{ "Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from the Eternal." }
It started deep in my belly, curling hot and insistent like wildfire lapping at dry grass. My limbs turned liquid, my breath heavy, my pulse a drumbeat in my throat. I could barely think, only feel. Everything sharpened. She moved around me, quiet and composed as always. But I saw the shift, and her eyes darkened. Her jaw flexed. She swallowed. "You're burning," she said, voice low, hoarse at the edges.
"Yeah." I leaned back on my elbows, on the long fur jacket that I had left on the ground. My shirt clung to me, half unbuttoned, and my nipples hardened. "I feel like I might burn through the stone."
Then she knelt beside me. Her fingers brushed my temple, sweeping back damp hair, and lingered a little longer than they needed to.
"Rita…"
