"No." It comes out rough, guttural. Raw, like it was forced out through something sharp.

"I can do this."

He's not entirely speaking to Rinzler anymore, but to whom, even he doesn't know. "I have to do this."

He's his own person. His own person. The intermediaries don't have any claim to him anymore. He shook that off. He had to have, or he'll go to pieces.

He's not going to leave.