Page 140 of Axis of Fire

I glanced at Airis.

His expression remained cold and unreadable.

At this point, it was obvious the destruction at my parents’ house had been caused by Harold’s people.

But then—

who had really kidnapped me and locked me away in that psychiatric clinic?

Who had pretended to be my parents?

“Airis?” I asked quietly, ignoring my parents as they continued explaining their theory that the creature who had brought me to them had finally returned.

“I don’t understand what’s happening yet either,” he admitted softly. “But I’ll figure it out.”

Then he looked at me.

“Do you still have any questions for them?”

He nodded toward my parents.

I shook my head.

“Then let’s go.”

His hand closed around mine.

Warm.

Steady.

The exact opposite of how I felt.

“There’s nothing left for us here.”

Chapter 13

We returned to the apartment pretty late.

The others disappeared into their rooms, while Airis and I made sandwiches in the kitchen before retreating to mine with our plates.

I still didn't understand how we'd managed to grow closer in such a short amount of time.

But being around him felt dangerously comfortable, even if he constantly seemed determined to provoke some kind of reaction from me.

Settling onto the floor with our food, I reached for my laptop and plugged it in.

A distraction sounded nice right now.

Because the thoughts inside my head felt like the end of the world.

They crashed into one another—

and in the process, destroyed the place they lived in.

Me.

“Does Istarus have Wi-Fi?” I asked suddenly. “And places to charge electronics?”