The world didn't come back all at once. First came the taste of copper and drywall dust, thick and choking on the back of my tongue. Then the sound—a high, piercing screech that felt like a rusty nail being driven straight through my ears.
"Sienna! *Sienna!*"
The voice sounded like it was underwater. A heavy weight was pinning my chest down, compressing my lungs until they burned. I blinked hard, coughing violently as the black smoke swirled around us, thick and toxic. The orange glow of the burning SUV danced across the cracked concrete floor, throwing long, monstrous shadows against the garage walls.
The weight shifted. Xavier's face materialized through the haze, his features streaked with black soot and a thin line of dark crimson leaking from a cut just above his eyebrow. His hands were all over me, gripping my shoulders, checking my neck, his touch rough and frantic.
