"Run, Mira!"
Seraphielle's voice cut through the deafening roar of thunder as another jagged spear of lightning tore across the heavens, bathing the forest in a blinding flash of blue-white light.
The trees shuddered beneath the relentless wind, their branches whipping violently against one another as if the entire forest had become trapped inside the heart of the storm.
The next thunder that followed crashed over the forest with such force that all the trees shuddered, sending frightened birds bursting from the branches and flying into the darkness.
Without hesitation, Mira obeyed. She gathered the hem of her robes and ran, Seraphielle dragging Aurelia behind her through the uneven forest floor.
Roots jutted from the earth like grasping fingers, forcing them to leap and stumble over them as the forest grew darker with every passing step.
Another crack of thunder exploded overhead, which made the ground itself seemed to tremble.
