A subtle blue shift of light permeated the infirmary.

Quinn stood at the window, that she swore wasn’t there before this whole fiasco, looking out at the vastness beyond. It reminded her of the windows in the restricted vault and how she could stare at the universe beyond for days.

Looking out into the nothingness but stars, she held up her hand and willed her shielding into place.

Blue scales subtly shifted from under her skin to over it, encasing her in an ethereal blue and golden glow that she still didn’t understand the mechanics of. If it came through her skin, shouldn’t it break through and leave blood everywhere?

The last two weeks had taught her that sometimes magic was the explanation, even if it was difficult to get her logic around that fact.

Quinn shrugged to undo the tension in her shoulders and continued to focus on her scales. After a fortnight of relentless instruction and practice, she was finally able to manifest them and maintain her shielding through a fair amount of interference and combat. It wasn’t second nature yet...but it was progress.

“Quinn?”

Malakai’s croaking voice pulled her out of her reverie and she let go of her hold on her scales, tsking in annoyance as she turned to look at the elf in the bed.

He still wasn’t healed up, and she felt such waves of guilt for it. She’d do almost anything to make it better again. Though turning back time didn’t seem to be a viable option. She knew because she’d researched it.

Desperation gave her illogical ideas.

His face looked fine, like nothing was wrong, apart from the pale undertones beneath his skin. In some areas it almost seemed like a pale blue light shone through. She studied him for a second before speaking. “You doing okay?”

“Mm.” He sounded croakier. “What are you doing here?”

There was some worry in his voice, and Quinn just took his hand and gave it a light squeeze. “Thought I’d check in on my favorite elf.”

Malakai laughed, but a second later it devolved into a horrible, racking cough. Quinn cringed as she watched him settle. She still woke up in a sweat every night, memories of that damned attack by Kajaro that was meant for her. One load of those vortex frisbees was possible to recover from, but two of them...

She remembered Milaro muttering something about Malakai’s energy and mana pathways being all messed up. Guilt gnawed at her, vying with her desire for revenge.

“You don’t have to look like a thundercloud.” Malakai rasped out.

“And you’re supposed to be resting and not worrying about me.” She sighed out the words, knowing he’d take no notice of them at all.

“I’d be out of here if I could.” He chuckled, even if it sounded like his chest was rattling and then he stopped, sobering up. “You know Arnekai is here.”

Quinn winced slightly. She sort of understood why he refused to call her mother. Arnekai always put her work and position first. So Quinn couldn’t really blame him for it. Still, even though it was mostly her doing... Milaro’s begrudging agreement meant Arnekai was here to treat her son.

Funnily enough, despite the history Malakai held against her, she’d dropped everything when they sent for her. Well... it took her three days, but Quinn was under the impression that for Arnekai, that was paramount to leaving immediately.

“And since she got here, you’ve stopped looking like living death. So please, don’t discount her too much.” Quinn offered a smile, even if her mind was starting to work over ten thousand problems at once again. “At the very least, she’s a competent darigháhnish healer, right?”

“It’s fine.” Mal sighed and his eyes fluttered closed as if he was trying to fight it. “I’m so sleepy.”

“Then sleep.” Quinn said softly, watching as his breathing evened out, before returning her concentration to the view outside the newly expanded window.

You must practice holding your scales in place until it’s second nature. The Library spoke into her head once Malakai’s slumber was obvious.

Their connection had deepened yet again once the Library’s power switched over to its next level. They were only one away from optimal efficiency now. But there was still so much to do to get it there.

Yeah. Yeah. I know. Quinn closed her eyes, summoning her innate protection again with a single thought. She was proud of her improvement, even if a part of her seemed to think she should be further along. She moved out of Malakai’s room and toward the hall, determined to check on the others.

Ikeshal still hadn’t woken up. Hal went back to Halschius to prepare for Ikeshal’s treatment. He’d be back with healers soon.

“You’re moping around again,” Eric said, startling Quinn out of her thoughts. His wings were still healing, and he couldn’t hover as long as he used to yet, but the rest of him was fine. That appeared to be one of the perks of being nigh indestructible.

