“You wish to know what troubles me,” he began, gently gripping my arm before releasing me. “Perhaps my thoughts have gotten the best of me, and I caused you worry for naught. Yet… talk of marriage has dampened my spirit and forced me to consider things I’d rather not.” His gaze moved to the floor, and his voice grew thick. “One day we will be expected to marry a woman and bed her. Give her children. Our duties as Spartan males call for it.”
