He and Badd had more in common than Skulduggery initially thought. Both detectives, both with partners murdered, both with kids they considered family, and a strong desire to protect them. Even though Skulduggery wouldn't quite call Valkyrie a kid anymore, he knew that anyone trying to kill her would meet with a slow and painful death at his hand. Several people already had.

Instead of mentioning the similarities between them, however, Skulduggery just dipped his head lower. "I know the feeling."

He didn't want to talk about Valkyrie, or anyone else from back home. Even thinking about them left a dull ache in his chest, an ache underlying and feeding the ever-present anger seething at the bottom of his mind. Even if Skulduggery managed to escape from here, he would never see them again. It was a fact he needed to understand and accept, because if Landel was going to try and use them against Skulduggery here, he needed to know right away that it wasn't real.