Page 286 of Axis of Fire

So I only smiled wider and lifted my brows as if to say:

I’m listening.

“During training, you reacted strangely,” he said slowly.

“That’s how people behave when they’ve handled weapons before.”

The smile slowly disappeared from my face.

My fingers tightened around the glass, hoping he wouldn’t notice they had begun to tremble.

“And definitely not in a harmless way.”

I could feel his eyes on me.

But I couldn’t bring myself to meet them.

“Stasia... is there something I don't know?”

I stayed silent.

I needed to pull myself together.

To shove the memories back where they belonged.

“Stasia.”

His voice hardened.

I took a slow breath.

“There are a lot of things you don’t know, Tarven.”

I finally looked up at him.

“Everyone has a right to their secrets.

Don’t they?”

Illariana Arden’s POV

Our first stop brought us to an enormous stone formation resembling a cliff.

Its surface had been carved with countless scenes, as though the stone itself were telling a story.

The monument stood at the center of a lake, while thin streams of water flowed from cracks in the rock, making it seem as though it were filled from within.

The water shifted with every change of light—

From turquoise to emerald,

Then, from another angle, to a blue so deep it was almost black.

Bright yellow fish darted beneath the surface, their chaotic movements resembling fireworks underwater.

“This installation is dedicated to Ruel’s novel Sitarsis,” Airis explained.

“In Urpis, the title translates roughly as Living Decay.”