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The elemental spells were the most interesting. I already knew I could conjure fire, as I’d done while lighting the sage. There were spells for conjuring and forming fireballs to project at an enemy, but they came with a ton of warnings. If the Wielder wasn’t careful, they could burn themselves badly, and I wasn’t foolhardy enough to test that.

The spells for unearthing roots or summoning vines to hurt or bind an enemy looked fascinating, and they’d be perfect for trapping the wolves in the forest, but they were far too advanced for me to attempt at this early stage. Lots of hand movements and incantations, and they took a taxing amount of energy and focus, more so than even the protection ward.

No, that wouldn’t work. Whatever I chose needed to be quick and relatively simple.

That left air spells. Wielding air looked easy enough. One had to imagine the wind as an extension of one’s own limbs and focus on their breathing to make it work properly. The spell would take a lot of energy, but if I timed it right, I was confident it would do the trick.

But I had to test it first. I couldn’t go into this fight blindly, and gods forbid whatever I tried backfired on me in the moment I needed it most.

I looked towards the window. There was a bit of daylight still clinging to the sky though the sun had set behind the mountains.

Tucking the book under my arm, I rushed outside into the garden.

The scarecrow that hung on a stake in the fence was in poor shape. Most of the straw had spilled out of the armpits, and its makeshift head was slumped forward, hiding the face that was meant to frighten off the birds. But he’d make a fine target for practice regardless.

I set the book down on the garden bed and opened it to the page for this spell. The incantation was only one word, and memorizing it wasn’t the problem. No, the difficulty came in aligning my breathing with my movements and connecting my will with the wind itself.

I closed my eyes and focused on the air around me, paying attention to how it moved and what it felt like. I lifted my arm, willing the air to move with me, and my heart leapt with excitement as a gust of wind brushed upward at the underside of my arm.

Holy shit, that was incredible!

Don’t get too excited. Don’t lose focus.

Centering myself, I concentrated on that connection once more. Then I took a breath and wafted my arm across my body as I exhaled. The wind stirred around me, blowing across me to the left and sweeping loose strands of hair in front of my face.

Okay, so I could summon the wind and make it move. But could I use it defensively?

I glanced down at the diagram on the page again, then set my sights on the scarecrow. As I sucked in a long breath, I pulled my hands, palms-out, to my chest. Then, blowing it out with force, I thrust my hands outward, aiming at the scarecrow.

A powerful blast of air released from my palms and slammed into the scarecrow, making it explode in a flurry of straw, dirt and shredded clothing. With a gasp, I shielded my face with my arm and ducked, then peered under my arm at the now splintered, useless wooden post.

“Whoa,” I breathed, gawking at the destruction that one simple move had caused.

I hadn’t meant to destroy the scarecrow. But then again, I didn’t really know what I’d intended. How would that attack affect Tannin or Jax? My stomach twisted at the mental image of their bodies exploding into chunks of guts and blood, and I hastily shoved that thought from my mind.

I didn’t want to hurt them, and I certainly didn’t want what happened to the scarecrow to happen to them. But that thing was made of straw and sun-bleached fabric. Surely, wind couldn’t cause that much damage to a human—or black wolf.

But I wasn’t willing to take that chance. I had to practice more. I had to learn how to control this magic so that it only did as much harm as I desired.

As much as I hated both of my mates at the moment, I couldn’t stand the thought of killing either of them. I only needed them gone, and it was worth every moment of training to make sure I did just that and nothing more.