Chapter 406: The Sulking Spider and the Baffled Hermes
Compared to the Salamander, which had sent Baruk into violent convulsions, this was far gentler.
Bowtruckles were creatures of nature, and their magic carried none of that tyranny. The seed entered politely. Once it slipped into the magic channel, Baruk's native magic merely nudged it aside rather than resisting.
A thin blue-white glow surfaced around the eight eyes, spreading beneath the carapace before settling into a hazy corona that slowly brightened and dimmed.
Regulus kept his hand pressed to the dorsal plate, letting natural magic flow inward.
With the Salamander, Verdant magic had acted as a buffer between two stubborn powers. Here, there was no such conflict. Bowtruckle magic and Verdant magic sprang from the same well, both working through connection and affinity.
Bowtruckle magic flowed through Baruk's visual branch, while Baruk's magic flowed back into the new module. They took to each other almost immediately, with hardly any rejection.
The new module rooted itself in Baruk's magic circuit.
As everything settled, the blue-white shimmer around the eight eyes condensed into tiny white points ringing the amber orbs. Most of the time, it was little more than a faint film, visible only up close.
Regulus withdrew his hand and watched.