“No. I’m thinking. You should try it sometime.” She flashed him a grin, secretly grateful he’d pulled her out of those darker thoughts. The ambush had gone so terribly wrong, they were lucky any of them returned home.

Her scales flared for a split second, as if recalling the entire incident gave her a power surge. And for a fraction there, her veins felt like they were on fire again. Quinn took a breath, forced herself to focus on the here and now and not be swept up by memories, overwhelm, and frustration... and resettled her entire power center.

“You’re getting better at that,” Eric noted, sitting on the edge of Ikeshal’s bed, which was the partition over from Malakai’s.

Quinn nodded, unsure of how else to respond. The foundations of her innate abilities were difficult to grasp and keep a hold of, but she made progress every day. Her fingertips practically itched to be able to grab onto more power.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“That look in your eye, eh?” Eric laughed, and the sound peeled up into the high ceilings.

“What look?” Quinn said grumpily.

“Little taste of power, eh? Careful Librarian, power can go to your head.” Eric winked at her and flitted out of the room, listing slightly to one side as his wing still gave him some trouble.

Quinn rolled her eyes. “Me? Power-hungry?” She wanted to play it off, but there was a part of her that did want enough power to deal with the problems that kept cropping up. To just wave a hand and say: begone. That was only logical, right?

The imp chuckles could be heard all the way to the front desk.

She sighed and turned around, glancing at Ikeshal’s prone form. He was still pale, especially considering he was a satyr. But Hal was coming to get him, so he’d be okay too. He had to be. So engrossed was she in her thoughts that she failed to sense the light footsteps that approached her until Arnekai spoke.

“You’re lingering in here. Shouldn’t you be training?” Arnekai’s tone was more subdued than when Quinn met her originally. It made sense though. Her son was severely injured and required some hefty healing.

“Yes, to both of those.” Quinn said, smiling tightly. Lately, it hadn’t felt like a smiling environment.

Arnekai’s white hair didn’t flow freely this time, instead, it was braided tightly falling most of the way down her back. It still contrasted with her almost navy skin in a starkly beautiful way, yet this time Quinn wasn’t as intimidated by the almost seven foot tall darigháhnish. She glanced at the Librarian, a slight frown on her face. “You know none of this was your fault, right?”

Quinn shrugged. She might technically know it, but she was also the one who had the dream. Surely she’d missed something that would have given the trap away. “Maybe. But I should be able to protect people.”

Malakai’s mom laughed. “Maybe. We all wish we could protect everyone, right? Don’t be too hard on yourself. My son will be fine, he just needs a few more treatments and then to regain his strength.”

“I hope you’re right.” Quinn said.

“Of course I’m right. Go do your work. We have a healing session, and he’ll probably welcome your company for a bit later. Don’t...” Arnekai paused, glancing toward the cubicle curtain that concealed her son. “Don’t wallow in a past you cannot change. Seek out the knowledge you need for the future instead. It’ll make us all stronger.”

And then she practically teleported to Malakai’s bed, disappearing behind the partition.

Quinn watched the empty space for a few seconds, actually speechless. Determination stole over her and she found the spark of a new resolve. Stepping out of the infirmary, she was determined to go and absorb more of what the Library could teach her. Drevicia was an extremely exacting task master, but damn had Quinn finally got her own core control down.

Mostly.

“Librarian!” Dottie stood directly in the way of exiting the infirmary.

Not that it bothered Quinn. She was genuinely fond of the talking bench. Superellex futora - the sapient furniture. She felt like she was in an animated movie on a regular basis. “What can I do for you, Miss Supervisory Assistant?”

Dottie’s laughter rang through the hall, adding a levity to the area it sorely needed. “Oh, it’s good to have you back in high spirits, Librarian.” Dottie sounded genuinely happy.

“Well, I don’t know if you’d call them high, but I’m definitely feeling better right now.”

Dottie frowned, even though Quinn still wasn’t sure how she could tell. Perhaps it was a sense, more of a telegraphing the aura than anything else. “You’re positively glowing. Is that...” The bench trotted closer. “My dear! Your scales are showing.”

