The violent part of the storm had passed into a steady drizzle that fell without urgency upon the leaves and the earth, and the evening light, pale and diffused through the cloud cover, lent the treetops a slick, luminous sheen that made the landscape look almost painted.
From that vantage everything beyond the glass appeared undisturbed, a calm that only made the air inside the house feel thicker and more oppressive.
Dakota placed one hand against the window frame and then reached toward the invisible barrier she knew lay just beyond the glass, and the wards reacted the way they always had, a flash of electricity lancing through her fingertips and racing up her arm with brutal efficiency.
The force of the rejection threw her backward with enough momentum to make her stagger, and she braced herself against the wall, breathing through a small hiss of pain as she rubbed the faint burn already forming across her skin.
