but in the livres he does not seem to be so. Yet, he has set up an empathetic barrier between him and Elspeth (Ashling - pg. 371), meaning he does not want Elspeth to know what he feels.
IT doesn't seem to be. I think he loves her but hes not in l’amour with her. But to the person above my answer why would he put up an emotional barier. She's not an empath