Page 233 of Axis of Fire

Each grabbed one of us by the arm and practically dragged us out of the hall.

Chapter 23

Only now—

when I tried to breathe—

did I feel the sharp pain in my ribs.

The iron statue had nearly knocked the life out of me.

“What the hell, Tarven?!” Stasia snapped.

She seemed incapable of feeling anything but anger.

Tarven, meanwhile, was trying to stay calm.

But the guilt in his eyes was unmistakable.

Only Miloran looked completely at ease.

He lazily twirled a long pale strand of hair around one finger.

Like a serpent calmly watching its prey.

Nothing about him matched the brutality of his magic.

“Stasia, this was for your own good.”

Tarven raised his hands in surrender.

Her irritation ignored the gesture completely.

“Do you even realize how dangerous that was?”

“Exactly,” Miloran said calmly.

“Creating toxic flames inside an enclosed space was deeply irresponsible.”

Stasia shot him a murderous glare.

He didn’t seem the least bit bothered.

“But effective.”

A faint smirk touched his lips for the briefest moment.

“What exactly was the point of all this?” I asked.

“Now that,” Tarven said, stepping beside Miloran, “is the interesting part.”

He made no effort to hide the fact that he preferred standing farther away from Stasia.

“We learned your weaknesses.”

“And you learned them too.”

He looked directly at me.