. If you can't put the past aside, then there's no help I can offer you."