Sleeping Dragon is 'i love you' a fact or weapon?

The commander started to say something and Wildfire's breath caught in her throat. You... what? she prompted silently, still trying to compress the hope blossoming in her chest. She began gnawing on the hole in her cheek again, her heart doing a funny little somersault before stuttering and falling when Thuringwethil said the words, "It'll be okay," and pressed closer to her.

The yearling just stood there, frozen, wanting to enjoy the intimacy of the embrace but also coping (poorly) with her mounting disappointment. She was so stupid. She should have known better. Cringing, she withdrew from Thuringwethil's touch. She shook her head, taking a backward step. A whimper from the nearby den momentarily captured her attention and she looked toward its dark mouth before dragging her face back toward the Heda.

"I can't," she stammered simply, feeling suddenly as if her bones had turned to jelly. "It's okay—you don't have to—I just can't..." And, of course, the urge to run away—to really run away, leave all of this far behind her—became nearly overwhelming. But, for once—and possibly only because her skeleton seemed to have exited her body somehow—she didn't move.