Page 72 of Axis of Fire

Short.

Of course it was.

That seemed to be his life motto.

“And who exactly is this Harold Moss? What kind of magic does he use?” I asked.

“He’s not a powerful mage.”

A pause.

“He never trained alongside the students of Istmond,” Airis added, once again leaving a brief silence between his words.

“He worked as a geneticist at the academy.”

“Then what are we supposed to be afraid of?”

“His unit.”

Airis turned sharply to the right, and I nearly walked straight into the wall before following him.

Seriously?

A warning wouldn’t kill you.

“How many people are in it?”

“The better question is how advanced they are,” he said.

I swear, he was getting more irritating by the minute.

As if the version of him I’d spoken to last night had been nothing more than a hallucination.

Or maybe it had been.

“Fine. How strong are they?” I asked through clenched teeth, my fists tightening at my sides.

“Control yourself, Fireling.”

I swear I could hear the hint of a smile in his voice.

“I’ll say it again—don’t call me that.”

“As you wish, Fireling.”

I took a deep breath just as he continued:

“There are four former students in Harold’s unit who were candidates for the Strongest Twelve.”

I raised a brow.

“And what exactly is that? Sounds ridiculously dramatic.”

“The Twelve is Istarus’s elite military unit,” he said.

“They are responsible for protecting Noveris. The unit is made up of graduates who surpassed even their own instructors.”

“Protecting all of Noveris? So they defend every world?” I asked as we passed another turn.