Page 172 of Axis of Fire

Almost weightless.

I frowned.

What was he planning to create?

And why was that somehow harder to guess than everything else about him?

My gaze lingered on the cloud.

Then another thought occurred to me.

Airis hated losing control.

He'd practically admitted it a few minutes ago.

Which meant suggesting this exercise had forced him to surrender part of that control from the very beginning.

I looked at the cloud again.

Maybe this wasn't just an exercise.

Maybe it was a peace offering.

A quiet invitation toward cooperation.

Toward trust.

Toward whatever strange thing was growing between us.

Taking another brush, I dipped it into white paint and added several soft highlights.

I didn't want to fight his idea.

I wanted to understand it.

For some reason, that felt far more important.

“Ready?” I asked, immediately trying to peek over his shoulder.

Airis shifted.

His broad back completely blocked my view.

“Give me a second.”

“Why are you hiding it?”

“You’ll see it when it's finished.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You act like one glance from me could ruin everything.”

“I wouldn't be surprised.”

The bastard.

A laugh escaped me despite myself.