Coconut Grove Your anger is frightening the sand

He didn't even realize he wasn't alone—that the dousing hadn't been an event as spontaneous as it was inexplicable—until the child spoke. Peregrine jerked, the motion making his head throb all the more. He groaned under his breath. He wanted to swear but he was having a really hard time with articulation at the moment.

"Mmmnnng," Peregrine replied to her query. He understood her perfectly well, even if the sound of her voice—and all the other surrounding noises, for that matter—made his head feel like it was going to split wide open. He just couldn't get his tongue to cooperate, to form words.