I shook my head and kept moving toward the stairs. She was safe outside. That was what mattered.
“The fire extinguisher!” she yelled after me. Her voice was getting hoarse from the smoke. “Under the sink! If it hasn’t caught fire yet, there’s a fire extinguisher under the sink!”
Fire extinguisher. Of course. I didn’t know exactly what it was but the name was very self-explanatory and it made significantly more sense than trying to smother it with towels.
I ran back into the smoke-filled apartment. The visibility was terrible, my eyes were burning, and my lungs protested with every breath. The heat hit me in waves that made my skin prickle.
The flames had grown substantially in the thirty seconds I had been gone. They were climbing up the cabinets now. Reaching for the ceiling.
I jumped between the flames and yanked open the cabinet doors under the sink. Found a large red cylinder exactly where she said it would be.
I pulled it out and checked the instructions printed on the metal in small text that was difficult to read through the smoke. There was a pin. A hose. A lever. This seemed unnecessarily complicated for an emergency device.
I aimed the nozzle at the fire and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
I tried again with more force. Still nothing. Checked the instructions more carefully while sweat poured down my face and the heat became almost unbearable. My hands were starting to blister from the temperature.
There was a pin at the top. Of course there was a safety mechanism. I yanked the pin out and tried again.
A massive chunk of white powder exploded out of the nozzle with such force I nearly dropped the entire thing.
Some of the flames died immediately under the onslaught. I aimed at the next section and pulled the trigger again. More powder sprayed out. More flames succumbed.
I worked systematically through the kitchen until every last flame was extinguished. The powder covered everything. The counters were blackened and ruined. The cabinets were charred. I stood there coughing violently and staring at what I had done. The guilt was overwhelming and suffocating.
I had almost ruined everything. Almost destroyed her home. Almost hurt her and our child because I was too proud to admit I did not know how to cook properly.
Maybe I did not deserve to be here with her. Maybe I was making everything worse by staying. Maybe she would be better off if I just returned to Ravenor and left her in peace.
The door banged open with enough force to rattle the hinges.
“Mal!” Wen ran inside, her feet were bare on the powder-covered floor. Relief flooded her face when she saw me standing there alive. She rushed across the room and threw herself at me. Her arms wrapped around my waist. Her whole body was shaking.
“I was so scared,” she said into my chest. Her voice was muffled and thick with tears. “I thought you were going to get hurt. I thought the ceiling might collapse. I thought you might not come out and I would lose you.”
“I am sorry.” My voice was rough from smoke and emotion. “I ruined your kitchen. I ruined dinner. I nearly burned down your entire building. I have destroyed everything.”
She shook her head violently and hugged me tighter. “I don’t care about the stupid kitchen. I was terrified something would happen to you. I was standing outside, imagining you trapped in here.”
She was crying. I could feel the tears soaking through what remained of my shirt.
My own eyes burned and not from smoke this time. Actual tears were gathering because the relief of having her safe in my arms was overwhelming. “I am here. I am safe. You are safe. That is all that matters.”
We stood there holding each other in the destroyed kitchen while powder settled around us like snow. Both of us shaking and crying. The terror of almost losing each other still fresh and raw.
She pulled back suddenly and grabbed my hands. Gasped when she saw the blisters covering my palms and fingers. “You’re burned. Oh god, Mal, you’re really hurt.”
“It is nothing. It will heal-”
“It’s not nothing! These are second-degree burns at least!” She tried to pull away to get a better look but I would not release her.
“Please. Just let me hold you for a moment longer.”
She relaxed against me and we stood there until our breathing calmed and the shaking stopped.
“You need to put on actual clothes,” I said finally. “Then we will go to Aurion’s place for the night. You cannot stay here with all this smoke. It is not safe for you or the baby.”
