~ DAVID ~
I was stunned. I stood in the middle of that cottage with Zara at my toes, staring up at me, pleading with her eyes. And all that hunger to hold her hadn't eased in the slightest. It was growing. I was shaking with it.
Did she know that? Was she using that?
The problem was, I was starting to not care if she did. I was feeling hope. Desperate, frantic, clawing hope that she was real and true and that she really hadn't cheated, and she really hadn't known and… and it made sense.
But their stories always did.
It was terrifying.
She was right there. Right there. I would barely have to extend my arm to touch her, but I was so afraid that the moment I did I'd be lost and if she was still deceiving me—
Then the lone bell rang again. That chiming peal that echoed out over the Palace grounds and the city below, an announcement. The countdown.
