A sharp crack of thunder split the sky and jerked her awake.
Jacqueline blinked several times, trying to clear the haze from her vision. When the blur faded, she realized she was staring at a room she did not recognize. Confusion flickered through her as she slowly pushed herself up from the bed and padded toward the large window across the room.
Outside, the sky was a chaotic swirl of ugly gray clouds, scattered like torn shreds of smoke. They hung low and heavy, threatening, while rain poured relentlessly from above. The downpour showed no sign of easing.
For a moment she wondered whose room she was standing in but then memory came rushing back.
A soft, radiant smile touched her lips.
She pushed the window open, and a rush of icy wind swept through her hair. Stretching her hand out into the rain, she let the droplets strike her palm, cool and sharp against her skin.
Though her eyes remained fixed on the falling rain, her mind drifted elsewhere.
Back to that moment.
