Page 197 of Axis of Fire

How naturally it seemed to understand me.

But the moment pride crept in...

The fire immediately reminded me not to get ahead of myself.

The fifth shot sailed wide.

“Shit.”

The curse slipped quietly from my lips as my eyes lifted to Airis.

To my surprise, a faint smile softened his features.

“I’m proud of you, Fireling.”

“Come on, I still missed the fifth target,” I said, brushing it off while carefully keeping my emotions in check.

“That wasn’t the important part.”

“Oh really? Then what was?” I asked, frowning as I crossed my arms over my chest.

Was this another one of his Ria is obviously an idiot moments?

“You needed to realize your magic isn’t your enemy,” Airis said calmly. “Quite the opposite. It understands you better than anyone else because it’s a part of you.”

“Damn. The bastard actually knows what he’s talking about,” Aars muttered, clicking his tongue as he scratched his sharp chin with one claw.

As much as I hated admitting it...

He was probably right.

“Well, it’s nice to see you haven’t changed.”

A familiar male voice suddenly cut through the room, making me flinch as I turned around.

Tarven was striding toward us with the grin of a Cheshire cat.

“And where’s Anastasia?” I asked. “Or are the two of you practicing invisibility magic now?”

“Stasia doesn’t need this much training,” he replied proudly. “She already has excellent control over herself. I was her instructor, after all.”

“There he is,” Aars grumbled, drifting closer to me. “Another arrogant peacock. Though, before officially joining the Strongest Twelve, he was a lot more tolerable.”

“Kharma contacted me,” Tarven said, his expression turning serious. “They’re expecting you in Mataarus. There’s new information about Harold.”

His brown eyes flicked toward me for only a moment.

It was enough.

He still didn’t trust me.

And he was doing everything he could to make sure Airis didn’t, either.

“I’ll keep an eye on Ria while you’re gone,” Tarven continued. “In the meantime, Stasia can tell her more about Istarus.”

My gaze immediately found Airis.

I didn’t like that plan one bit.