Page 165 of Axis of Fire

Far more than I should have.

Chapter 15

Liverpool's weather wasn't exactly inviting for a swim.

Heavy gray clouds swallowed the sky, making Another Place seem especially bleak today.

The iron figures stretched endlessly across the shoreline.

Silent.

Motionless.

Alone.

I'd always interpreted their solitude differently.

As wholeness.

Inner balance.

The kind of self-sufficiency not everyone was capable of finding.

Today, however, they looked abandoned.

Like survivors of a storm.

As if each figure had been torn away from something precious and left staring toward a horizon that would never answer.

Waiting.

Hoping.

Maybe forever.

“So this is the place that calms Ria down?”

Gwendolyn's voice pulled me back to reality.

As usual, she'd taken it upon herself to become Airis's personal guide to my personality.

And apparently to the three people from the squad assigned to protect them as well.

Besides Lars, there was a girl named Camille and a tall guy named Justin.

“These statues look gloomier than usual today.”

Gwen folded her arms.

Honestly, I couldn't disagree.

The tension between Airis and me still lingered.

Neither of us had mentioned our argument again.

But silence had settled between us during the drive.

Only Dwayne had made repeated attempts to keep everyone talking.