Page 144 of Axis of Fire

I wanted to set him on fire out of pure frustration.

Mostly because I hated how right he was.

“I'm not an idiot,” I snapped. “I know I can be dangerous. What pisses me off is that you keep treating me like a problem instead of a person.”

“I've never forgotten you're a person.”

His voice turned cold.

The tension between us sharpened instantly.

God, he was stubborn.

But I wasn't exactly easy to bend either.

Still...

One of us had to be smarter.

I let out a long sigh.

“Fine. In critical situations, I'll allow you to interfere with my abilities.”

Until I learned to control myself...

I needed an anchor.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then Airis gave a single nod.

Not victorious.

Not smug.

Just relieved.

As though he'd been expecting this argument from the moment he confessed.

Something stable.

Something stronger than panic.

For a moment, Airis simply watched me.

“I’m not generous with compliments,” he finally said. “But I’m glad that beneath all that recklessness, you’re still capable of thinking clearly.”

I raised a brow.

“The first time we met, you called me stupid.”

Airis shrugged.

“You played the role convincingly.”

A pause.

“Almost too convincingly.”