{ "There is the heat of Love, the pulsing rush of Longing, the lover's whisper, irresistible—magic to make the sanest man go mad."}
RITA'S POV
I felt it the moment the sun tipped past noon: the tightening in my gut, the slow, crawling burn low in my belly. The wind shifted, carrying with it the sharp, dry scent of pine, but it did nothing to mask what was coming.
Heat season and damn it. I was not ready for it here with her now. The path ahead twisted through old brush and jagged rocks, the trail up to Sagstone Mountain barely a suggestion in the wilderness. Commander Flora stalked ahead of me, tall and surefooted, her dark braid swinging like a battle flag down her back. The late sun cast her in gold and shadow, and the sight alone made my pulse spike in a way that had nothing to do with the incline.
I swallowed hard with the realization that this wasn't just inconvenient. It was dangerous.