POV: Aphrodite
The night strips us of our advantages.
The storm rolls in without warning. One moment we're making our way toward the shelter Kai identified, our boots crunching against loose gravel. The next, the sky opens and rain hammers down in sheets so thick I can barely see three feet ahead. The drops are ice-cold, stinging like tiny needles against exposed skin, soaking through clothes in seconds.
Wind tears through the mountain pass, extinguishing every attempt we make to light torches. The gusts are violent and erratic, howling between rock faces with a sound like wolves screaming. Kai's fire starter fails. My attempts to shield flames with my body fail. Even the twins' superior strength can't keep kindling dry enough to catch. Water streams down my face, into my eyes, making everything a blur of gray and darker gray.
