Page 175 of Iris
Emmie is safe in the front seat with Freya—she was there the entire time—and I can’t even describe the relief I feel. She hugs a blackened Delores close.
After Killian had gotten me out, he went back for Xavier. A sob leaves me as I wait silently for my mates to reemerge.
When two giant shapes appear through the smoke, I jump to my feet.
They become clearer the closer they get, and soon Killian and Xavier rush through, sputtering with every breath.
“We’re here,” Killian rasps. Ash clings to his hair, and his eyes are bright red from the smoke.
Xavier’s soot dusted, and a new cut marks one cheek.
But they’re alive.
Thank god, they’re alive.
Suddenly, the weight of what just happened crashing down on me, and my hear whirls. My legs can’t hold me up anymore, and I begin to crumple.
A strong arm comes around me to hold me up, and I’m surrounded by the warm scent of leather.
Easy there. Lean on me. I got you.
Xavier’s inner voice whispers across my mind.
“I could fucking kill you for going in there. What the fuck were you thinking?” Killian bites out, coming to my other side. “You-you almost destroyed me.”
“I’m… I’m sorry,” I mutter. “I thought… I saw Delores and all I could think about was Emmie.”
His eyes widen. “You ran in… to save Emmie.”
I nod.
Those dark blue eyes flick to Xavier, who signs.
“Yeah,” Killian says, like Xavier signed something to him, “but she could’vedied.”
Xavier signs to him again, and Killian wipes a frustrated hand over his face.
“Just tell the girl,” Freya says with a dramatic sigh from the driver’s seat. “It won’t kill ya.”
“Fine.” He grumbles. “Fuck. Okay. What they want me to say is that fire terrifies me. It changed everything…” He draws in a deep breath. The orange glow of the fire lights one side of his face. “You see, my father, as rich as he was, was too cheap to spend any real money on his buildings, even on the townhouse where we lived. It happened early in the morning, when everyone was still asleep. Electrical fire. I didn’t know until it was too late. I…”
Killian squeezes his eyes shut. Pain is etched on his face. “My sister…Amelia, she was deaf. A brilliant girl. And so creative and just…my entire life.” Now he smiles, but it’s only a flicker. “I tried to find her, but she couldn’t hear my calls.”
I gasp, covering my mouth in horror.
Oh no…
“I was dragged out by firefighters before I could reach her. I couldn’t save her…” He swallows. “I’ve tried so fucking hard to forget… So fucking hard. I can’t lose another person like that. I can’t…”
Moving closer, Killian’s hand trembles as he touches my cheek. I take it and kiss it. “Sorry I scared you. I didn’t know.”
He just stares at me for a long moment, before suddenly pulling me in to rest his forehead to mine. His sweet berry scent overcomes the smoke and fire one and surrounds me. “You fucking terrified me. Terrified. Never do that again.”
“Okay…”
“I love you. Understand? I fucking love you,” he says. “I’m sorry it took me so long to see it.”
I bask in those words. They warm me from the inside out.
