She can feel that lingering hurt, and she'd like to be able to take it away. Does it hurt you, too? she'd asked, and still he'd tried to comfort her. But she can't tell him that the accusation isn't true.

"Would you ever have stopped before they were all dead, if I'd stayed?

If he'd stopped the fleet. If he could tell her he wanted all the violence to end. If he hadn't decided to name himself Supreme Leader the very instant the old one was dead. She'd never be able to support him so long as his goal was conquest.