Page 386 of Axis of Fire

The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.

I frowned.

I had absolutely no idea what he meant.

Then Airis looked at Gianna.

The trace of amusement vanished instantly.

His expression settled into that unnervingly calm mask I'd first seen the day we met.

"Cerberus has already been informed that your roommate won't be staying in the room tonight."

The words were meant for Gianna.

The studio door swung open before she could answer.

Joelle appeared in the doorway wearing an expression that could have frozen lava.

Bright red curlers clung to the dozens of braids woven into her hair.

I'd never seen anything remotely like it.

"This," Joelle said flatly, glaring at Airis, "is the first and last time I'm allowing this kind of stunt."

"I'm her mentor."

Airis delivered the sentence as though it settled the matter entirely.

"And I'm her roommate."

Joelle folded her arms.

"If anything happens to her, guess who's getting blamed first?"

"Then stay here and keep an eye on your other roommate."

Airis nodded toward Gianna.

Joelle frowned.

"As if."

"Wait..." Gianna blinked. "You're leaving? I just—"

She never finished.

Airis took my hand.

I opened my mouth to ask what he was doing.

Instead, he placed his palm over my eyes.

Darkness.

Pressure built in my ears almost instantly.

The floor vanished beneath me.