A Shield of Faith (BOOK 4)

Chapter 43

ADARA

Advanced Glyphic Theory for Flares. Complex Shifting. The Importance of Energy Conservation and Conversion from Flow into the Body. Adara tossed each of Yuven's titles to the side, peering at the smaller tome with a whole lock on it. The Mysteries and Truth of Anima Magick— where did he even find this? Her hand went once more to Complex shifting, which Yuven slapped a bright sticky note on it for her to read first, with the others he marked in numerical order for study. The glossary separated its sections by primordials, with Yuven marking those as well. Every page fluttered in her ears as she reached the section meant for water-based primordials. One technique explained in rather grotesque detail on how to push the flow through the lungs to allow temporary water-breathing. On the next pages, several designs of orientation glyphs, with its largest spikes serving as the cardinal points of power. Technique often used by sailors at sea... other primordials can also use it to a smaller, not as efficient degree. Fire Magickae struggle with it the most... great. "Yuven," she bit and turned on the elbow resting on the Annex table on the third section, where he stood on a ladder to reach at the higher shelves, sorting through much thicker books. "I hope you don't expect me to read and retain all of this."

"I can retain all that information." Yuven slipped one of the book tacks between his teeth as he moved one to the side. "I don't see why you can't." He steadied himself on the rung as other tomes hovered around him, carried by misty white fog. Thin tendrils wrapped around his body at the innate levitation, before slipping them back along the shelves. "I'm not going to waste anymore time that I now have," he said as he put the book tack in place, whipping his head back to her where his feathers fluffed out, filled out around his ears. "I'd say you're now past about a seven turns old magickae ability and around sixteen. I aim to get you past that before the Elder Convocation calls upon us for a demonstration."

"On top of trying to learn Hanekan..."

"That is your chosen directive and not part of the plan," he bit back as he rolled the ladder to the next shelf, repeating the process from before. "You will have to find time for it on your own and not on mine." Navei slipped past his lips as he put another book tack in his mouth, pushing books to the side to reach the deeper ones. Adara scowled at his back, twisting to her forced book options with the one Fenrer gave her days before buried underneath it all.

Though she tried to take the smallest chances to study it, Yuven had a tendency to hover over her with all the irritation of a gull pecking for food. Adara opened her palm and breathed with the flow rushing along the phoenix fires making rivers in her blood. Silver auroras swirled into a glyph with a blaze of power. It danced across her glyph's circumference. Shapes formed and bent to follow the trail of the inferno. It weaved and tied itself together, and she stretched her senses through its center; an internal direction of her external movement. Each of the lamps attached to the shelves shuddered silver embers deep within their runes to splatter across the small circuits. Across her fingertips, the spiderweb of an aurora choked her fingers, and she let out a gasp, trying to shake out the smoke rising into the air.

In an instant, they died with the quake of energy she extruded — and it preceded a loud, Navei curse from a certain white-haired Avaerilian who held on tight to the shelf when the lamp closest to him sparked and vibrated until it died without its light. "If I wanted a light, Adara, I would've done it myself," he mumbled once the Annex stopped trembling.

"You're the one who insisted I stretch my magick to measure my reach and find the limit," she bit through her teeth as she shook off silver embers from her palm when the glyph disappeared. Fist clenched against her knee, she opened the fire primordial page to learn a couple of techniques. One caught her attention, the barrier Maria created on the ship made out of fire whips, she stopped when Yuven tutted. "What now?"