Click.
The shutter cracked like a gunshot through the quiet garden.
'Just a bit longer.'
Angelica held the pose, spine arched, gaze fixed on the ruby ring on her finger. Except she couldn't see the gem, only a smear of color in a spinning world.
Countless gazes crawled over her exposed skin like insects. But her smile didn't waver.
Click.
"Change!"
Her body moved before thought caught up. Pivoting on bare feet, she found the edge of the fountain's white stone.The stone bit against her skin, but she used that as her lost anchor that she hadn't felt for days now.
A stray lock of hair fluttered across her face, obscuring the earrings. Her hand rose up to tug it away, but—
"No!" a voice cut through her world. "Leave it! Let's take one like this."
"Of course," her voice sounded distant to her ears. She turned toward the sound, smiling.
She closed her eyes for a heartbeat and tilted her chin upward.
