Page 188 of Axis of Fire

After our conversation at my parents’ house—and my disappearing afterward—it felt like we’d somehow grown more distant.

Not that we’d had enough time to become truly close.

But I couldn’t call us strangers anymore, either.

“Hey, are you two planning on helping at all?” Dwayne called, interrupting my thoughts.

He was wearing a soft blue kitchen apron.

“I thought I shouldn’t interrupt your attempts to seduce Lars,” I said with a smile, turning fully toward him.

Dwayne clicked his tongue dramatically.

“I’m one hundred percent sure he’s into me, but he’s giving me absolutely nothing to work with,” he complained.

As he spoke, he kept glancing at Airis, clearly hoping for some kind of support.

“Stop whining already,” Gwendolyn grumbled as she stepped onto the rooftop carrying two bottles of rum. Mike followed close behind, balancing a large wooden board piled high with homemade pizza.

“We’re supposed to be celebrating Ria before she leaves for the magical world, and you still can’t put your love life on pause.”

“If you haven’t noticed, my love life is on life support right now,” Dwayne muttered, though he still helped Mike set the pizza in the center of the folding table.

Meanwhile, I moved the plates aside to make room.

“Easy for you two to say.” Dwayne looked from Gwen to Mike. “Your relationship is perfect. And Ria somehow ended up with a ridiculously hot mentor. What am I supposed to do?”

“I can always lend you the ridiculously hot mentor,” I said with a wink, pretending not to notice the cool breeze Airis directed straight at me.

Well.

That was new.

“We still haven’t completely decided whether this mentor can actually be trusted,” Gwendolyn declared, eyeing Airis suspiciously.

That caught me off guard.

I’d thought she’d accepted him almost immediately.

“He assigned you the best members of his squad. What more proof do you need?” Camille asked as she stepped onto the rooftop carrying a huge bowl of salad in one hand while pushing back her wild red curls with the other.

“And who exactly decided you’re the best?” Airis asked lazily as he walked over to the table, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Justin replied, carrying another wooden board loaded with pizza.

“He’s just too proud to admit it,” Lars added, arriving last with two bottles of tonic water.

“And you’ve all spent too much time living in Vuduarus,” Airis commented, nodding toward the rum bottles Gwen was already pouring while Camille took the tonic from Lars and began mixing the drinks.

“We spend more time here than in Istarus,” Camille said with a shrug. “Besides, it’s not like something exciting happens there every day.”

“Maybe we should all try relaxing for once?” Dwayne suggested, grabbing two glasses and handing one to Airis. “Forget you’re the boss for one night and loosen up a little.”

With an almost imperceptible sigh, Airis accepted the drink but made no move to taste it.

Then Dwayne handed me a glass with much less rum—exactly the way Gwendolyn had asked him to.

Everyone knew I got drunk ridiculously fast.