Page 371 of Axis of Fire

But my body refused to relax.

My gaze shifted from Joel...

To Miloran...

And back again.

I already knew what I had to do.

No matter what it took—

I couldn't let this go any further than the three of us.

Gianna Elern's POV

The moment my eyes met Draksen Ardevayne's, a chill swept through me.

Heat was something I rarely felt.

I'd always assumed it was because of my water magic.

He remembered me.

And the way he looked at me made me feel as though every thought in my head had already been laid bare.

I'd made a mistake.

I should never have listened to that quiet voice urging me to step out of the shadows.

The memory of that meeting resurfaced instantly.

The one where I had done exactly that.

Draksen's office wasn't nearly as grand as I'd imagined.

There were no extravagant paintings.

No marble statues.

No gold-plated pens or expensive ornaments people used to prove their status.

Their importance.

Their power.

The Headmaster watched me patiently, waiting for me to speak.

The exhaustion on his face hadn't faded since Stasia had been brought to Istmond an hour earlier with half the bones in her body broken.

“So?” he asked at last. “How much longer are we going to sit here in silence?”

He tried to sound welcoming.

But fatigue was written all over him.

I looked away.

I'd chosen the wrong moment.