Sleepy Fox Hollow this love it is a burning sun

Elowen's gaze flickered between the woman and the shadow that had emerged from the trees—Lorcan. His voice, low and unmistakable, made her heart stutter in her chest, as if he could shake the stillness around them with nothing more than the weight of his presence.

Sweet dove. It sent a ripple through her chest. It was possessive, and yet, there was something about it that made her breath catch. She swallowed, trying to steady her heartbeat. She didn't know if she liked the way it sounded or if it unsettled her. "Lorcan," his name fell from her lips like relief.

The air around her seemed to thicken, the quiet turning heavy with tension. She’d barely registered the woman’s approach, but now she couldn’t look away from her, the predatory gleam in those dark eyes unsettling, even as the words came out with a teasing lilt. Envy’s gaze was like a weight on her, like the stranger was trying to see through her, poke and prod at whatever it was she kept buried. Elowen held herself still, lips pressed together in a quiet line. She didn’t like the feeling of being so... seen.

At the her words, Elowen’s ears twitched, and she couldn’t help the faint frown that pulled at her lips. "Hardly met," she echoed, her voice barely above a whisper, as if trying to match the low tension in the air. But she didn’t push it further—no need to. Lorcan's gaze was warm, but there was something in it that prickled at her skin, like a storm building just behind his eyes. She swallowed, the quiet of the morning suddenly feeling far too heavy.