Page 490 of Axis of Fire

I stayed silent, not having connected his blood magic to that realm at all. I still struggled to remember which forms of magic came from which worlds—especially when the differences between them were so subtle.

"As a rule, mental demons have wider nostrils, thin legs, and rather fragile bodies."

My gaze shifted back to the demon, searching for confirmation.

He seemed to be listening to our conversation just as calmly as we were studying him, remaining perfectly still while observing us from a distance.

"Any idea what kind of mental magic it has?" Taylor asked.

"I've got a few questions about your magic too," I shot back, unable to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

He winked.

"Easy there, sweetheart. We've got plenty of time to get to know each other."

I snorted and looked away.

"Then why is it just standing there?" Rosalie asked, cautiously stepping out from behind Taylor.

"It's almost like it's waiting for something," Azalia murmured.

I looked back at the monster's enormous, empty eyes.

There were no pupils.

No spark of life.

Nothing.

As if...

A thought hit me so suddenly that I blurted it out before I could stop myself.

"What if it's already doing something to our magic?"

Aaron's gaze snapped back to the demon, studying it more carefully.

"Those eyes..." I continued. "They should be dead like that."

"Damn," he muttered under his breath.

His voice had changed.

"Does anyone feel anything?"

"Like what?" Azalia asked, her voice rising an octave.

Instead of answering, Aaron pulled the earring from his pierced ear and drove it straight through his palm.

"What are you doing?"

I instinctively stepped toward him, reaching for his hand to stop him from hurting himself—

then froze.

There was no blood.

The earring had pierced his hand clean through, yet not a single drop appeared.