Elara's hand moved unconsciously to her lower abdomen, fingers pressing against the thin fabric of the borrowed nightgown. There was heat there—unnatural, insistent heat—radiating from just above where her... where her...
'No. Don't think about it.'
But she could feel it. A warmth spreading through her core, making her thighs clench together involuntarily. The nightgown suddenly felt too tight, too restrictive. She wanted to tear it off, wanted—
Movement caught her eye.
Through the manor's open doorway, backlit by the warm glow of magical sconces, another figure emerged.
Kaida.
The red-haired warrior woman walked slowly—no, stumbled—down the steps leading to the garden. She wore her usual combat attire: short pants that hugged her hips, a wrapped chest binding that barely contained her modest breasts, her twin daggers strapped to her belt.
But something was wrong.
