Byerly's hand on her head reminds her of that night in Riverfall, those last moments of peace and comfort with him before he'd left, and she lets out a shaky breath, squeezing her eyes shut. For a moment, everything else falls away, and she wants to physically take hold of this moment before it can escape her. This is what she'd missed so painfully. This unique feeling of safety and comfort that -- somehow, ironically -- only Byerly could provide. One of the guards who had brought her here shifts somewhat uneasily, frowning at the close contact -- somehow, he feels it's inappropriate, that his superiors wouldn't want their two Barrayaran prisoners in that much close physical contact for any number of reasons.

"Princess," he says in a warning tone, "I don't -- "

"Piss off," Sonia says loudly, not looking at him, and promptly goes back to ignoring the ghem soldiers. To hell with them all. She draws in a breath, biting the inside of her cheek as she looks up at Byerly.

"I know you had to lie about some things. I understand that. But -- " She blinks quickly, trying not to let her feelings get ahead of her. Ask the question first. "What you said about Count Piotr -- that he was trying to make you into...into some protege of torture, was -- was any of that true?"