Emerald's head snapped toward him, eyes wide, mouth parting in disbelief. "Excuse me?"
Ares' gaze didn't waver, that infuriating calm etched into every line of his face.
She straightened, heat prickling up her neck—not the kind Viola was teasing her about earlier, but the mortified kind. "I am not in heat."
Lucien and Kieran both turned to stare at her, equally curious and… something else she couldn't quite name.
Lucien's brow lifted. "Are you?"
Emerald glared at him. "No."
Kieran tilted his head, his lips twitching in faint amusement. "You sound defensive."
"I'm not defensive," she said quickly, then immediately regretted it when the corner of Ares' mouth curved in silent victory. "I just—can we not have this conversation in the middle of the square?"
Lucien's eyes narrowed slightly, still assessing her. "You're flushed."
"That's because it's cold out," she shot back.
