Duke swallows at the question, and he leans into her touch instinctively. His eyes close, and he breathes out against her hand. He reaches up, sliding his hand over her own, closing his eyes as he does so. The question makes him pause- makes him hesitate.

What else can he say?

"My Trouble was always complicated. If I kill someone in that person's family, I end the Trouble. Forever," he says and then shakes his head. "...and then the person who made all those Troubles? Turns out they're aliens from another universe using aether- a dark material to do so- Well, I trusted her. All these Troubles were inside of me- every single one my family ever ended, and I- I needed help dealing with it, and she was the only one who could."

He swallows. It still feels stupid to have done so.

"She did something to me, and now I'm a ticking bomb. So there's that."