"So he's like any other petty despot ... I'm not sure if that's comforting or terrifying because that is a rather human attitude to have." Bethany sighed, as she pressed her fingers into the book. Her brown eyes were contemplative, "How much do you think his help is going to cost me?"

Not 'us', but her personally. She was the one who had started this journey, after all. She wasn't going to drag the rest of them into it.