Page 137 of Axis of Fire

The usual coldness was gone from his eyes.

Something far worse had taken its place.

It felt like death itself was staring back at them.

Oddly enough, that didn’t scare me.

What frightened me more was how indifferent I suddenly felt toward it.

I didn’t understand why he suddenly looked ready to kill for me.

Or why that aggression burned so fiercely in his eyes.

“You do realize there’s a security system here for situations like this?” my father asked cautiously.

“I’m afraid they won’t make it in time,” Airis replied calmly, nodding toward my mother.

Her expression darkened instantly.

Both hands flew to her throat.

She couldn't breathe.

I froze, unable to say a word.

But my father finally realized what was happening.

“Fuck! Let her go!”

He grabbed for my mother, only to pull back a second later when he realized there was absolutely nothing he could do.

“We’ll tell you everything,” he said quickly, staring at us as though his life depended on it.

“See? That wasn’t so difficult,” Airis replied.

A second later, my mother doubled over, coughing violently as she dragged desperate breaths back into her lungs.

“How did I end up with you?” I repeated, my voice no softer than before.

Today, I wasn't afraid of them.

And maybe that was because Airis was standing beside me.

I felt him there like a shield.

Both physically and mentally.

“One night,” my father began quietly, “some mutilated... terrifying creature brought you to us. There was something deeply inhuman about it.”

“And we never would’ve taken that cursed cradle with some unknown child inside if it hadn’t threatened us,” my mother added, carefully watching my reaction.

She probably expected her words to hurt me.

Unfortunately for her, I’d spent my entire life building walls too thick for anyone to reach what was behind them.

“And how exactly did it threaten you?” I asked.

Maybe its abilities would help me understand what world it came from.