~ DAVID ~
Erik stared me down, his face a mask of determination and rage.
"You can make your choice, brother. You can be a King more than a man—I won't fault you for it. But do not ever suggest to me that I am too naïve to know the difference between a spy's persona, and a woman's heart. And do not ever tell me that I do not know my own. You have no idea—no clue—how my life has required me to know myself. To recognize myself in the fog of a role. To grip myself when the winds of playing you threatened to tear me from my moorings. I am many things, David, but there is no question in my mind that I know the truth of her, and I know the truth of me. So make your decision, but do not… minimize me."
