The late afternoon sun hung mercilessly in the cloudless sky, its relentless heat making the air shimmer like water above the parched earth. Even the slightest movement felt like wading through molasses, and tempers that might normally simmer were brought to a rapid boil under the oppressive weight of the humidity. The temperature had to be pushing close to ninety-five degrees, with not even the whisper of a breeze to provide relief.
Eden and Lila had claimed a small patch of shade near the churchyard, their backs pressed against the cool whitewashed fence that separated the sacred ground from the wild tangle of woods beyond. They'd been there for the better part of an hour, sharing quiet laughter and gossip while trying to escape the suffocating heat that made even breathing feel like work. Eden's white cotton sundress seemed to glow in the dappled sunlight that filtered through the oak leaves above them, the fabric crisp and pristine despite the oppressive weather. Her golden blonde hair was swept up in a neat bun at the nape of her neck, though several rebellious strands had escaped to frame her face in soft tendrils that clung damply to her skin. Her leather-bound Bible rested primly on her lap, its worn pages marked with countless ribbons and pressed flowers.
The cicadas were screaming their eternal summer song so loudly that Eden almost didn't hear Rowan call her name from across the churchyard. She was leaning comfortably against the fence post, her head tilted back to catch what little breeze might stir the leaves above, when his voice cut through the insect chorus like a blade.
"What do you want?" she said without bothering to look at him, though she could feel his presence like a storm front moving in.
Rowan didn't stop walking until he stood directly in front of her, close enough that his shadow fell across her white dress like a dark omen. His faded denim shirt clung to his broad shoulders and chest, damp with perspiration from the oppressive heat, and his jaw was clenched so tightly she could see the muscle jumping beneath his skin, as if he'd been grinding his teeth for hours.
"You were supposed to be at the river an hour ago," he said, his voice tight with barely controlled irritation. There was something else there too—something that might have been disappointment, though Eden couldn't imagine why.
"I wasn't aware I reported to you," she shot back, her green eyes flickering up to meet his with just enough defiance to set his teeth on edge. The corner of her mouth curved in a smile that was anything but sweet.
Lila glanced between them with the practiced eye of someone who'd witnessed this particular dance countless times before, a knowing smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. "Should I leave you two alone before you kill each other, or should I stay and referee?"
"Don't encourage her," Rowan said, his pale eyes never leaving Eden's face. "She's impossible enough without an audience cheering her on."
Something dangerous flashed in Eden's expression. She rose gracefully to her feet, her Bible clutched in one hand, and stepped forward until she was close enough that their shadows tangled together on the sun-baked ground. The air between them seemed to crackle with electricity, charged and volatile.
"Impossible?" she repeated, her voice deceptively soft. "You're the one who shows up everywhere I am like some mangy stray dog with nothing better to do than follow me around."
Rowan's mouth curved upward, but it wasn't a smile—it was something sharper, more predatory. His pale eyes had gone cold as winter ice, and when he spoke, his voice carried the kind of quiet menace that made smart people take a step back.
"Better a stray dog than whatever it is you are," he said, each word carefully chosen to inflict maximum damage. "At least I don't hide behind daddy's reputation and pretend I'm untouchable."
The words hit their mark with surgical precision. Eden's grip tightened around her Bible until her knuckles went white, and Lila actually winced at the cruelty of it. But Eden had never been one to back down from a fight, especially not with Rowan Thorne.
"You think you know me?" she hissed, stepping even closer until there were mere inches between them. "You're not some tragic outlaw, Thorne. You're just a coward who runs his mouth because it's easier than actually doing something with your pathetic life."
His eyes darkened like storm clouds, but instead of retreating, he moved closer still. When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous, meant for her ears alone.
"Careful, Harrow," he murmured, his breath warm against her cheek. "You don't want me to start talking about all the things you don't want people to know. Trust me, I've got plenty of material."
Lila reached out and put a restraining hand on Eden's arm, sensing that the situation was about to spiral completely out of control. But Eden shrugged off her friend's touch without breaking eye contact with Rowan, her chin lifting in a gesture of pure defiance.
"Go ahead," she dared him, her voice steady despite the fury burning in her chest. "Say whatever you want. It's not like your opinion has ever mattered to me."
"Keep telling yourself that," Rowan said softly, and for just a split second—so brief she might have imagined it—his gaze dropped from her eyes to her mouth, lingering there with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat.
Eden noticed the look, and it infuriated her more than anything he'd said or done. The fact that he could look at her like that, like he was thinking about things he had no right to think about, made her see red.
"You're pathetic," she spat, shoving past him with enough force that his shoulder clipped hard against the fence post behind him.
As Eden stormed away, her white dress billowing behind her like the wings of an avenging angel, Lila shook her head and muttered under her breath, "You two need to go to therapy together, or just make out and get it over with. This sexual tension is exhausting to watch."
"Shut up, Lila," Eden and Rowan snapped in perfect unison, their voices carrying the same note of frustrated irritation.
Lila just laughed and gathered up her things, leaving them to glare at each other across the churchyard like two wildcats circling for another round. The cicadas continued their relentless screaming, and the heat pressed down on them all like a living thing, but the real fire was in the space between Eden and Rowan—a flame that threatened to consume them both if they weren't careful.