Boom—
A flash of lightning split the sky like a blade, followed by a thunderclap that shook the walls.
Mino's eyes flew open. For a few heartbeats, she couldn't tell whether the tremor that ran through her body came from fear or from the echoing roar outside. She lay there still, dazed and half tangled in her blanket, until another blinding flash illuminated the windowpane.
Then came the rumble—deep, resonant, like the growl of something ancient awakening beyond the clouds.
"Thunder?" she murmured, voice small in the dim light.
She pushed herself up, the chill of the floor biting at her bare feet, and tiptoed to the window.
Outside, dawn had arrived, but the morning was dark and restless. Thick clouds churned over the horizon, black and bruised, their undersides heavy with rain. The first drops pattered against the roof like fingers drumming a warning.