Quinn felt the blush keenly. Her whole face heated up. “Yeah, been practicing.”

“But does she have wings yet?” Geneva’s soft voice asked, and Quinn spun to see the Firionas Fae. She hovered at eye level with Quinn, her tiny 2.5 feet frame resplendently gold as usual. Her hair cascaded down her back and her gorgeous red outfit accentuated the whole fairy vibe she gave off.

“I don’t have wings yet.” While Quinn knew she’d eventually be able to shapeshift, she wasn’t relishing the idea. For all intents and purposes, it was supposed to hurt like the dickens, and she didn’t do pain well.

“Soon enough. And then you won’t even need a spell to fly.” Geneva smiled gently, as if she was trying to lessen the blow. “We needed to talk to you, if you have a few minutes.”

Quinn cast a furtive glance toward the restricted vault that was slowly getting out of reach for the day and sighed. The Library needed her to get stronger, but it also needed her to run the Library, to take care of it. Sometimes she was going to have to choose. As much as she might want to spend another three years simply powering up, she couldn’t neglect the duties she had outside of the vault. “Sure. I have a few minutes.”

“Excellent!” Dottie trotted in front of them, leading the way to Quinn’s office. “You know, Lynx sent out another recruitment message. What after the debacle with the Aracnio twins, and then the whole trip you just took to get Ririn’s book back? With the other two branches getting so close to opening, we’re going to...”

Quinn stopped short. “Wait, back that up. What did you say?”

“Oh. It’s just been so busy the last few weeks, and Geneva and I did spend a large amount of time making sure we focused on book collections, like you gave us permission to do. We’ve been spread quite thin with all the assistants that require time off.” There was distaste in that last phrase. Like the bench didn’t understand why organic living organisms required personal days or recuperation time.

“Don’t be like that, Dottie.” Geneva chided gently as they began moving again. “You know everyone has been working hard.”

Dottie sighed and made a noise that sounded oddly like a tongue clucking, except Quinn had no idea how considering the bench didn’t have a tongue, or fingers... or any appendages apart from her legs. “Fine. Fine. I just wish we could all power through like I do, then we wouldn’t need to be so rushed.”

“I appreciate you doing it all, though.” Quinn wanted to make sure they knew she really did value all they did. But at the same time, she’d asked a question no one had answered yet. “Can you please explain what you meant by the other two branches opening up soon?”

Dottie paused this time, right outside Quinn’s office, and turned to point at the check-in desk that was some ways away. There were a few assistants there that Quinn didn’t recognize.

“Has Lynx already interviewed new assistants?” Quinn asked, unsure why she felt a little sad about it.

“Nope. Lynx has not already interviewed new assistants.” Lynx said, popping into view right next to her with a sound like a popped balloon.

Quinn started and shot him a glare, which he grinned off.

“These are the last batch. You haven’t really been around as much as usual, so they appear to feel foreign to you.” Lynx squinted as he examined Quinn. “You’re pushing yourself too hard. Don’t go getting a backlash headache.

“Righteo boss,” Quinn partially ignored his warning. “So, can you tell me, since Dottie seems incapable of staying on track, what she means by two branches close to opening?”

Lynx blinked at her, his deep purple to the sclera eyes blinking like a lizard’s, while the runes in his hair swirled irritably. “You realize you can just access the information through your personal screen, console, whatever you call it, right?”

“Well... yes.” Quinn felt oddly small. While she did remember it, she just hadn’t thought of it. There were so many segments she had her mind running that she’d forgotten to include the more mundane things.

Lynx sighed, a small grin tugging at his lips. “Here. Look.”

The shared information popped up directly in front of her face and Quinn stood there, gaping like a fish out of water for several seconds. “Almost all of them?” She finally said, as she turned and looked over at Dottie.

The bench preened a little, but all she said was. “It was both of us.” giving a little half bow in Geneva’s direction.

Quinn looked over the numbers again. Combat was so close to opening, but it was the alchemical and medicinal branch that caught Quinn’s eyes.

Three books. They were only three books away.

And she had an awful feeling she knew who had to go and retrieve those three damn books.