Page 74 of Axis of Fire

I watched the miniature tornado, then shifted my gaze to my own outstretched hand.

As I focused on my fingers, I felt the heat slowly building at their tips.

Thin, invisible threads of flame crawled toward the center of my palm, where a small fire flickered to life.

“Keep it steady,” Airis said.

“Don’t let it change size.”

I focused.

For three full minutes, the flame didn’t waver.

“It listens to you,” he noted.

“Of course it does. It’s part of me.”

My small...

potentially world-destroying anomaly.

“I thought you had no control over your fire,” he said.

“Not after what I saw yesterday.”

“That wasn’t control. That was emotion.”

I clenched my fist, extinguishing the flame.

When I looked back at him, his gaze had turned cold.

Colder than it had been just minutes ago.

“What changed your mood?” I asked, raising a brow.

“You’ve had magic for eight years. No training. No teacher.”

He paused, his lips pressing together before he continued.

“Looks like you left something out, Fireling.”

His calm tone was slowly turning dangerous.

I saw the tension in his body.

The way his gaze sharpened.

Predatory.

“I didn’t lie,” I said with a shrug.

“I just didn’t tell you everything.”

He moved—

too fast.

One second, he was standing across from me.