[ This is complicated to weigh. There's Gregor's desire for his own personal freedom-- reluctantly discarded, along with his imagined desire for it on behalf of Aral and Galeni themselves. Secondary concerns, surely. Galeni himself would be of little use if Lucifer tried to attack directly... Aral would be much more likely able to stop him. He thinks of pointing out that he's often around Miles, wince-inducing a misstep as that might be at this moment, but however much Miles would throw himself to the wolves for his sake, that's exactly what they're trying to avoid here.

Yet he can't die permanently, so what does his sacrifice matter-- no, damn it, he's tied himself too firmly to Miles to take so cavalier an attitude about that. He's been spending too much time in Miles's head to think that.

Gregor ends up openly considering this for long moments. ]

I'm not persuaded either way, [ he says finally. ] Anything above what we do currently seems prohibitively complex. I'm often around Kitty, who has proven herself able to handle him.

[ He doesn't want to walk into this cage again, of being constantly guarded. Damn it, damn it, damn it. Yet what Gregor wants is immaterial and irrelevant and it's this man who had taught him that so thoroughly. ]