Page 86 of Wake the Dream

“Kill her?” Illaria said slowly. “I don’t want to, but I get the feeling I might have to.”

Kieran glanced over his shoulder at the tornado. “No, I meant the twister heading for the coffee shop.”

“Oh,shit. Right. Sorry!”

A snap of her fingers had the funnel dissipating as though it had never been. The clouds overhead shifted until rays of sunlight filtered in through the canopy. Illuminating the destruction around them.

Kieran dropped her hand. “You sure do know how to pack a punch.”

“I could say the same for you. The grass is crunchy and everything within a twenty-foot radius is burned to a crisp.” Illaria turned to him, wiping the wet trails off of her cheeks. “Are you okay?”

“I should be asking you the same thing. You took a hell of a wallop back there.”

She winced. “I’m not sure if you mean emotional or physical, but yes. To both. Whatever stunt you tried to pull, heed me here, Shanahan.” Her eyes narrowed. “Never pull it again.”

“I thought we agreed you would call me Kieran? After all, this weird taste in my mouth is because of you.”

He’d drank her blood. And for some reason, it had cooled whatever fire he hadn’t known he possessed.

“I didn’t know what else to do.” She slapped him on the shoulder. “You decided to go off and get yourself killed. I just thought, hey, why not try it?”

“I have a theory, and hear me out. What if that birthmark on your back shows that you are a healer? That your blood has healing properties that not all Fae possess? Maybe that’s why the vampires wanted you so badly.”

“And that could be why my sister needed me on her side or out of the way. I’m too valuable to let sit on the sidelines.”

“It’s a thought. No need to get a big head about it,” Kieran cautioned.

His jesting did the trick, and Illaria turned to him with a smile lighting her face. “You’re something else, Shanahan.”

“Kieran.”

Her lips softened. “Kieran.”

Without waiting for her to comment further, he wrapped his arms around her. “You scared me.”

“What do you think you did to me?” Her voice was muffled by his shirt. “I have more years to spare but I think I lost half of them when you took that bullet to the shoulder.”

“Yeah, I don’t like your mom very much.”

Sound returned around them slowly, birds making their way back to branches and people creeping out from whatever shelter they’d sought during the chaos.

“The police will be on their way soon,” Kieran commented offhandedly. Unwilling to move. Unwilling to break his hold on the Fae who’d saved his life and captured his heart.

She gave him a squeeze. “Guess you’re going to have to give them a statement, Commissioner Shanahan.”

He dropped his head back on a laugh. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.”

“I’m going to need someone strong at my side when the time comes to confront my sister. That’s for sure.” Illaria leaned back to meet his gaze.

“Then you have me. For as long as you want.”

“Yes.” She rested her head on his chest as the screech of sirens split the air. “That sounds about right.”

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