Page 360 of Axis of Fire

I silently watched as she offered Kaeron a soft smile.

He responded with a restrained nod.

And in the next moment, shadows surrounded him.

They wrapped around his body like a crown of dark flames lined with sharp, vicious spikes.

Then, within seconds, the crown—

The flames—

Seemed to die.

Collapsing into a mass of black metal.

But only for a moment.

The metal suddenly came alive again, twitching and swaying around him like the tail of a rattlesnake.

A warning.

A promise of the attack that would follow.

I was stunned by their power.

By the control both of them possessed.

Compared to them, I faded into the background.

Became far too...

Ordinary.

“Very good.”

The faintest satisfied smirk appeared on Draksen's face.

“Kaeron is exceptionally strong,” Seris remarked. “Before entering Istmond, he had already been taught how to control his magic.”

“Doesn't everyone get sent to Istmond as soon as their abilities awaken?” I asked, meeting Seris's blue eyes.

“Only those whose powers awaken unusually early,” Seris explained. “When abilities manifest at the age considered normal, they're assigned a mentor to help them learn control. Then, when the time for the Selection arrives, they're officially enrolled in the Academy.”

I nodded.

Kaeron returned to his seat.

I tried not to look at him.

The humiliation of my own failure still burned too fiercely.

One by one, the recruits were called into the arena.

Gianna demonstrated masterful control of water magic.

It turned out she could already control multiple streams at once.

She demonstrated this by creating a massive oasis entirely out of water, complete with several cascading waterfalls.