"I would have done the same if our positions were reversed, so I'm not going to stand here and argue with you about it." Ever since Connor had been turned and the note had been left he found himself wondering what he would be like if he was able to be turned again. The vampires like Connor were different than Strigoi. Strigoi were cold and distant and preferred to be alone. Connor and his family seemed to flock together. Dimitri knew that he wouldn't run away to Russia this time.
"Because you've been forcing them to try it out," he replied and was oblivious to his actual meaning. He wasn't going to ask for clarification. "You think that this is freedom? To be driven by this inherent instinct to feed or to lash out at the people you care for the most? I might be a slave to my duty, but you're a slave to what you are rather than who you are. I don't miss any of it and you wouldn't either if you had a taste of being turned back even for a moment."
This time Dimitri actually smiled. "You don't know Azazeal very well if you believe you haven't already done that or wouldn't be doing that if you turned me or any of the other Moroi." In their conversation about leaving, Dimitri had been able to tell that Azazeal wanted to strike back too but for different reasons than some of the others.