Page 394 of Axis of Fire

"As if you haven't already heard everything from Tarven."

I let out a quiet snort.

"Can't we talk about something less depressing?"

The subject was still too raw.

I wasn't ready to peel back another layer and show him just how vulnerable I really was.

"The moment I returned to Istmond," Airis said, "I went looking for you."

"So you could spend more time with your favorite protégé."

"You're unbelievably full of yourself."

I shook my head.

"It's incredibly irritating."

"And yet," he said without missing a beat, "that's exactly the version of me you wanted."

"I don't remember wanting any version of you."

Heat crept into my cheeks.

Unfortunately...

There wasn't much I could do about it.

"So," Airis said smoothly, "how's training going?"

I stared at him.

"We're really not changing the subject?"

"We could."

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

"We could talk about what happened on the balcony."

I groaned.

"My training is terrible."

The confession slipped out before I could stop it.

"My magic only responded once."

"When I had to protect the others on my team."

The rest of the time...

I'd done nothing but watch everyone else prove how much stronger they were.

How much more they belonged here than I did.

"You can tell me otherwise if you want," I said quietly, my eyes fixed on the glowing water.