Things You Save In A Fire: A Novel Novels & Stories

Cassian POV The firefighters were able to put out the fire in the library before it burned down the entire building, but between the flames, the smoke, and the water used to put it out, we lost three-quarters of the books. The head librarian, Marianne, was barely able to hold back her tears at the town meeting when we heard the reports. “We weren’t able to find any source for the fire,” our Fire Chief, Taylor, finished, folding his arms. “No accelerants were found, but the way it spread couldn’t have been natural, either.”

The lobby was filled with staff and customers trying to run for their lives as the building burnt down. My company. My hard work. My money. “Someone! Help them! Call the ambulance!” I yelled at Samuel and a few guards beside me as everyone rushed to save the people running out of the building. The fire became hotter. “Sir…” Samuel grabbed my shirt. I was so engrossed in saving both young and old that I didn't know I was close to the burning building. I didn't bother to protect my documents or whatsoever. Though some were hidden in the lock safe, but a few were lying around cabinets.

I pulled my shirt up over my nose and mouth and pushed the door open. The heat hit me like a wall. Flames were climbing the walls, eating through the wood and paper. The room was glowing orange and red. I could hear the fire crackling, roaring like a living thing. I ran to the desk where I'd left the manuscripts. They were still there, in a leather folder. I grabbed them and turned to run. But the flames had spread. The doorway was blocked now, a wall of fire between me and the exit. I looked around, desperate. There had to be another way out.

“What’s mine is yours, Celene. Anything at all, I would willingly give it to you in a heartbeat.” Those words sent a shiver down my spine. There was a possessiveness in his tone that both thrilled and terrified me. I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I cleared my throat, as I drew his attention to something else. “Thank you... for saving me. I…I am assuming you saved me. I remember smoke… waking us to so much smoke. I remember trying to open the window but it would not budge. The panel must have been too old so they got stuck. I thought I was going to die.” His expression darkened at the mention of the fire. “That fire was no accident, Celene,” he growled, “The windows didn't budge because some

“I’ll stop it. I’ll survive. I’ll save Luca. I’ll save the club. No matter what.” Saint tilted his head, a dark, knowing smile curling his lips. “We’ll see… Riven. We’ll see.” And then—explosions ripped through the warehouse. The ground shook violently. Flames surged like a tidal wave. I grabbed Luca’s hand, pulling him toward the exit. Behind us, the fire consumed everything. But in the chaos, I saw movement—a figure stepping calmly through the smoke, untouched by the flames. Saint. Or maybe… something far worse.

” I said with an uneasy smile. “No, Cayden. She risked her life to save me. That day when the Mansion had been set ablaze, everyone had darted out but I had run upstairs to grab my box of valuables and you and Ivanka’s Mating emblem. But then the fire had grown fierce and I had been trapped by the crumbling corridors and roof parts. Everything around me had suddenly caught on to flames and I had tried to escape through the windows but then something fell on me, causing me to crash to the ground. I had struggled to escape but the weight and the heat had subdued me. I suddenly couldn’t move and as minutes crept by, I started feeling myself slip away, Cayden. Smoke filled my lungs and threateni

Sumico tried to reply as fluently as possible. “It was such a great fire that it claimed several lives, wasn’t it? So, that Brother Vir of yours did possess such a marvelous and wonderful power as well as ability so that he could save you safe and sound from the great fire, didn’t he?” Mrs. Yulia Kammal carried on bombarding her younger daughter with lots and lots of her questions as well as considerations. “Yeah… He did… He saved me at that exact moment before the fire got greater and bigger… He saved me just in the nick of time…” lied Sumico jumpily and nervously.

During these past five years, Zane Larson had always helped her keep an eye on Elijah Moses, and told her if anything big happened. Based on her understanding, three years ago, Elijah… was only caught in one fire. And in that fire, the person who saved him was her. She even foolishly—after saving him—spotted the scrapbook, which he had made by hand and filled with things pertaining to the two of them, in the raging fire. The scrapbook was made from metal—probably so it could be treasured for a lifetime. Unfortunately, in that fire, that metallic scrapbook became a hot potato.

But she didn’t hear anything, not Jess, not me, and so I grabbed her quickly, she was screaming, thrashing in my arms. “No! No, please! We built that place from nothing!” she sobbed. “We saved up everything—we didn’t take a dime from anyone—we worked every fucking hour—Christian please—please—” I held her tighter, my arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her back as she tried to charge toward the blaze. Jess was crying too, trying to hold on to Penelope, but Liam grabbed her, pulling her back before she could run into the flames again. The smell was horrible—burnt sugar, scorched metal, melting plastic. Sirens echoed in my skull, firefighters yelling commands, the media increasing i

All I can hear is that name, familiar, wrong in a way that makes my skin crawl. I don’t sit. I can’t. My body moves before my mind catches up, taking me straight to the metal box buried at the bottom of my bag. The one thing I saved from my father’s fire. The one thing I never opened again because I wasn’t ready to know what was inside. Tonight, I don’t have a choice. The lock clicks open. The smell of smoke rises till it almost choked me but I did stop, I opened it wider with precision. Old photos, letters with burned edges. My life before everything fell apart, quiet, warm, safe. Until the fire. Until darkness swallowed every good thing I had.