Dressed for the Part

"Breathe, Nyssa. Just breathe!" I whispered to the empty room, my voice sounding frantic even to my own ears. My heart was a runaway freight train, my mind was spinning like a top, and my pores were weeping enough sweat to suggest I'd just sprinted a marathon in the summer heat.

'Don't you mean breed?' Vesper chuckled, her voice low and teasing in the back of my skull.

I clamped my jaw shut, refus