She can't be cruel all the time, but he has a tendency to bring that part of her out. The fact that he's seeing a different side of her now only means that she's growing, changing as a result of being trapped in this place. Permanent change can have that kind of effect on a person.

"I still would have preferred not to be stuck, but you're right - there are worse places to be." There it is again, those two words. Either something's terribly wrong with her or she's really that tired of fighting wit him.

"Besides, being here has opened many doors I never knew existed. Ones I didn't want to know existed." An eyebrow raises in his direction. "Ones that your little stunt pushed me in the direction of." Okay, sure, it's not completely because of him that she wants to learn to use magic, but it's certainly part of it. Because if there's ever another fight between them, she wants to know how defend herself better.