Page 302 of Axis of Fire

Warmth settled gently against my back.

I knew instantly.

It was Airis.

“The installation is testing us. It's okay,” he said quietly.

I could only hope he couldn't feel the warmth spreading through my body.

Or the way my lungs had suddenly forgotten how to work.

“It's a special chamber,” he continued.

“It only reveals itself at the right moment.”

I stayed silent.

Frozen by his voice, which sounded strangely different within these walls.

Then—

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Three separate lights ignited at once, illuminating the chamber around us.

It was a vast circular room filled with floor-length mirrors.

Each mirror was crowned by a sharply pointed frame.

And every one shimmered with a different color.

Only then did I notice that all twelve frames converged toward the very center of the room.

A golden circle rested on the floor.

Inside it were twelve smaller circles—

Each glowing with the same color as one of the mirrors.

The rest of the chamber remained shrouded in darkness.

Mist drifted slowly across the floor.

Only the mirrors gave the room its light.

My gaze wandered carefully through the chamber, unwilling to miss even the smallest detail.

I wanted to understand the installation on my own.

To discover why it meant so much to Airis.

But my mind offered nothing.

Nothing at all.