Page 313 of Axis of Fire

I crossed my arms over my chest.

Rosalie ignored me completely.

Instead, she wandered farther into the room, studying it as though she'd never been inside before.

I endured it.

Waited.

Held myself together.

I knew perfectly well I was only a guest here.

And the last thing I needed...

Was a fight.

Especially with one of Tarven's beloved sisters.

“I want you to refuse Tarven’s help. I don't want to see you as his protégé.”

Only then did Rosalie turn to face me.

“And I don't care that becoming your mentor was Tarven's idea,” she continued coldly.

“Honestly, I think you manipulated him.

Played the helpless little victim.

The poor girl bullied by her own twin sister.”

She exaggerated the last words, puffing out her lips in a childish imitation.

Time slowed.

My heartbeat seemed to slow with it.

Painfully.

God...

It hurt.

Her words.

Her mockery.

But what hurt even more was realizing that Tarven had told his family.

Everything.

Even the things I'd desperately wanted to keep hidden.

Betrayal arrived quietly.

Then settled somewhere inside me...

As though it had every intention of staying.