After the wind dies down, the family wanders back inside. No one notices that Mina is stuck in her harness, and no one hears her pleas for help. Eventually, Mina frees herself and hurries inside to bond with her egg. Larger than the twins, the colorful egg is nestled in quilts. After examining the shell, Mina lays against it, talking about how they will change the world together.

Moments later, Mina hears a loud crack but sees no new fissures. Curling up next to the egg, Mina draws. This is an activity that soothes her. As she sketches a series of fractures on an egg, the cracking begins. Mina shouts to alert her family, but no one hears her. Placing her hands on the rainbow-colored shell, Mina whispers encouragement. Soon, claws emerge, and Mina helps the beast to freedom. A small yellow dragon with the face of a puppy introduces himself as Pixit. He speaks directly into Mina’s mind rather than aloud, and this is the way that storm beasts communicate with their human partners.

Instantly, Mina experiences a love so strong that she feels complete. Pixit seems to understand her feelings instinctively. When she opens the window and urges him to fly, Pixit happily obliges. He wobbles over the corn field, sparks jumping along his scales. However, he loses control and sets the field on fire. Mina races outside, shouting for Pixit to fly higher. Spotting Papa’s retired rain beast, Orli, Mina holds a bucket of water aloft for the beast to scatter on the burning fields. They cannot get water on the fire fast enough, so Mina asks Arde, Gaton’s sun beast, to lay on the fire to extinguish it. Only Pixit hears her thoughts, so he repeats the instructions telepathically to Arde. Moments later, the fire is out. Mina’s family is shocked that she hatched a lightning beast. They insist that this must be a mistake.

As Mina holds Pixit, who is sleeping, her family vows that this is all wrong because she does not have the loud, impulsive personality of a lightning guardian. Mina assures Pixit that there is nothing wrong with him. Then, she apologizes to her parents that she set the field on fire, and they acknowledge that this was an accident. However, they declare that this bond must be fixed. Only Gaton says anything to the contrary. Although Mina insists that she and Pixit are perfect for each other, her parents ignore her pleas and send a letter to the capital asking for help. Meanwhile, Pixit wonders if Mina’s family dislikes him. To reassure him, she shares memories of her family with him. Pixit also sees her desire to travel.

At that moment, Mina notices red mail balloons drifting overhead: This is Alorria’s magical postal system, in which letters arrive by balloon and can be plucked from the sky by their addressees. Mina retrieves a balloon that is addressed to her. In the envelope are two river-ship tickets and a letter summoning her and Pixit to Mytris Lightning School. At the end of the letter is a quotation: “A true heart is never a mistake” (38). This resonates with Mina. She knows, though, that her family will not listen to her. Pixit wishes that he could speak to them on her behalf. When they go inside, Mina’s mother insists that Pixit stay outside or next to the hearth while her father directs Mina upstairs, as they want to prevent her from getting attached to the beast. When Mina tries to get their attention, they wave her away. So, she leaves the letter on the table and goes to pack. In her room, Gaton talks to her about life after training, but Mina only thinks about how no one truly knows her. Then, she hears that her parents have found the letter. They know they must send her to lightning school, for Alorria’s laws state that storm guardians must serve their country.

As Mina leaves with Papa, he assumes she will be miserable and tells her that she can always come home. However, her excitement reminds him that she sparkles “inside, where it counts” (46). They travel for half a day, and Mina joyfully takes in the sights. Finally, they arrive at the aqueducts— the raised rivers that storm guardians control, making them flow to the sea for half the week before reversing direction for the remaining days. Anxiety surfaces, but Mina cannot distinguish if it is hers or Pixit’s. At the station, Pixit longs to hug Papa, but the man opts for a wave instead. Mina regrets not speaking up for her beast. Then, the pair ascends the aqueduct, trying not to set the rope railing on fire. At the top, a stationmaster takes their tickets and notes that Mina seems too cautious to be a lightning guardian.

The ship arrives, and they climb aboard. Eventually a sailor yells for them to get onto the rubber-lined pit where Pixit’s sparks will not do any damage. This sailor also remarks that Mina is unlike other lightning guardians. Pixit begs her not to leave him alone, and they both pretend that they are not scared. When Mina wonders aloud what is beyond the mountains, the sailors respond that there are hurricanes, tornadoes, and other storms. Then, Mina begins drawing everything she sees so she will never forget their adventure. However, she has doubts about being a lightning guardian.

Later, when they sail through the city, Mina and Pixit admire the skyscrapers, the waterfalls that flow upward, and the trains and bridges. Elevators and carts without horses, and much more, all run on power generated from lightning. When the ship stops, Mina learns that another new lightning guardian will join them. When they watch a clock tower shoot water into the air, the thought of harnessing lightning from a storm cloud seems impossible to her. However, Mina sees impossible things all around her.

Suddenly, a loud girl interrupts Mina’s reveries. It is Jyx, the other lightning guardian, with her storm beast Chauda. Mina can hear Pixit’s side of a mental conversation between him and Chauda, and she tries to soothe him. Meanwhile, Jyx dislikes the rubber pit, so she jumps on deck and climbs the mast with Chauda following behind. Jyx shouts for Mina to join her. Although tempted, Mina does not think it is a good idea. When Pixit flies up to the deck, Mina begrudgingly follows with a jug of water in case he accidentally sparks. She, too, climbs the mast.

Once Mina looks around, though, she is enamored with the lights of the city, and later, with the stars above. Jyx talks nonstop. When the girl calls herself unlikable, Mina whispers that she wants to be friends with her. However, she requests that Chauda stop teasing Pixit. Jyx listens and relays the message. Then, she quietly marvels that Mina wants to be her friend. As they sit in silence, Mina thinks that things are off to a good start. Then, Pixit sparks, and she dumps the jug of water on him.