Page 222 of Axis of Fire

“Spirits don’t really believe in charms, talismans, and all that nonsense,” Luis explained, finally giving up on jumping.

He sat down on the bed, swinging one leg over the wooden frame.

“That stuff is mostly for mortals.”

“I used to think the same thing,” I admitted, “until I found out Stasia has a hidden second ability.”

Three pairs of eyes snapped toward me.

“She has what?” Mortz asked.

Then he processed what I'd said.

“And what exactly is her second ability?”

“She’s a seer.”

Luis let out a sympathetic sigh.

“Rough life.”

“The brat was a seer in one of his past lives,” Aars added casually.

“Seriously?” I asked, searching Luis’s face for confirmation.

The spirit nodded.

“The worst thing that can happen to seers,” Luis said quietly, “is losing the ability to tell the present from the future.”

His expression darkened.

“Seers perceive the world...”

He paused.

“All worlds... differently.”

A heavy silence settled between us.

“To them, time doesn’t truly exist,” he continued.

“The past, the present, and the future all exist at once.”

“They simply spend their lives trying to separate them.”

I swallowed hard.

I wanted to ask about his life.

About his death.

But I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“And most of them hide what they are,” Mortz added.

“Or at least they should.”

Luis gave a faint nod.