Page 2 of Axis of Fire

Five figures blocked her way.

The same staff members from the psychiatric ward.

“Well?” the redhead smirked.

“How far did you think you’d get?”

The girl took a step back.

Illariana’s gaze swept across the room.

A couch.

A bookshelf.

A coffee table.

A large panoramic window framed by long, floor-length curtains.

Someone had tried to make the place feel comfortable.

Pointless.

Everything here was soaked in destruction—

quietly hidden beneath the guise of help.

She took a heavy breath.

Her mind had to work. It had to find a way out.

The redhead’s cunning, almost rat-like eyes burned with anticipation.

She wanted to be part of uncovering the anomaly.

And Illariana—

Illariana was the kind of prize every scientist dreamed of.

Another breath.

Something inside her screamed: Act.

The girl fought to control the panic surging through her—

spreading faster than lightning across the sky.

Illariana Arden was used to hiding her true nature behind a mask of arrogance.

Used to acting on instinct—on emotion.

Improvisation had always been her strength.

But not this time.

“You say you won’t hurt me,” she said, her voice steady.

“And yet you’re chasing me like a mob—cornering me like some small rodent that suddenly grew fangs.”