Page 16 of Axis of Fire

And slowly, I nodded.

“No. You died.”

Everything stopped.

My thoughts.

My breathing.

Even my heart seemed to hesitate.

“Died?” I asked quietly, still trying to process his words.

Just like that?

From my own power?

Silence.

Broken only by something familiar—

my heartbeat.

Why was it still beating?

“Exactly.”

He nodded.

His gaze didn’t waver.

“And right now, we’re standing at the gates of Hell—

a fitting place for the way you lived.”

I swallowed.

Refusing to believe him.

“Airis.”

I heard a voice.

Santa.

“Stop this right now! She’s already in shock! How can the chief lieutenant of the Vuduarus Unit fail to recognize a human’s emotional state?”

I exhaled.

Lieutenant of what?

In response, Airis merely let out a heavy sigh—

as though he were seconds away from rolling his eyes.

“Oh, come on. He’s got a great sense of humor,” the guy in blue said with a shrug.

He and Airis were almost the same height—or at least it seemed that way from where I was.